“Test subject number 24. The subject lasted for two minutes and forty-five seconds after the administration of Valkyrie. Time of death: 4.22 AM.”
I should be the only one at home. Who’s talking?
Han Xiao opened his eyes, only to be blinded by light. The familiar hatch of his VR-capsule was no longer there—instead, he was facing a white ceiling. The walls that surrounded him were also white and reminiscent of cold, hard metal. They felt like something straight out of science fiction. The room resembled an intensive care unit, and Han Xiao lay atop a cold metal table, bare-chested and wired to all sorts of machines. His back was freezing.
Han Xiao noticed that there was a group of people in white coats surrounding him, and they were looking at him as though they had just seen a ghost.
I thought I just accepted a leveling request? Where am I?
Suddenly, Han Xiao felt as though a large amount of data was being transmitted into his mind, causing his head to throb painfully. The last thing he could remember was accepting a leveling assignment. He was in the midst of creating a new character in ‘Galaxy’ when he seemingly started to smell burnt eggs…
“Quickly, let Ms. Hila know! The test subject has come back to life!”
“Call the guards!”
As the researchers started a commotion, Han Xiao realized that he could understand them, even though they were speaking in a language he had never heard before. ‘Test subject’, ‘back to life’, and ‘guards’—these terms unnerved him. Soon, he could hear the sound of rushing footsteps coming from outside.
Should I make a run for it or just lie still? Han Xiao decided on the former in a split second; he was not the kind of person to just lie around waiting. He abruptly sprang up, ripping the wires off him, and made a clumsy beeline for the door. The researchers did not attempt to stop him, instead, they backed off hastily to avoid being knocked into.
Crash!
He pushed his way out into a white corridor, only to be greeted by a dozen or so guards suited in black and armed with electric batons advancing upon him from both sides.
Han Xiao gasped at the sight of the crest on their uniforms. It depicted half a plant.
The Germinal Organization from Planet Aquamarine back in version one? Weren’t they eliminated‽
Suddenly, a guard swung his electric baton at Han Xiao and Han Xiao unconsciously raised a hand to block it. The ensuing current caused his whole body to spasm in pain. It felt like his bones were about to split and his entire body turned numb.
Is the pain calibration at 100%‽
Galaxy’s pain calibration was restricted to a maximum of 40% because any higher setting could potentially cause nerve damage to players. The VR-capsule was also supposed to monitor the player’s vitals to prevent this, but it was currently malfunctioning.
It’s only been seven years and the capsule is having problems? Damn it! The repairman I paid $300 to a few days ago told me that it would still be good for another six months! I want a refund!
The guards yanked him up and took him to a small room where they locked him up alone in pitch black darkness.
Han Xiao grimaced in pain as he massaged his wrist. His head continued to throb as more information poured in.
It took Han Xiao a moment to reconcile the facts and make sense of what had happened to him.
I’ve… transmigrated into Galaxy?
His eyes widened with amazement.
Galaxy was a fully immersive virtual reality game that ran servers worldwide and boasted a peak concurrent player count of almost 60 million.
The game was set in a vast universe with a world map and landscapes that were procedurally generated using the latest generation of quantum computers. The scale of its world was massive, and it was said to be able to run smoothly even with a billion concurrent players. There existed many organizations and companies that specialized in farming gold and running dungeons, and the best pieces of gear could even go for ridiculous prices of up to a million US dollars.
Being an extremely popular game, good balance was of the utmost important. While big spenders did have certain advantages, it was not so unfair to the extent that it displeased the casual players. Maintaining competitiveness and improving skills were key factors towards game balance, and Galaxy did a good job in these areas, facilitating its strong allure as an e-sport.
Although Han Xiao did indeed make a living out of playing the game, the term ‘professional gamer’ didn’t fit him well. He was, instead, one of the despised power levelers and preferred to work solo.
Han Xiao had been playing the game since its very inception, and through the numerous patches, he had made a name for himself. In the last annual top 100 rankings, he placed 47th. He definitely had what it took to try his hand at going pro, but what he enjoyed most about the game was the leveling experience.
“The Germinal Organization originates from one of the beginner planets new characters were sent to back in Version 1 of Galaxy: Planet Aquamarine,” mumbled Han Xiao.
Before transmigrating, Galaxy had already been operating for over a decade. Version 1.0 was ancient history.
“Have I time traveled too?” Han Xiao’s expression darkened.
“Does that mean I won’t be getting my three hundred dollars back‽
“Am I stupid‽ That’s the least of my concerns!” Han Xiao slapped himself.
His memories were still jumbled up, and he could not recall anything about his original life—not even his name. All that he could recall were details regarding this world, such as its present era. He was currently in the year 687 of the Galaxy calendar, a year behind the updated timeline.
In Version 1, there were three universal powers that were upholding a peace that had lasted for ten thousand years, since the era of exploration. They were the Commonwealth of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church. The Silver Revolutionary Army had yet to be formed, the one responsible for the Supernatural Disaster was still fighting for dear life on some desolate planet, the World of Light had not come into existence, the civilization of the World Tree had not yet invaded from the beyond, and the Shattered Belt that contained Planet Aquamarine was still budding inconspicuously along the fringes of the explored universe.
In order to ensure that the game remained attractive, Galaxy borrowed and implemented ideas from its predecessors, such as ‘WoW’, where each version update revolved around a disaster or some major event. While Han Xiao enjoyed the game, now that he had transmigrated over…
“Get me out!”
While the Germinal Organization was small fry compared to the interstellar powers introduced in later updates, to the currently powerless Han Xiao, it was an entirely different story.
“Planet Aquamarine was modeled after Earth, and the Germinal Organization’s aim is to overthrow this planet’s government. If I’m not wrong, Valkyrie test subjects are brainwashed to serve as cannon fodder.”
The body he currently possessed had experienced a memory wipe. Apart from some general knowledge, all that remained were fragmented memories of captivity and experimentation.
It seemed to be roughly twenty years old and bore a slight semblance to his original self. However, its state of health was as yet uncertain. He had heard the researchers mention that he had been injected with Valkyrie, one of the Germinal’s gene altering drugs that was used to strengthen the brain. Valkyrie had a survival rate of only 30%, but this body had reacted positively to it.
Suddenly, a glowing line of blue text blue appeared before his eyes.
_____________________
You have been injected with Valkyrie!
+1 Endurance
You have learnt a new ability: Concentration
You have learnt a new ability: Low Level Willpower
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“Virtual interface!” Han Xiao jumped for joy.
_____________________
Name: Han Xiao
Race: Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)
Model: NPC (Countdown to Version 1.0 launch: 358 days 11 hours 03 minutes)
Level: 1
Experience: 0
Main Class: N.A.
Sub-class: Civilian Lv. 1 (0/50)
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Endurance 3, Intelligence 3, Mystery 1, Charm 2, Luck 1
Unassigned Stats: 0
Energy: 0 (Lv. 0)
Energy Rank: 1~2
Grade: F (Mortal)
[Piece of trash with a combat strength of 5; pick any NPC out from the streets and he will wipe the floor with you a hundred times! A hundred times!]
Health points: 23/30 (injured)
Stamina: 36/36
Abilities:
– Concentration: +10% to learning and crafting speeds
– Low Level Willpower: +3 Resistance
Skills: None
Talent points: 0
Class Talents: None
Influence: 0
Reputation: 0
Equipment: None
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“Thank god I still have the interface!”
Han Xiao was ecstatic but quickly discovered that there were several irregularities.
NPC, not a player? Countdown timer?
Han Xiao furrowed his brows as he organized his thoughts.
First of all, although he had no idea how the interface had transmigrated together with him, he had to treat this world as his new reality, meaning that if he died, he could not bank on being able to respawn like in a game.
Secondly, he could still access the system’s interface despite being classified as an NPC. This suggested that he could still level up like a player, which was good news.
Thirdly, if the countdown timer confirmed his suspicions that he had indeed traveled back in time to before the game’s launch, did it mean that ‘real’ players would soon appear?
Lastly, and most important of all, he was currently in grave danger!
Han Xiao felt indignant. Didn’t people who transmigrated normally receive perks such as resources, companions, or… at least an ex-girlfriend? At the very least, he should have started out in a safe location! The war hadn’t even begun, and he was already a lone hero deep behind enemy lines. A single slip could prove fatal; he could very well end up in the Hall of Heroes… if such a place existed.
Han Xiao only had one life here. If he died then that would be the end of it. It would be a pity.
Yes, Han Xiao only felt that it would be ‘a pity’. ‘I want to survive!’ would be a more normal line of thought. As for variations such as ‘My fate is not for the heavens to decide; if the heavens want to erase me, then I will erase the heavens!’ or ‘Swallow an aurous core to transcend life and death’, such ramblings were exclusive to people with second-grade syndrome.
“What the hell, why am I the only one SAO-ed?” Han Xiao lamented.
And while his senses confirmed that this was indeed reality, he started to wonder…
What exactly am I now? Am I an actual life-form, or am I just a bunch of data? Did my soul transmigrate, or is it something else entirely?
He sighed. I guess I’ll just have to make the best out of the situation and take it one step at a time.
The essential thing was to survive.
With a year to go before launch, he had enough time to get prepared; this was the sole glimmer of promise that he could cling on to.
Clank!
Suddenly, the door opened, and several people walked in. As he could only make out their silhouettes due to the light streaming in from outside, Han Xiao could not see their faces clearly. However, he could make out from their outlines that one of them was a woman with a fiery figure.
“The subject’s condition?”
Said woman spoke to her subordinate in a voice that was smooth, yet intertwined with an ever-so-faint rasp, reminiscent of a cup of rich coffee.
“It appears that the test subject has calmed down.”
The experiment leader, Lin Wei Xian, answered the woman as he stared at Han Xiao passionately, as though he were looking at a prized possession.
“Who are you people?” Han Xiao asked hoarsely.
“Hmm? Amnesia…?” The woman’s eye twitched.
“Valkyrie stimulates the brain, so memory loss is not unexpected,” replied Lin Wei Xian, squinting.
When Han Xiao’s eyes had finally adjusted to the light, he was stunned by the sight of the woman.
Boasting a headful of luscious, burgundy hair that concealed part of her face, the woman wore a tight-fitting, jet black bodysuit from which her curvaceous figure threatened to burst out at any time.
Her features were telling of her Western descent, but they were also composed of a certain softness that was characteristic of Eastern women; perhaps it was her mixed heritage that blessed her with such beauty and charm. In a different world, she could have been easily mistaken for a beautiful snake demoness.
If Da Ji had possessed such beauty, then King Zhou did not die in vain! 1 thought Han Xiao.
“I am Hila, the commander here,” said the red haired woman as she looked at Han Xiao. She waved a hand and ordered, “Conduct a blood test. I want to see the report ASAP.”
Two stone-faced guards walked forward to yank him away. Their massive bodies and the fact that they were carrying guns dispelled any notion that Han Xiao had of resisting.
He recognized the ‘Crimson Snake’, Hila, and that this was one of the playable scenarios on Planet Aquamarine, Valkyrie Experiment Lab, located in a key base of Germinal.
During Version 1, Hila was a boss who had caused beginners on Aquamarine much grief. She had many nicknames, one of which was the ‘Goddess of Death’. She would eventually attain ‘Celestial’ class strength and rise to prominence in the Cotton Cluster.
Han Xiao laughed bitterly on the inside. The situation was bleak!
The blood test results were compiled quickly.
Hila went over the data she had received from Lin Wei Xian with knitted brows.
“No abnormalities detected?”
“Valkyrie mainly affects the brain. We will need to open the head up for assessment.”
Open the head up? snapped Han Xiao inwardly. Open the head up‽
Hila waved a hand in dismissal of the idea.
“He is the only subject to have ever survived the experiment. We’ll leave that option out for now.”
Han Xiao’s eyes lit up as he realized that his current status was somewhat advantageous for him.
Lin Wei Xian was not pleased by Hila’s decision, but he made no fuss about it.
“In that case, we’ll observe him for the time being to see if anything has changed.”
“Proceed with the brainwashing,” ordered Hila suddenly.
Brainwashing?
Han Xiao’s heart sank. Brainwashing was a common method of subordination, and while in the game, a brainwashed character would simply become an ally of the faction, it was completely different now! Losing his sense of self was the worst-case scenario.
No way!
The good news was that memory altering technology available on the planet was still under-developed, so the organization’s methods were very primitive; they made use of sensory stimuli to re-calibrate the subject. A character with at least ten points in Intelligence would be immune to the effects of the brainwash.
Valkyrie had given Han Xiao a +1 boost to the growth potential of his Endurance. Growth potential was an innate stat that affected the growth rate of the affected stat. Different races had differing starting potentials in each stat, and in the entire world of Galaxy, humans generally had a mediocre growth rate. They did, however, boast the highest Intelligence potential. As they also possessed the lowest Health, this single point in Endurance growth potential was nice to have.
[Concentration] gave him a 10% increase in mastery and crafting speeds, also increasing their success rates.
[Low Level Willpower] gave him three points of Willpower, which substituted for three points of Intelligence, so he still lacked three more Intelligence to survive the brainwash.
Leveling the Civilian class will boost a random stat by one, and also give me one unassigned stat point… but the chance for Intelligence to be boosted is extremely low…
Han Xiao knew that he could not rely on luck. In fact, he had always suspected that he was cursed. If a god or goddess did smile upon him, it would have to be the goddess of disaster. Rather than rely on luck, finding some way to learn a new class was a more reliable idea.
Although Han Xiao was incapable of moving freely, there had to be a way! After all, it was a scenario, wasn’t it?
Suddenly, he thought of something.
If I’m an NPC… I should be protected by the system… right?
“Take him,” ordered Hila.
Han Xiao was yanked away once again and brought to another room.
Han Xiao noticed that there was a bookshelf in this room.
<<Tom’s Introduction to Machinery>>
<<A Theory on Human Genes and Lizard Genes>>
<<Randt’s Hypothesis>>
…
They were all reference books.
Hold on, there’s a class book there! rejoiced Han Xiao.
Han Xiao disregarded the two guards behind him as he stood up to walk towards the shelf.
His actions startled everyone, and instantly, the two guards were pointing guns at him.
However, Han Xiao steeled his nerves and continued to approach the bookshelf.
You’d better not fire! he prayed. I’m a valuable test subject!
“Hold your fire! Let’s see what he’s up to,” shouted Lin Wei Xian all of a sudden.
The two guards hesitantly lowered their guns.
Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. He had been banking everything on his status as the first successful subject.
<<Tom’s Introduction to Machinery>>
This was the book that had caught Han Xiao’s eye. He picked it out from the shelf and started flipping through.
Although the long paragraphs of texts and complex diagrams were hard for Han Xiao to comprehend, he patiently read on. After twenty seconds or so, the interface lit up.
_____________________
You have completed one session of self-learning in basic machinery knowledge!
[Basic Assembly] has progressed by 2.0% (based on your Intelligence).
(+0.2% from Concentration)
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As I expected! Han Xiao rejoiced. Although he wasn’t able to understand the book’s contents on his own, the system’s automated mastery system had allowed him to directly absorb the knowledge.
Lin Wei Xian curiosity was piqued. The test subject seemed to be learning!
He allowed Han Xiao to continue in order to observe him more.
The entire room was now silent, except for the rustling of paper.
_____________________
[Basic Assembly]
Progress Rate:
15% (+1.5%)
…
29% (+2.9%)
…
48% (+4.8%)
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Han Xiao’s reading speed increased with time. However, the pressure mounted on. Every second that passed could be his last.
When Hila arrived at the room, the sight of Han Xiao reading caused her to frown.
“What’s going on?”
Lin Wei Xian began to explain what had happened.
“You’re saying that his learning ability has been strengthened?”
“That is my initial conclusion. If you allow me to open his head up to perform a thorough assessment, I will be able to come up with a more complete answer.”
Han Xiao flinched. How much does this bastard love brains‽
Hila thought to herself, If his brain has been enhanced, he could prove to be more valuable than we initially thought…
“Is the brainwashing apparatus ready?” she asked.
“Preparations are complete.”
Damn it! I have to be faster! thought Han Xiao.
Suddenly, a notification accompanied with a sound popped up on the interface.
_____________________
[Basic Assembly]
Progress rate: 90% (+10%)
You have learned basic knowledge of Machinery, unlocking the Mechanic talent tree!
You have unlocked a new profession:
[Mechanic (Novice)]
Strength +10, Intelligence +1, Endurance +1
You have gained 2 stat points.
You have gained 1 talent point.
You have acquired new skills:
[Mechanic (Novice)]
[Basic Maintenance]
[Basic Enhancement]
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As warmth surged through Han Xiao’s body, he realized to his surprise that he could actually comprehend the contents of the book now!
I can gain actual knowledge from the game‽ Are you kidding me? Galaxy has been in service for over a decade! How come the Federation of Earth hasn’t conquered the Milky Way yet‽
Strange…
The ‘Character Information Interface’ had updated as well:
_____________________
Name: Han Xiao
Race: Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)
Model: NPC (countdown to Version 1.0 launch: 358 days 10 hours 11 minutes)
Level: 2
Experience: 0
Main Class: Engineer (Novice) – Lv. 1 (0/200)
Sub-class: Civilian – Lv. 1 (0/50)
Health: 43/50 (injured)
Stamina: 80/80
Attributes: 3 Strength, 3 Dexterity, 5 Endurance, 4 Intelligence, 1 Mystery , 2 Charisma, 1 Luck
Unassigned Stats: 2
Energy: 10/10 [Lv. 1]
Lv. 1 (10) – [Strength +1, Dexterity + 1, Endurance + 1, MAX STAMINA + 20]
Energy Rank: 3~4
Grade: F (Mortal)
[You still lack the combat strength to take on 5 lowly thugs.]
Abilities:
– Concentration: +10% to mastery and crafting speeds
– Lesser Willpower: +3 to focus
Skills:
[Mechanic (Novice)]
Lv 1 (0/1000) – Increases mastery of engineering
[Basic Maintenance]
Lv 1 (0/400) – Able to perform simple maintenance
[Basic Enhancing]
Lv 1 (0/600) – Able to enhance machinery
Potential: 1
Class Talents:
– Arms: Basic Assembly Lv 1 [19 talents not learnt]
– Energy: [20 talents not learnt]
– Control: [20 talents not learnt]
Influence: 0
Legend: 0
Equipment: None
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Regarding stats, Strength improved melee damage and was also a requirement for some heavy equipment.
Dexterity improved movement speed, attack speed, and evasion. It also gave a bonus to ranged attacks.
Endurance increased Health and Energy. 1 Endurance gave 10 HP and 10 Energy. Endurance also affected some abilities and skills and increased HP and Energy recovery rates.
All actions depleted Energy, be it attacking, blocking, walking, running, swimming, crafting, etc.
Endurance also affected physical defense. There were many formulas contributing to the calculation of defense. For example, even if two characters’ defense stats were equal, one of them might not be wearing metal armor, so they would take more damage from a bullet than the other character.
Other factors that affected damage taken included Energy, range, bullet type, racial characteristics, and equipment material. All of these factors were taken into consideration when calculated by the quantum computer that the servers were run on. It was impossible for players to accurately optimize defense, but this wasn’t that big of a deal, as having more defense could only be a good thing.
Intelligence affected growth rates and Willpower. A character with higher Intelligence could master their skills faster. It also increased mastery and crafting speeds, and it could affect the quality of any machinery crafted by a Mechanic, making it the most important stat for the class.
Mystery affected a character’s talent for supernatural powers, and it affected psychic powers and magic abilities, like how Strength or Dexterity affected physical abilities.
Charm was useful when improving relationships with different NPCs and Factions. It even enabled characters to enjoy discounts with certain sellers.
Luck affected judgement and item drop rates.
These were the seven main attributes that stat points could be added to.
Then, there was also Energy, a core component of the game that functions as ‘Mana’ for superpowers. It could only be increased through leveling or by acquiring certain skills, and it was described as ‘a manifestation of the dormant power that lies in living cells’. Energy was a requirement to unlocking superpowers, as well as latent awakening.
A character would also receive bonus stats based on their Energy level. Lv. 1 Energy was reached at 10 points, Lv. 2 at 50 points, and Lv. 3 at 100 points. Each Energy level would give random stats according to the character’s class, and a character with a higher level class would benefit more from this. This bonus worked retroactively.
Energy was also the mana for superpowers, and the additional stats received from Energy were lost when the amount of Energy remaining dropped below its tier.
For example, Lv. 1 stat bonuses would be lost when Energy dropped below 10 points; the character would become fatigued after exhausting power, and this affected their combat ability. This mechanic made micromanagement in combat important.
Energy recovered automatically but at a slow rate. However, Stamina could be used to recover Energy faster. Also, when using Superpowers without sufficient Energy, Stamina could be used as a substitute, and when there was both insufficient Energy and Stamina, Health could be used. Many players ended up dying carelessly by sucking themselves dry this way.
A character’s grade reflected their combat strength. Characters were ranked according to their grade. The standard unit of measurement for Energy was the Ona.
Superhumans were graded A, B, C, D, or E, based on their Ona levels.
An E-grade superhuman, such as the present-day Hila, possessed 100 Ouna.
A Celestial-class superhuman would fall under grade A. Grade A superhumans were capable of planetary-scale destruction.
Of course, grade A wasn’t the limit. Han Xiao knew this, having transcended grade A himself. However, then was then and now is now.
Having gained two unassigned stat points from unlocking the Mechanic class, Han Xiao still needed one more Intelligence in order to endure the brainwash.
Apart from leveling up, there did not seem to be a way for him to obtain it. How was he supposed to gain experience? He obviously couldn’t hunt monsters now or complete quests!
Damn it, is there no way?
Suddenly, an idea occurred to Han Xiao.
He abruptly tossed the book to a side and proceeded to stare at the gun on the guard’s waist with a blank expression.
Hila frowned but did not act. Everyone looked on to see what Han Xiao was up to.
Han Xiao walked rigidly towards the guard. As if to make his intentions extremely clear, he reached out exaggeratedly for the gun.
The guard instinctively drew his gun, and although Han Xiao did not seem to have any intention of snatching it, he tightened his grip.
As Han Xiao was moving extremely slowly, the guard did not see a need to fire.
“Unload the gun and let him have it,” ordered Hila.
She was keen to know Han Xiao’s motives.
The guard obliged and proceeded to do so.
Upon receiving the gun, some information popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.
_____________________
73-WASP (Small Caliber Handgun)
Grade: Grey
Damage: 28 -35
Fire Rate: 1.1/s
Power Output: 13
Key components: Spring, Slide, Firing pin, Magazine (missing)
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[Basic Assembly] automatically gave Han Xiao knowledge about many types of machines, and the blueprints for a 73-WASP appeared in his mind.
Instantly, Han Xiao understood how to assemble it. While in the game he simply needed to ‘load’ the gun after ‘learning’ it, he now had to perform some more technical procedures.
Everything was truly far more immersive than it had been in the game, confirming his suspicion that he had transmigrated to an actual ‘reality’.
Han Xiao began to strip the handgun and reassemble it.
The skill icon for [Basic Assembly] lit up.
After 40 seconds, he finished the task.
To a specialist, 40 seconds was nothing. However, Han Xiao was a complete newbie!
He had only spent 10 minutes on a book!
Everyone was shocked.
Is this the effect of Valkyrie‽
Lin Wei Xian started speaking excitedly. “Such learning prowess! If I can analyze his brain, perhaps I can recreate…”
Go to hell! How much, exactly, are you obsessed with brains?
Han Xiao proceeded to repeat reassembling the handgun.
_____________________
You have succeeded at an Assembly (Basic)
69% perfection rate, 28 exp gained
You have succeeded at an Assembly (Basic)
73% perfection rate, 32 exp gained
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There were many ways to gain experience in Galaxy. Apart from hunting monsters and completing quests, skills and crafting were two key sources of experience for Mechanics.
As Han Xiao repeated the task again and again, he gradually became faster and faster. He was soon able to complete the task in a mere 20 seconds.
“Proceed with brainwashing now,’ ordered Hila suddenly.
Fortunately for Han Xiao, it had been enough. He had accumulated a total of 200 experience points.
Use all experience to level up Class: [Mechanic]!
Ding!
_____________________
[Mechanic (Novice)] has leveled up.
Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2
Energy +10
Intelligence +1, Endurance +1
You have gained 2 stat points
You have gained 1 talent point
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Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
That was close.
Han Xiao was strapped to a metal seat with his eyes forcefully pried open by extensions. Before him was a black screen with speakers on either side.
He was unable to move at all.
“How long is the procedure?”
“Twelve hours.”
“Keep watch here,” ordered Hila before she left with some grunts.
Lin Wei Xian activated the procedure, and the screen lit up. It began to display all kinds of geometric shapes and patterns that morphed continuously. The vivid, rapidly changing colors and harshly alternating music caused Han Xiao much discomfort. While he wanted to close his eyes badly, he was unable to, and soon, his eyeballs turned bloodshot and swollen.
Ah! This is so uncomfortable!
It was a primitive method of brainwashing. The theory behind it was to overwhelm and distort the subject’s thoughts to make it easier to feed messages into their mind.
It did, however, have the advantage of not causing permanent damage to the brain, which both Han Xiao and Lin Wei Xian could appreciate.
The depraved expression on Lin Wei Xian’s face enraged Han Xiao. He felt like he was a pig at the slaughterhouse.
Han Xiao added two of his four unassigned points into Intelligence.
_____________________
You are being Brainwashed (Low Level)
Your Intelligence: 7
Your Resistance: 3
Brainwash Failed
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Han Xiao’s discomfort immediately eased.
…
At the end of the twelve hours, Han Xiao’s entire body was aching, and his eyes were completely dried out.
Hila returned on schedule. The boss had assigned her the task of brainwashing Han Xiao, so she had to ensure that everything went smoothly.
She undid Han Xiao’s shackles, revealing bruises on his limbs. Although Han Xiao was still hurting, he continued to look at the screen blankly in order to act the part.
Hila suddenly bent forward, and her face came to within two inches of his. Her moist breath fell upon his lips, but Han Xiao was far too concerned with his predicament to be distracted.
Perfume filled up his nostrils, tickling him, and it took great effort on his part to resist the urge to sneeze.
“Who are you?” asked Hila in a soft, hypnotic voice.
Han Xiao decided to twitch his face instead of replying.
Although Han Xiao had never been a good actor, it wasn’t too hard to act like an idiot.
Suddenly, Hila began to whisper into his ear. As her hair tickled Han Xiao’s throat, two snowy mountains came into his view through the window of her collar. He steeled his heart with a prayer.
Between the mountains is a valley, empty like the void.
Atop the seas stands an island, straight as a tree.
I, who have seen over a hundred gourds, will not fall for your bait!
“From today onward, your name is Zero. The Germinal Organization is your home, your country, and your everything. You will forever be loyal to the organization and will forever strive to help the organization achieve its goals. You will neither hide anything from nor betray the organization. You will carry out your orders faithfully, and you will sacrifice yourself for the greater good when the time comes!”
Lin Wei Xian broke out in manic laughter.
“Your life belongs to the organization. You will do whatever you are ordered to do,” he added.
“Who are you?” re-questioned Hila.
This time, Han Xiao knew that he had to reply. However, he did not reply immediately.
Hila shot a frown towards Lin Wei Xian.
“I followed the procedure! It’s not my fault—”
Suddenly, Han Xiao began to speak.
“I… am… Zero…”
Lin Wei Xian’s eyes lit up.
“Valkyrie strengthened Zero’s learning ability. However, as a side effect, it impaired his speech.”
Hila thought back to Zero’s earlier behavior. He had indeed responded slowly to his surroundings.
“Seems like the experiment was not perfect after all.”
“You’re wrong. This is perfection! He does not need emotions.”
“…Take him to recover, I will report to the boss.”
I’m safe now!
Han Xiao could finally relax. He had come up with the idea of acting slow to lower their guard during the procedure.
Although I didn’t transmigrate to an ideal location, at least it’s not so bad time-wise.
The Valkyrie experiment was the prototype of a later supersoldier project that implemented microchips into test subjects in order to ensure loyalty.
Transmigrating to then would have been way worse. They would have been able to blow him up anytime.
At least Lady Luck is smiling upon me in one regard!
…
Hila made a call through an encrypted line.
“Boss, the situation has stabilized.”
“Is the brainwashing complete?”
The man’s voice was hoarse.
“I oversaw the procedure. There was no issue. What arrangements do you have for Zero?”
“The Valkyrie experiment’s aim is to train soldiers, so train him.”
“How is my sister doing?”
“Don’t forget the deal,” the man warned. “I gave you permission to visit her once every two months. Don’t cross the line.”
Hila clenched her fists.
…
The interior of the underground Valkyrie lab was almost entirely white. Guards constantly patrolled the grounds.
After a night’s rest, Han Xiao was brought to an isolated training field where Hila awaited.
While he was not too sure of what arrangements the organization had for him, he was certain that they would value his ‘learning ability’, meaning he would definitely get the chance to level up his Mechanic abilities.
It was virtually impossible to escape from such a tightly guarded fortress, so Han Xiao had steeled himself for the long haul.
“Zero, you will undergo daily combat and shooting practice from today onward.”
Hila tossed a suit to him.
“Put it on.”
Han Xiao quickly wore it.
As soon as he put the suit on, Hila attacked, launching a vicious kick at chest level.
Bang!
Too fast!
Han Xiao was unable to react, and the kick cracked his ribs through armour. He staggered back over a dozen paces and clutched onto his chest, coughing.
As expected of a superhuman.
Although she was obviously not going all out, she was still several times faster than an ordinary person.
“30 seconds of rest,” she stated blandly.
Combat training was tough, but straightforward. No words were exchanged between the pair.
They continued like this for two hours, by the end of which Han Xiao was completely exhausted and covered in bruises. He also now suspected that Hila had masochistic tendencies.
‘Are all ice queen types like this?’ he wondered.
_____________________
Hila (Lv. 30) has taught you [Basic Combat]
Progress Rate: 5%
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Hila left wordlessly.
A stout, burly man arrived to yank Han Xiao to the target practice field.
“I am your shooting trainer, and one of the vice-managers of this base, Baltar,” introduced the scary looking man with a hideous knife scar across his forehead.
He pushed a 73-WASP into Han Xiao’s hands and said, “There’s ten bullets, hit the bullseye with all of them.”
Han Xiao frowned. How could a beginner who had never touched a gun in real life before hit the bullseye‽ Moreover, the target was a moving dummy 30 metres away.
“I’m no Olympic champion!”
Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders and raised the gun with his aching arms.
Bang, bang, bang…!
After ten shots, Han Xiao took a look at the scoreboard. As expected, he had failed.
Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his back. It was only with great restraint that he did not scream out.
He turned around, only to see a frenzied Baltar licking blood off a black tactical knife.
“Continue. One miss, one cut. Let’s see how much blood you will lose today.”
Han Xiao moved a hand across his back, and it returned bloody.
“Bastard!” he cursed inwardly.
One of the glass panels in the room was a one-way mirror. Hila and Lin Wei Xian were observing from the other side.
“Baltar is being too careless with my precious test subject! Might as well let me dissect him now,” bemoaned Lin Wei Xian.
Hila cast a plain look at Lin Wei Xian and replied, “The organization will not approve of your request.”
Lin Wei Xian laughed coldly in response.
“I will have my way sooner or later. I created him! He is mine!”
Hila remained silent.
…
_____________________
Baltar (Lv 15) has taught you [Basic Shooting]
Progress Rate: 5%
[Agent] Profession Unlock Rate: 1%
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Han Xiao was cut again and again. The cuts themselves might not have been deep, but there were so many of them that his clothes were completely drenched in blood.
Baltar watch the weakened Han Xiao with a grin. He reveled in the smell of fresh blood.
“Why are you not screaming?” he asked. “A good toy screams.”
Damn bastard!
Han Xiao took a deep breath to compose himself. While he really felt like punching Baltar, he knew that he could not afford to act recklessly. It was similar in some sense to LoL – when you trash talk despite losing, you are only setting yourself up for a more spectacular fall.
For now, all he could do was suck it up.
‘Laugh while you can…’ Han Xiao gritted his teeth.
Chapter 4: 600,000 experience points!
After the blood boiling training session, Han Xiao was brought to dip in a special restorative bath for two hours. Although it healed his wounds, the pain from the cuts still lingered.
There was an unused machinery tuning room in the base, and as Han Xiao had demonstrated some talent with machines, he was arranged to reside there. In the room were materials, tools, and a vehicle bench that he was given free rein to use. There were also shelves of books lined against the wall. Although there was a surveillance camera in a corner of the room, Han Xiao paid no heed to it—he had expected to be monitored 24/7.
In the present year 687, Aquamarine was still a relatively new planet in the grand scheme of things. The planet was in the midst of a transition towards a 'new era', hence its technologies were still quite far behind for a sci-fi game, similar to that of Earth.
Mechanic talents were split into three trees. Each talent tree had over 20 talents that were divided into the five levels of basic, intermediate, advanced, expert, and master. Talents formed the core of a character's class.
Learning a class unlocks the first talent, and subsequent talents require Potential points.
There are three ways to obtain Potential points: through leveling, special quests, or mastering a skill.
Han Xiao decided to hold on to his two Potential points. Talents were not yet a major concern for him. Many new players spent them as soon as they got them, but Potential points actually became harder to come by in the later stages of the game. They were to be used wisely.
Outside of training, Han Xiao was basically free to do whatever he could, and he spent all his time on machinery in order to accumulate as much experience as possible to escape this prison.
…
Time went by quickly.
Han Xiao continued to assemble and enhance machines to gain experience, and as he improved, his perfection rate in assembly consistently hit over 90%. This gave him a lot of bonus experience.
Although assembling the same kind of machine too many times gradually decreased the experience gained—up to a point where it would not yield any experience at all—there was an armory in the base that was essentially a gold mine of machines, providing Han Xiao with all the resources he needed to gain experience through assembly.
Han Xiao kept a low profile and continued to remain quiet and docile. Gradually, the organization also stopped monitoring him so closely.
Although the organization had high hopes for him, he knew that standing out would only be disadvantageous, so he chose to accumulate experience instead of leveling up when he could.
Very soon, the research team lost interest in him. The degree of skill that he displayed in assembly was easily attainable by trained logistics personnel, and he simply did not fulfill their expectations.
They continued observing him for another month before writing him off as a failure. Instead of wasting more time on him, they chose to devote their efforts elsewhere and ceased the 24/7 surveillance.
This allowed Han Xiao to relax a little.
As the organization's attention gradually shifted away from him, eventually, only Lin Weixian and Baltar continued to keep tabs on him.
Although Lin Weixian's continued requests to dissect Han Xiao for research were still being rejected, Han Xiao knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be approved. There was not much time left for him.
As for Baltar, Han Xiao had become the sole target of his affection. As recovery pills were readily available, and the researchers believed that torture could stimulate growth, Baltar was allowed to indulge in his sadistic ways.
Han Xiao gradually grew numb to the pain.
With nothing much to do and no one to converse to, Han Xiao channeled his focus and thoughts into studying machinery. He found solace in the sense of accomplishment that crafting brought him.
…
One day, a number of armored guards came to the tuning room to move a large portion of Han Xiao's resources away. As Han Xiao watched them quietly, a person walked up to him.
"You have let the organization down. From today onward, your resources will be cut by 80%."
The person who spoke to Han Xiao was test subject No. 1.
"I heard that you are my predecessor. With so many resources, is all you can make garbage like this?
"You are a failure, and I have been chosen to replace you."
For some reason, the sight of Han Xiao irked No. 1. Han Xiao remained silent.
The organization prioritized results. Since Han Xiao was not giving them results, he was being stripped of his privileges. They planned to devote their resources to grooming the more promising No. 1.
As the research lab did not have any maintenance personnel for machinery, Han Xiao still got to keep the tuning room for himself. He was now assigned to perform maintenance and repairs.
"Tsk tsk, sad rats."
A few guards who saw the pair conversed among themselves.
"Brainwashed lab rats. Fated to be sacrificed."
"I'd rather die than end up like that."
"Shh, they can hear us."
"It doesn't matter does it? They've already been brainwashed anyway."
To them, test subjects were less than animals.
Han Xiao walked away silently.
…
Half a year passed.
In this period of time, Han Xiao managed to figure out the layout of the entire facility and the routines of the staff.
The Valkyrie Laboratory, commanded by Hila, was an underground facility that comprised of three floors. Because it was a secret base, it wasn't built to be very big, and was concealed within an uninhabited forest. Its supplies were delivered by airdrop.
A total of 60 armored guards patrolled the facility. Every now and then, the organization would send a batch of test subjects who had had their memories wiped here for experimentation.
Although there were a dozen so other Valkyrie laboratories, this base was the main one. After Han Xiao and No. 1, the Germinal Organization had managed to produce another 76 successful test subjects.
While most of them had already been transferred to other facilities, No. 1 and nine other exceptional test subjects were chosen to form a squad, and they were still awaiting orders here.
Han Xiao had grown accustomed to his life here. Aside from training, he spent all his time working with machines in the tuning room. The room had become a haven of sorts for him.
The guards gradually began to ignore his presence and when he passed by, they would simply gloss over him as though he were invisible.
This was extremely advantageous for Han Xiao, who was tirelessly gaining as much experience as he could. He also tried to memorize as many blueprints as he could.
The experience that assembly and enhancement rewarded were separate. When Han Xiao could no longer gain experience from assembling a certain machine, he would proceed to work on enhancing it. He was always careful to revert the machinery back to its original state after enhancing so as to keep his abilities a secret.
After many hours of training, Han Xiao also managed to master the two skills of [Basic Combat] and [Basic Shooting] and unexpectedly unlocked a passive ability called [Grinder], which gave him +100 Health.
He also unlocked the sub-class of [Agent], and was now at a character level of 4.
After his continued efforts, [Basic Assembly] and [Basic Enhancement] reached Lv. 4, while [Basic Combat] and [Basic Shooting] reached Lv. 2.
Mechanics required substantial amounts of resources and currency for growth, and while this would normally be a limitation to the class, Han Xiao had access to free materials from the organization.
He had used up almost 90% of the machines in the armory, accumulating a total of 600,00 experience!
Without monsters or missions, only mechanics could earn so much experience in such a short amount of time.
…
"Give Lin Weixian the green light. He has asked repeatedly. He may dissect Zero," ordered the boss over the line.
Hila frowned.
"You rejected him repeatedly."
"The organization has devoted so much resources to him already. We must gain something in return," said the boss plainly. "The only worth that trash has is in being recycled. That, is Zero's fate."
Hila bit her lip.
"Understood."
"What are the results of No. 1 and his team's training?" continued the boss.
"Very promising. I see potential in them."
"Very good. Send them to the Night Owl base for training, I have already sent the Night Owl squad to receive them. They will arrive in two or three days."
"That's the day I visit my sister!"
"You don't need to follow them."
"Alright."
“Ha!” cried out Hila as her bullet-like fist connected onto Han Xiao’s chest.
Han Xiao endured the pain of the blow to grab Hila by her collar. With a mighty twist, he threw Hila over his shoulder.
However, it was ineffective. Hila effortlessly nullified the shoulder throw by performing a flip.
Han Xiao paused to rub his chest.
“Is that all that you are capable of?” Hila was visibly upset.
Han Xiao remained silent. He had expected the organization to have given up on him with what little progress he had shown, but for the past six months, Hila had dutifully trained with him every single day. For some reason, though, she was going especially hard on him today.
Although Hila was the commander of this base, she did not have much work to do. Training Han Xiao was actually one of the few things that she had to look forward to. When she had learnt of the boss’s intention to hand him to Lin Wei Xian, it had upset her.
Although they had never actually conversed before, it was 6 months of accompaniment regardless. A person could even develop feelings for an object if he or she spent that much time with it! Perhaps, due to having grown used to seeing Han Xiao everyday, Hila was a bit reluctant to hand him over.
“How many times has it been?” she wondered. “All those people… all those faces…”
The organization’s cruel methods had not only caused her to lose many of her friends—she had also lost her sister.
The reason she had pushed Han Xiao harder today was to try and stimulate him. She had hoped to be able to draw out any latent talent in him.
However, it had clearly been too much to ask for.
“The boss has approved of Lin Wei Xian’s request to dissect you…” She sighed.
Strictly speaking, this was the first time she had ever spoken of anything outside of training to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.
Finally…
Although Han Xiao had been anticipating this from the moment he decided to lie low, he did not regret doing so—his background made it impossible for him to rise up through the ranks, which meant that he would only be able to continue on as a henchman. Either way, Han Xiao did not wish to work for the organization.
Suddenly, Han Xiao noticed a photograph on the ground. It seemed to have fallen out of Hila’s pocket during their fight. Han Xiao bent down to pick it up.
It was a group photo set in front of a vast, blue sea that was basking under a setting sun.
Two girls stood side by side in the center. One of them was Hila, who was smiling radiantly. The other girl had snow-white hair and seemed to resemble Hila somewhat. She looked both clever and gentle.
Hila’s face changed upon realizing that she had dropped the photo. She immediately bent down to snatch for it. When she saw that it was undamaged, she let out a sigh of relief. As she pocketed it, she took a final, probing look at Han Xiao before turning around to leave.
The interface suddenly lit up with a message.
_____________________
You have initiated a D-Class Quest:
[Night Owl Plans]
Accept / Decline
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Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. My first mission in six months‽
Accept!
_____________________
Quest Synopsis:
The dark and blood-stained advent of the Germinal Organization has always been a great mystery to the Six Nations of Planet Aquamarine. Hila has a secret past that no one knows about. Where do her loyalties truly lie? You now hold one of the clues to this mystery. Will you seek to uncover the truth?
(You may choose to pass this clue on to someone else for a small reward.)
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The quest had obviously been initiated by the photo.
Han Xiao knew who the white-haired girl was. She was none other than Hila’s younger sister, Aurora.
While the sisters both possessed supernatural powers, their powers were of two extremes.
Aurora’s blood possessed mysterious healing properties that could extend life or even bring back the dead. She had been brainwashed, and was now being controlled by the Germinal. Not only were they taking advantage of her powers, they were also using her as leverage to make Hila do their bidding.
Hila only cared for one person, and that was Aurora.
The war between the six countries and the Germinal Organization reached a climax at the conclusion of Version 1.0.
As a last resort, the Germinal Organization used Aurora’s flesh and blood to create an endless supply of miracle drugs that won them the war. Hila, who had been at the front lines at the time, only learnt of what had happened a few months later.
Losing her sister tore her apart, and the Germinal Organization took advantage of her moment of weakness to capture and imprison her.
After her escape, she became cold-blooded and ruthless, going so far as to sacrifice countless of lives in order to awaken her latent powers.
She turned to the dark side and stopped at nothing to gain power, eventually coming to be known as the ‘Goddess of Death’ whose very name spread fear throughout the Shattered Belt.
Although the present Hila was cold, compared to the future Goddess of Death who wielded the power to wipe out entire civilizations, she was a billion times nicer.
If he had the chance, Han Xiao would definitely do his best to alter her tragic fate – not out of pity, but to prevent her from destroying his fleet of spaceships. However, he was still far too weak to do anything. Escaping the base was his primary goal.
Han Xiao knew from Hila’s routine the past six months that she would leave the lab in two days.
That would be the perfect chance.
Han Xiao returned to the tuning room and summoned the interface. He currently possessed two sub-classes, and one main class: Civilian, Agent, and Mechanic (Novice).
Of the five main classes, Mechanics were weaker in the early stages of the game. They were also more intended to be a support class early on. In Version 3.0, however, they would receive new talents that greatly buffed their combat capabilities to become one of the more popular classes.
In the later stages of the game, a high-level Mechanic was akin to an entire galactic fleet.
Mechanics were well known for having many skills. Each blueprint itself could be seen as a skill, and since there were thousands of blueprints of machines, Mechanics could be played in any number of ways. The slew of skills at their disposal made them adept at all sorts of tactics and warfare.
Nevertheless, they had a glaring weakness—they needed more experience than other classes to level up.
Han Xiao contemplated for a moment before dumping all the experience he could into [Mechanic], initiating a leveling frenzy.
_____________________
Engineer (Novice) has been raised to Lv. 3
+ 10 Energy, + 1 Intelligence, + 1 Endurance
+ 2 unassigned stat points
+ 1 talent point
…
Engineer (Novice) has been raised to Lv. 10 (max)
+ 30 Energy, + 1 Intelligence, + 1 Endurance
+ 2 unassigned stat points
+ 1 talent point
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It took 130,000 experience to level Lv. 2 Mechanic (Novice) to Lv. 10. As a result, Han Xiao gained 8 Endurance, 8 Intelligence, 100 Energy, 16 stat points, 8 talent points, and was now Lv. 12.
It was usually more cost-effective to raise the level of the main class first as it gave more Energy.
As Han Xiao did not meet the requirement for class advancement yet, he could not level [Mechanic] up any further.
Most classes had a starting level cap of Lv. 10 that could only be exceeded after performing an advancement.
Han Xiao continued to use 80,000 experience to level up [Agent] to Lv. 9. He gained +12 Strength, +9 Dexterity, +3 Charm, 9 talent points, and 9 points of unassigned stats from this, and hit Lv. 20.
While a character could have any number of classes, Lv. 20 was the maximum character level before completing the special advancement mission. In the game, the maximum level was usually raised every major update. In Version 1.0, it was Lv. 60.
Galaxy had hundreds of classes and this gave players unlimited combinations to play around with. It made it common for a character to have individualized skill-sets. As there was no fixed strategy in particular, each and every character could be skilled uniquely. This was one of the game’s strong points.
Han Xiao discovered an anomaly! His interface did not display a maximum level! This could mean that he was allowed to exceed the limits of a regular character!
The gameplay of Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 was mostly based around the beginner planets. Although the stronger civilizations in the universe were already implemented from the start, players were unable to interact with them. Han Xiao wondered if his NPC status would have any impact on this.
_____________________
Lv. 20 Advancement Mission:
Learn an advanced Mechanic skill.
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As one of the requirements to learning an advanced Mechanic skill was to gain advanced knowledge, Han Xiao had no way to proceed with the advancement.
He used another 150,000 experience to raise [Basic Assembly] and [Basic Enhancement] to their Lv. 10 each, thereby gaining two talent points.
He then used 10,000 experience to raise the level of his [Machinery Affinity (Novice)] to Lv. 3.
After some calculations, Han Xiao proceeded to use 60,000 experience to reach Lv. 6 in both [Basic Combat] and [Basic Shooting], and this unlocked [Grappling] and [Precise Aim].
He intended to use the remaining 170,000 experience to do some ‘blueprint gambling’.
Blueprints were an important feature of the Mechanic class. The first method of obtaining them would be through leveling talents.
The second method would be through completing missions—some missions rewarded blueprints.
The third way through perform reverse engineering, done by disassembling machinery. However, on top of certain conditions and requirements, this method expended experience points.
The fourth way—and the most important one—was through combining talents. This method also expended experience points.
As there were 60 talents, and the same type of combination could yield different kinds of blueprints, the possibilities were endless. Some blueprints even had hidden prerequisites, making it hard to determine exactly how many blueprints could be derived from a certain combination.
The experience needed to perform talent combination also increased with each attempt, and if the player received the same blueprint again, the experience expended would not be compensated. This it is why talent combination was widely known as ‘blueprint gambling’.
As useful as it was, it did consume a lot of experience.
Back to before he had transmigrated, players had discovered and researched thousands of combinations, and Han Xiao was familiar with many of them! As a Mechanic, he would be able to overcome the early weaknesses of the class as there were a few rare blueprints of godly equipment that could be crafted by a Novice Engineer!
Besides the four methods of obtaining blueprints above, there was also a lesser used method known as ‘free creation’, where players were allowed to freely create machines that they conceptualized. However, this method had an abysmal success rate.
The success rate of free creation depends on various factors such as the viability of the concept itself, the quality of the materials, the character’s level in knowledge, certain abilities, tools used, and so on. Before Han Xiao transmigrated, players still had not managed to figure out the exact science behind it. It was simply too hard to succeed at this method, causing it to be largely viewed as a waste of time and effort.
As Han Xiao had gained 19 talent points from leveling his classes, and 2 points from maxing two of his skills, he now had a total of 21 talent points.
Han Xiao proceeded to pick out two books from the shelf before summoning the interface.
_____________________
Use 1 talent point to unlock the Weaponry branch talent: [Basic Mechanical Engineering]. Y/N
Use 1 talent point to unlock the Weaponry branch talent: [Basic Bio-engineering]. Y/N
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Confirm!
A large amount of information related to these two talents began to be transmitted into Han Xiao’s brain, causing him some discomfort. This continued for ten minutes.
When he was done, he used another two talent points to raise them to Lv. 2, increasing his degree of comprehension for them.
“Combining these two Lv. 2 talents can yield 6 types of blueprints. Each combination will double the required experience for the next. The first combination requires 10,000 experience, so 170,000 experience will allow me to combine 4 times. I must get that blueprint in four tries!”
Han Xiao’s nervously proceeded to combine [Lv. 2 Basic Mechanical Engineering] and [Lv. 2 Basic Bio-engineering].
_____________________
Proceed with talent combination of [Lv. 2 Basic Mechanical Engineering] and [Lv. 2 Basic Bio-engineering]?
10,000 experience will be used.
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Yes!
Han Xiao’s vision whirled momentarily as a new blueprint appeared before him.
_____________________
Success! Congratulations on discovering [Sky Swallow Gliders]!
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Not this one! Han Xiao clenched his fists. Continue!
_____________________
… 20,000 experience will be used.
Success! Congratulations on discovering [Bionic Limb]!
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Damn it! This is the worst one!
Again!
_____________________
… 40,000 experience will be used.
Success! Congratulations on discovering [Lightweight Mechanical Arm]!
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This is it!
Han Xiao slammed the table excitedly.
Haha! Lightweight Mechanical Arm… This is what I was hoping for!
Half a year of hard work almost went down the drain.
_____________________
Name: Han Xiao
Race: Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)
Model: NPC (countdown to Version 1.0 launch: 182 days 8 hours 23 minutes)
Level: 20 (Can proceed with advancement)
Main Class: Engineer (Novice) – Lv. 10/10 (Can proceed with advancement)
Sub-classes:
Civilian – Lv. 1
Agent – Lv. 9 (0/25000)
Health: 320/320
Stamina: 434/434
Attributes: 21 Strength, 17 Dexterity, 22 Endurance, 15 Intelligence, 1 MYS, 5 Charisma, 1 Luck
Unassigned Stats: 27
Energy: 120 [Lv. 3]
Lv. 1 (10) – [Strength +1, Dexterity + 1, Endurance + 1, MAX STAMINA + 20]
Lv. 2 (50) – [Strength +3, Dexterity + 2, Endurance + 3, MAX STAMINA + 50]
Lv. 3 (100) – [Strength +3, Dexterity + 3, Endurance + 5, MAX STAMINA + 100]
Energy Rank: 48-55
Grade: F (Mortal)
[To the weakest superhuman… you are a slightly huge ant!]
Abilities:
– Concentration: + 10% to mastery and crafting speeds
– Lesser Willpower: + 3 Focus
– Grinder: + 100 Health
Skills:
[Mechanic]
Novice Mechanic Affinity – Lv. 3
Basic Maintenance – Lv. 10 (max)
Basic Enhancement – Lv. 10 (max)
Blueprint: Cloud Sparrow Glider – Lv. 1 (0/5000)
Blueprint: Bionic Limb – Lv. 1 (0/2000)
Blueprint: Lightweight Mechanical Arm – Lv. 1 (0/10000)
[Agent]
Basic Combat – Lv. 6 (0/16000) – +6% Damage when unarmed
Basic Shooting – Lv. 6 (0/16000) – +6% Accuracy
Grappling – Lv. 1 (0/3000) – +3% Parry, +2% Damage when unarmed
Precise Aim – Lv. 1 (0/3000) – +3% Accuracy, +2% Ranged Damage
Talent Points: 17
Class Talents:
Arms
Basic Assembly Lv. 1 (0/1)
Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv. 2 (0/1)
Basic Bio-engineering Lv. 2 (0/1)
(17 talents not learnt)
Energy
[20 talents not learnt]
Control
[20 talents not learnt]
Influence: 0
Legend: 0
Equipment: None
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In one shot, Han Xiao was able to reach Lv. 20 and significantly boost his combat ability.
He spent 5 of his 27 unassigned stat points to raise his Intelligence to 20, fulfilling the prerequisite to craft the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.
Now, he had one thing left to do: suit up!
Han Xiao grinned as he looked at the spare parts scattered all across the floor.
I will show you what ‘raising a tiger’s cub’ means!
The Valkyrie Lab was hidden underneath an abandoned farm situated within an extremely large forest. The farm itself was enclosed by a tall electrical fence.
A Black Harrier helicopter descended on the abandoned farm. Six fully equipped agents dressed in black emerged from the aircraft.
“I am the captain of Night Owl Squad 3, Silver Blade. I’ve come under orders to transport the Valkyrie Squad,” introduced the stony-faced captain.
“Stop wasting my time,” replied an irritated Hila as she fixed her tousled hair. “There are vehicles in the hangar. I’ll take the helicopter.”
No. 1, who had been chosen to lead the Valkyrie squad, stepped forward.
“Test subject No. 1 greets officer!”
“Follow us.”
“Yes sir!”
As Hila hopped on the helicopter, she frowned.
“Strange… It feels like I’ve forgotten something…”
…
Machinery tuning room.
Han Xiao was almost done with crafting the Lightweight Mecha Arm. It had proven harder to craft than expected. In the game, blueprint crafting was guided—the player simply needed to input the materials and follow a few simplified steps. Now, however, Han Xiao had to do everything manually. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing though, as it did give him the freedom to make small modifications.
Although the organization had taken away most of Han Xiao resources, there was still enough left for him to work with. He had primarily used manganese, a tough alloy well suited for making weapons and armour.
While the design of the Lightweight Mecha Arm was very basic, it would have to suffice.
Han Xiao put down the wrench in his hand. The Lightweight Mecha Arm was now complete.
_____________________
Lightweight Mecha Arm (Left)
Quality: Average
Basic Stats
– Damage: 35~58
– Defense: 13~17
– Power Level: 38
– Durability: 270/270
Equip Requirement: 25 Strength
Stat Bonus: -3 Speed
Length: 0.51 m
Weight: 14.7 kg
Additional Bonus: +10 Strength
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Han Xiao gained 3000 experience points from crafting the arm. Crafting generally rewarded more experience than assembly or enhancement.
Han Xiao currently had 21 Strength, so he needed to spend another 4 stat points to equip the mecha arm.
After crafting the mecha arm, Han Xiao crafted a 73-WASP and enhanced it to 38-47 damage. He also forged a 10 damage carbide tactical knife.
He hid the Lightweight Mecha Arm and the enhanced 73-WASP before heading out to the canteen.
The canteen was like a recreation room of sorts for the staff in the facility. They would come here to relax and while away the time. Han Xiao had learnt a lot of information from eavesdropping on their conversations.
A groups of guards were chatting nosily.
“I want to go outside too! Being confined for so long is getting on my nerves.”
“Well, Hila’s an officer. Her status is much higher than ours.”
“Man, I’d do anything to spend a night with her.”
“Hey, watch your mouth. Do you know why she’s an officer?”
“Because… she’s a superhuman?”
“Of course she is!”
Han Xiao rejoiced at the confirmation of Hila’s absence.
“Looks like today is the day,” he murmured to himself.
Han Xiao got up and headed to basement 3. His target was the surveillance room.
There were two guards stationed outside the surveillance room. Before entering the corridor, Han Xiao slapped a piece of half-chewed bread onto the surveillance camera.
He had learnt that the guards did not take their shifts seriously, and true enough, nothing happened even after a while.
After composing himself, Han Xiao entered the corridor and approached the two guards.
“No unauthorized personnel,” warned the first guard.
“It’s Zero. Just shoo him away,” laughed the second.
The first guard nodded. He was about to push Han Xiao away when, suddenly, Han Xiao grabbed hold of his wrist and stabbed the second guard in the chin with a knife. The knife pierced all the way into the guard’s brain.
Han Xiao then immediately maneuvered around the first guard to perform a chokehold on him.
Crack!
Han Xiao had dispatched of both guards in an instant!
_____________________
You have dealt a fatal blow!
You have dealt a fatal blow!
“-162”
“-171”
You have killed a Guard of the Germinal Organization, gaining 360 experience!
You have killed a Guard of the Germinal Organization, gaining 360 experience!
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Han Xiao carefully placed the guard on the ground before checking their stats.
_____________________
Lv. 7 Agent
10 Strength, 15 Endurance
150 Health
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_____________________
You have acquired 4 bullets.
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Han Xiao re-equipped the dagger before slowly pushing the door open.
A jaw-dropping sight greeted him.
Two guards were pressed together in an extremely compromising position. The sound of the door opening had startled them, and they were staring at Han Xiao in horror.
Spicy.
Well, this is awkward. Should I just pretend like nothing happened and step out?wondered Han Xiao.
Han Xiao did not have anything in particular against any group of people. He respected people’s hobbies and interests. These two men before him were simply two lonely hearts who had had no way of releasing their pent-up frustrations. Over time, their common bond developed into something special…
It’s not your fault! It’s Tokiomi’s 1 —I mean—it’s just how things ended up!
Although Han Xiao’s mind was dulled with such thoughts, his body was quick to act. Reversing his grip on his knife, he rushed forward to attack the closer guard.
The guard was unable to react in time, and as he fumbled to draw his gun, Han Xiao went in for the kill.
Unfortunately, the second guard kicked him to safety.
Han Xiao’s surprise attack had failed, but he was not disheartened. Twirling the knife in his hand, he switched back to a standard grip and stabbed the second guard in his abdomen, followed by striking his neck with his free hand. The guard collapsed to the ground.
_____________________
Overwhelming Force!
You have 25 Strength. The target has 10 Strength.
As you have over twice as much Strength as the target, your attack dealt 50% more damage!
The target has lost consciousness.
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One down!
The other guard who had been kicked to safety rolled further away to create some space between him and Han Xiao before raising his gun to fire.
Han Xiao immediately tackled him down and slammed his hand against the floor, causing him to release the gun in pain.
It would have been disastrous for Han Xiao if he had managed to fire.
Han Xiao proceeded to head-butt the guard on his nose, disorienting him, and circled around to strangle him from behind.
Rear naked chokehold!
The guard’s face turned purple as he struggled to break free.
_____________________
You have performed a [Submission].
You have 25 Strength. Your target has 11 Strength.
Your target is unable to break free.
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The guard struggled for a few more seconds before fainting.
“That was close… It would have been easier if I were a Pugilist,” panted Han Xiao as he got up.
The Pugilist class was the most popular class in Galaxy for the simple reason that it was the coolest looking class. Their skills had the coolest names, such as ‘Inferno Quake’, ‘Devil’s Beam’, or ‘Star Breaker’. Of course, many skills were not actually as powerful as their names suggested, but the point is that they sounded cool!
Shouting out the skill’s name as you used it also always seemed to make it stronger. Although most players weren’t thick skinned enough to do so, Han Xiao enjoyed it.
Pugilists were also a much simpler class to play – basically, just keep on hitting the enemy. Compared to the most demanding class to play, the Mechanic, the difference was night and day.
Han Xiao used his knife to finish the two unconscious guards. He looted four magazines of bullets from them.
He then moved the bodies of the other two guards into the room, cleaned up the bloodstains in the corridor, and smashed up all the security monitors. After confirming that he had not missed anything, Han Xiao emerged from the room with his usual blank expression on once more.
Eliminating the surveillance room was important to Han Xiao’s escape – it allowed him to move freely.
Han Xiao returned to the second floor where a guard suddenly stopped him.
“Mr. Lin Wei Xian wants to see you.”
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.
Lin Wei Xian was one of the few people in the base who possessed a security pass that could access the main gate. He was saving Han Xiao the trouble of looking for him.
Han Xiao followed the guard to Lin Wei Xian’s private laboratory. It was a dimly lit room. The walls were lined with shelves of specimen jars filled with organs – almost like the private collection of a homicidal murderer.
“The organization has finally let me have you. If I dissect you, I will be able to find out the difference between you and the other test subjects. After extracting all the valuable information your body has to offer, I will preserve your corpse as a specimen. You will be fondly remembered as the first test subject.”
Han Xiao remained silent in the dark.
“You there, secure him tightly and don’t let him struggle. It’ll ruin my experiment,” ordered Lin Wei Xian.
He then proceeded to turn around to retrieve his toolbox of oddly-shaped surgical knifes and scalpels. Before Han Xiao, how many had fallen prey to them?
Suddenly, Lin Wei Xian heard a dull thud from behind. He turned around, only to discover that Han Xiao was standing right behind him.
Before he could react, Lin Wei Xian felt a pain in his chest. Looking down blankly, he saw that a knife was stabbed directly into his heart.
His eyes widened with shock as he dropped the surgical knife he was holding
He could see the motionless guard lying on the floor behind Han Xiao, as well as the coldness in Han Xiao’s eyes.
Right! This room is under surveillance!
Han Xiao seemed to have read his mind. “Give up. I’ve already cleaned the surveillance room.”
That tone… is this really that dim-witted Zero?
Lin Wei Xian shuddered as the color in his face drained quickly.
“Half… half a year… you’ve been faking it all along?”
Han Xiao nodded.
“How is that possible… You’ve fooled everyone!” Lin Wei Xian wondered aloud, incredulous.
“Nothing is impossible in this world.” Han Xiao twisted the knife viciously.
Lin Wei Xian crumpled to the ground, wide-eyed in indignation and terror.
“I… am your… creator…”
Han Xiao changed into the guard’s uniform before leaving Lin Wei Xian’s laboratory.
It was likely that people knew he had been taken to Lin Wei Xian, so a disguise was necessary. There were usually four people in the base that he had to watch out for – Hila, No. 1, Lin Wei Xian, and Baltar. As Hila was not in, No. 1 had left, and Lin Wei Xian was a non-factor now, Han Xiao’s escape would proceed smoothly as long as he did not encounter Baltar.
The main gate to the base was a reinforced steel door almost one metre thick. Even if Han Xiao used all the explosives in the armory, it would still not be enough to blast it open. The only way to escape would be through unlocking it, and only three people possessed the security pass to do so. One of them was none other than Lin Wei Xian, and, naturally, Han Xiao had already acquired his pass.
However, as the main gate was heavily manned, and everyone knew exactly who possessed a pass, escaping was not that straightforward.
If Han Xiao so much as appeared at the main gate, he would be surrounded by heavy fire in mere seconds. One bullet would do only 10 damage to him, but add them all up and he would be lucky to last for even a second.
Mm, not a bad way to go, he thought, but I think I’ll come up with a better idea.
Han Xiao’s plan was to cripple their communications in order to gain a few hours of time. This was the safest option. Currently, he was heading back to the tuning room to retrieve the mecha arm first.
As the tuning room came into sight, Han Xiao was suddenly pushed from the side. To his horror, the person who had pushed him was none other than Baltar.
Why am I so unlucky‽ he groaned inwardly.
“Which squad are you from?” questioned Baltar. “Why have I never seen you before?”
Han Xiao lowered his head and pushed his cap down.
“I’m new here. I’m from squad B.”
“Why was I not informed of new guards? Hold on, your voice sounds familiar. Raise your head and show me your face.”
Han Xiao noticed that Baltar was slowly reaching for his handgun. Three guards nearby had also sensed that something was amiss.
What should I do now?
If Han Xiao were exposed now, Baltar would definitely send guards to look for Lin Wei Xian. That would be disastrous.
“This is a problem… I didn’t want to have to resort to plan B…” muttered Han Xiao.
“What did you say?”
Suddenly, Han Xiao raised his head to reveal his face to Baltar.
“I’ve always wanted to tell you this: go see a shrink, psycho!”
“Zero‽”
Han Xiao took advantage of his confusion and thrust his knife into Baltar’s chest.
Unfortunately, Baltar dodged on reflex, and Han Xiao’s knife only grazed his chin.
“Fire!”
The three guards hastily reached out to draw their guns. Unfortunately, they were too close to Han Xiao, and Han Xiao managed to close in on them before they could fire. He sent a fist smashing into the nearest guard’s face.
-48!
The punch sent the guard flying backwards into his comrades.
Han Xiao gritted his teeth as he turned around to make a dash for the tuning room.
Baltar’s face darkened as he felt his chin. As he gave chase, he shouted into the transmitter on his collar, “All agents, listen up! Come to the tuning room on the second floor at once! Test subject Zero has gone rogue!”
All the guards who heard the news were stunned.
“Zero? Gone rogue? Are you sure‽”
“Wasn’t he brainwashed?”
“Is this a drill?”
“Are you dumb? Didn’t you hear the gunshots‽”
Han Xiao became strangely calm under the assault of Baltar’s gunfire. As his brain began to process all the variables and data in his surroundings, the world before him astonishingly changed. Han Xiao’s surroundings began to be reduced to 3D lines, as though his mind were filtering out all the clutter – making everything look clear to him. Somehow, he had entered a state of mind in which all his brain’s functions were heightened.
“2.0 seconds to reach the tuning room. 3.7 seconds for Baltar to catch up. The three guards will not pose any threat for another 4.2 seconds. Roughly 30.0 seconds before reinforcements arrive…”
Han Xiao had been through countless battles before. Although they were all from his time in the game, it was still experience. And it was precisely experience that enabled him to tap into this special state.
He started to run in an irregular pattern to dodge the bullets.
“Interesting. The toy wants to resist,” mused a frenzied Baltar. “You asked for it!”
Baltar was an elite agent with over 20 years of experience. No matter how terrifying Han Xiao’s learning capability was, he had essentially trained for only 6 months. To him, the outcome was already decided.
As soon as Han Xiao neared the tuning room, he jumped inside and locked the door.
Baltar burst out in maniacal laughter as he paused to reload his gun.
“Hiding in a room? You have sealed your fate!”
Suddenly, the door was blasted into smithereens by what appeared to be a gigantic mecha arm that appeared out of nowhere. It followed through to smash into Baltar’s chest.
-95!
Baltar was sent flying into the wall. 4 or 5 of his ribs were broken by the force of the impact. As he got up, he coughed a mouthful of blood and looked at the newly emerged Han Xiao in disbelief.
“What the hell is that‽” Baltar stared in shock at the gigantic mecha arm that was enshrouded by the black smoke it was pumping out.
The three guards raised their guns to fire, but Han Xiao was a step quicker. With his right hand, he drew his enhanced 73-WASP and fired two consecutive shots.
With the accuracy bonus provided from his skills and Dexterity, Han Xiao’s current shooting abilities were extremely frightening. Each bullet hit either guard squarely in the throat.
The third guard opened fire, but Han Xiao simply raised the mecha arm.
Clank!
The bullet deflected.
_____________________
Lightweight Mechanical Arm (Left) has lost 8 durability.
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Han Xiao fired another shot.
The guard collapsed to his knees with an expression of disbelief.
The corridor quietened down. Han Xiao and Baltar faced each other off.
“The nearest guard will take another thirty seconds to arrive,” calculated Han Xiao.
Han Xiao flexed his mecha arm tauntingly.
“I really feel like crushing your throat with my bare hands to thank you for all four hundred and twenty cuts.”
Baltor furiously spat out some blood and laughed coldly as he unsheathed a dagger that had been concealed within his boots.
“That was quite a punch, but don’t think that you can defeat me with a piece of junk like that!”
“We’ll see.”
“I can kill you ten times in thirty seconds!” howled Baltar as he suddenly pounced forward.
Han Xiao charged forward to meet him.
Sparks flew as Baltar’s knife clashed with Han Xiao’s mecha arm.
In the moment that they passed each other, Baltar bent down and aimed a kick at Han Xiao’s knee with his foot. To trip the enemy from behind was an extremely effective tactic that Han Xiao had learnt from Hila, and, unfortunately for Baltar, Han Xiao had anticipated the move. Seemingly with superhuman reflexes, Han Xiao swung the entire mecha arm back to smash into Baltar’s foot.
Baltar’s foot was fractured by the blow. He crumpled to the gruond.
-87!
The Mechanical Arm had a power level of 38. Added onto Han Xiao’s own power level, the might of blow was already at the level of an E-grade Superhuman. It had essentially doubled Han Xiao’s damage.
Han Xiao estimated Baltar to have a max HP of 300. Coupled with that destructive blow from earlier on, Han Xiao knew that he was probably at half health already.
Baltar was indeed extremely weakened. However, he endured the pain and continued to attack. Unfortunately, his actions had grown dull, and Han Xiao easily caught his arm.
“Impossible… How could I… You…”
Baltar howled indignantly as he struggled to break free from the grip of the mecha arm.
Suddenly, the world before him darkened as Han Xiao wrapped the mecha arm around his head and slammed him into the wall.
Splat!
Baltar was no more.
Han Xiao dragged the already unrecognizable Baltar against the wall.
“Sorry, I lied. I didn’t crush your throat. Why don’t you get up so I can do it properly?”
Baltar did not reply, not that he could.
_____________________
You have killed Baltar, Vice-commander of the Valkyrie Lab, gaining 1,500 experience!
Team A and Team B arrived at the gruesome scene on the second floor.
“Vice-commander Baltar has been killed‽”
“What exactly happened here?”
“Where’s the enemy?”
“Why is the surveillance room not responding‽”
“Inform Professor Lin Wei Xian immediately!”
“Team C has discovered Professor Lin Wei Xian’s body!”
“Oh my god…”
All the guards gasped in fear. Was all of this really done by Zero alone? All the commanders were either out or dead, and they realized that there was no one left to give them orders.
“Wasn’t he brainwashed already‽ Has he been planning this from the very start?”
The thought of it sent chills down their spines; Han Xiao could have taken their lives anytime he wanted!
“Don’t panic. There’s only one enemy. Proceed with a sweep of the facility. Fire at will. Team A will head to the armory, Team B, check out the surveillance room. Team C, go protect the laboratory. Team D, fortify the main gate. If Zero wants to escape he’ll have to go there. Now, go!”
The Team A leader rose up to the occasion to give the orders.
There were a total of sixty guards in the base grouped into four teams. Usually, they were scattered, but this was an emergency.
Unfortunately, Han Xiao was reading them like a book.
Bang!
A loud crash came from above, and the entire facility started to tremble.
“What’s going on‽” asked the panicked Team A leader through his intercom.
The sound of gunfire intermixed with panicked yelling could be heard from the other end.
“Team C has encountered the enemy in the lab. I repeat, Team C has encountered the enemy in the lab. Damn it! Zero set the lab on fire with a grenade!”
“Where did he get the grenade from‽”
The Team A leader was both enraged and horrified. His team had been standing guard outside the armory, but they had seen no one the entire time.
“Send reinforcements quickly! Which team is nearest?”
“Team B is also at basement 3. The surveillance room has been wiped. We’re coming over right now!”
…
In Basement 3, Han Xiao was hiding behind a corner near the laboratory while the fire raged within. He had used three hand grenades to set the lab on fire. Presently, there were a dozen guards from Team C that had suspected his presence and were advancing on him.
After his battle with Baltar, Han Xiao had not headed for the main gate immediately. Instead, he had gone back down to basement 3, predicting that the guards would conduct a sweep of the facility from the top.
Since it was no longer possible to sneak out as he had planned, Han Xiao had to change his tactics. Here in the laboratory at basement 3 was where all the Valkyrie data was stored, making it one of the key areas of the entire facility. He knew that setting it ablaze would cause the enemy to panic.
I still have 77 bullets and 5 custom grenades.
Han Xiao reevaluated his inventory before peeking out from the corner for just an instant. Bullets were fired almost instantly.
Twelve guards. Three N9 submachine guns, Nine 73-WASP handguns. I’m outclassed in firepower.
Han Xiao’s mind raced. It had been a minute since he set the laboratory on fire. Team B would arrive within three minutes, so he did not have much time left. Han Xiao knew all of this because he had been eavesdropping on a stolen intercom.
Everything had happened so suddenly that the guards did not stop to consider this possibility.
Han Xiao tossed out a grenade, causing the Team C guards to frantically jump for cover.
Bang!
Han Xiao used the smoke of the blast to sneak up onto the nearest guard. He gave him a mecha punch in the stomach, crippling him.
“Shoot! Quickly! Shoot!”
The other guards resumed shooting. Han Xiao yanked the poor guard up to use as a shield, and while this did not stop them from shooting, Han Xiao was able to close the distance, and he swiftly dispatched of another three guards.
The remaining Team C guards scattered further back to pull apart from him. Han Xiao rolled and ducked as he closed in on them. The mecha arm’s durability plummeted as bullets rained upon it. As Han Xiao evaded, he pulled out his handgun to return fire and scored three more kills.
Suddenly, Han Xiao grimaced.
_____________________
You have been shot in your right arm by a 73-WASP! 17 damage taken!
You have been inflicted with a gun wound! You are now bleeding (light), and will lose 1 HP every second for 15 seconds. Quickly bandage your wound!
You have been shot in your left leg by an N9-SMG! 21 damage taken!
You have been inflicted with a gun wound! You are now bleeding (light), and will lose 1 HP every second for 15 seconds. Quickly bandage your wound!
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If not for Baltar’s ‘training’, he would definitely not be able to endure the pain.
Han Xiao grit his teeth and threw out another grenade.
Bang!
The blast of the grenade caused Han Xiao’s ears to ring in pain. He growled it off and proceeded with his onslaught.
One minute later, Team C no longer existed. Han Xiao proceeded to bandage his wounds. He had lost 110 HP – more than a third of his max HP.
“A head-on assault is too costly. If only I had active skills…”
“Team C, Team C, please respond. What’s the situation?” asked a guard over the intercom.
Han Xiao pinched his throat and replied, “Cough, cough. Team C has suffered heavy losses. We have trapped the target inside the lab. The target has been shot. Please send reinforcements quickly!”
He then picked a submachine gun on the floor and casually sprayed it to create the illusion of a fierce battle.
“Roger that. Please hold on. Team B is on the way!”
The guard did not doubt him at all. As Han Xiao’s silent act was deeply ingrained in their minds, the idea that he could employ such tactics simply did not occur to them.
Han Xiao proceeded to tie his three remaining hand grenades together and hung them on the door of the laboratory. He then hid behind a desk and loaded three submachine guns before firing his handgun multiple times to create the illusion of a crossfire.
Footsteps approached and the door was kicked opened.
Kaboom!
As soon as the guards began to scream, Han Xiao rushed forward under the cover of the smoke and stuck two SMGs out of the door to open fire onto either side. Although vision was limited, Han Xiao could hear his shots landing, and when he had emptied his clip, the guards were no longer making any sound.
The standard tactic to attack a room was for one person to kick the door while the others hid on either side. As the guards in the base were not an elite squad, Han Xiao had known that they would employ this tactic. Although most of Team B had been lucky to survive the first round of grenades, they were unable to hide from the ensuing storm of bullets.
His interface lit up like crazy.
When the smoke cleared, Han Xiao saw that three guards remained. When they saw Han Xiao emerge from the room, their eyes grew wide with shock and fear.
Is this really that dim-witted Zero‽
Han Xiao fired three consecutive shots to finish them off.
“What was that explosion? What’s going on‽” Team A’s leader shouted through the intercom.
Han Xiao randomly picked up several scattered guns and fired them around casually.
“Team B is under ambush! We are engaged with the enemy in the experiment lab. Requesting assistance! Requesting assistance!”
“Team A is coming right now!” Something seemed off about the entire situation to him, but he could not figure out what.
It was only when they reached basement 3 did the Team A leader finally realize what was bothering him, and he hurriedly ordered, “All guards, listen up. Zero might have infiltrated our comms. From now on, only take orders from me!”
It suddenly became apparent that Zero could be baiting them. After all, they hadn’t heard of any other Team B member speaking since then.
An unbelievable notion occurred to the Team A leader; did Zero already wipe out both Team B and Team C?
The notion caused him to shiver.
If that was what had happened, it would mean that Zero had wiped out over half of the entire base’s guards alone! Although he was unwilling to believe the idea, everything pointed to the fact that it indeed what had happened!
Was Zero baiting them? Or was he trying to divide them while he made a run for the main gate?
“Team D, any abnormalities at the main gate?” he asked through the intercom.
“None yet.”
The Team A leader sighed a breath of relief. He couldn’t let Zero play them for a fool any longer. The situation at present was already extremely bad. He knew that hoping to kill Zero now was no longer realistic, and that he had to inform Hila ASAP.
“Team A, listen up. Return to the main gate right now!”
He decided it would be better to gather all the remaining people to fortify the main gate. There, they could simply wait for reinforcements. This was the plan that appeared safest and surest to him.
No matter what Zero’s aim was, his fate would be sealed as long as he had nowhere to run!
Team A retraced their steps to join up with Team D at the main gate.
“Teams B and C have most likely been eliminated. I’m going to call for reinforcements. Guard the exit.”
The Team A leader glanced at the present members.
There were 31 of them. With 31 guns directed at the corridor, the second Zero appeared he would be torn to shreds.
However, he suddenly realized that something was off… Hold on a second, shouldn’t there only be 30 of us?
Beep beep!
The security panel flashed green as the gates suddenly opened.
As the guards turned back to look, their jaws dropped. There was a man who was wearing the same uniform as them at the gate. The man began to whistle as he pushed his cap up with a finger to reveal his face. It was none other than Han Xiao.
“Bye bye.” He waved before abruptly pulling the manual lever and rolling out as the gate clamped down.
The guards continued staring at the gate in disbelief.
The veins on Team A’s leader’s temples bulged.
“When did Zero blend in with us‽”
On the other side, Han Xiao rejoiced.
I’ve finally escaped!
Han Xiao stretched as he basked in the sunlight. The sight of the clear sky seemed to evaporate all his worries. It was roughly 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and Han Xiao could discern the silhouettes of several moons in the sky. Some of them were even close enough for their craters to be observed!
Han Xiao took a deep breath. The crisp air was reinvigorating.
Since the start, Han Xiao had never planned on taking all the guards head-on. Even though the guards had already been weakened, it might not even matter if he were able to kill them all since they could put the entire facility in lockdown at any point!
Then, his expression would not be that much different from the guards on the other side of the gate.
After impersonating a Team B member to bait out Team A, Han Xiao had searched around for a relatively clean set of uniform to change into before concealing himself underneath the stairway.
The guards had failed to notice him joining their ranks as they had been panicking.
As such, Han Xiao was safely ‘escorted’ to the entrance where, while they let their guard down, he had crept towards the gate, and the rest is now history.
It had been a huge gamble. If anything had gone awry, he would have been torn to shreds by dozens of guns. Han Xiao would rather not have had to rely on this risky plan. However, Baltar had ruined his original plan, leaving him with no choice but to do so. It was a 50/50 all-in gamble, but there was no other choice.
Han Xiao found himself in the middle of an abandoned farm. He noticed the trails of several vehicles and traced them back to a garage where there were several all-terrain vehicles. Conveniently, their keys were all slotted in.
Reinforcements might appear any moment. I need to leave ASAP.
His escape was far from over. The Organization definitely would not let him off so easily.
Han Xiao threw his backpack into the passenger seat and got into the driver’s seat.
He ignited the engine and stepped on the gas pedal, intending to leave immediately. He ran the vehicle over the electric fence and headed into the forest.
As Han Xiao knew nothing about the geography of the area, he would have to bet it all on following one direction.
…
On the Black Harrier helicopter, Hila noticed her phone ringing.
“Who?” she answered, irritated.
“Commander Hila, there’s a situation. Zero has gone rogue. He’s killed Vice-commander Baltar, Professor Lin Wei Xian, and over 30 guards. He’s also destroyed all the Valkyrie records in the base…”
The Team A leader was dispirited. They were definitely going to be punished for having been useless—that went without saying. However, he still had to swallow the bitter pill and contact the commander as they were all trapped and needed someone to deactivate the lockdown.
Hila frowned.
“Are you kidding me? I personally conducted his brainwashing! How could he have survived the procedure? Has he been fooling even me?” she wondered.
Hila immediately contacted the boss to relay the news.
“Turn back right now and give chase,” ordered the boss, enraged.
“But my sister—” Hila began to argue.
“Shut up. You have no right to bargain with me.”
Hila glowered as she reluctantly ordered the pilot, “Return to base!”
“Commander Hila, the helicopter needs to land to refuel first.”
“Step on it.”
The Night Owl Squad had also received the order to return.
No. 1 was livid with rage at the guards’ pitiful appearances.
“There are sixty of you and you can’t even stop one person! Are there spies here‽”
He was unable to believe that Han Xiao could have escaped alone, not when it was impossible for himself.
The guards were terrified by his accusation. No one dared to betray the organization, and for good reason. However, they were demoralized and unable to talk back. They did secretly hope that Han Xiao could escape as it would help their case.
“That’s enough. The boss ordered us to hunt him down,” interrupted Silver Blade coldly.
“Hold on, the test subject team will follow,”
No. 1 was now rattled by Han Xiao’s combat prowess, and this frustrated him. He felt like he needed to defeat Han Xiao in order to prove his worth to the organization.
…
Night had fallen, and the night sky was decorated by numerous blue moons.
Each planet in Galaxy had a different kind of landscape and environment. In Han Xiao’s previous life, there existed players who specialized in galactic tourism. They would sell albums of beautiful scenery and landscape from across the universe.
Unfortunately, the thick canopy blocked out nearly all the moonlight, making it hard for Han Xiao to see, much less enjoy the night view.
Han Xiao drove carefully, fearful of crashing into a tree. The darkness was extremely disadvantageous for him. Not only was he unable to move quickly, the sound of his engine could also expose his location.
It’s really bad to drive at night. I’d better walk.
He stopped the car and turned off the engine, deciding to abandon it.
The silence in the forest began to set in, and he noticed that the shadows around him resembled ghostly figures.
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You have obtained Combat Biscuit x5, Mineral Water x3.
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Han Xiao found some ration and water in the boot of the car. He stored them inside his bag and continued on foot. As he was unable to do anything about the trail that his car had left, he could only change his direction slightly to throw off any pursuers.
The night was his cloak.
Although Han Xiao was completely exhausted, and his stamina was almost depleted, he did not dare to stop for a break.
Suddenly, Han Xiao heard the sound of engines coming from behind. He instantly sought for shelter behind a tree before peeking out to see 3 sets of flickering headlights about 300 meters away.
He was about to creep towards a safer location when suddenly, a gunshot pierced the night.
Han Xiao’s danger sense tingled, and he threw himself onto the ground. Something grazed past his shoulder. He turned to see that the bullet had narrowly missed him to pierce a tree ten meters away.
The three vehicles stopped, and 6 men alighted. They were were none other than Night Owl Squad 3. The person who had fired was Silver Blade.
Six Cyclopes‽ Han Xiao was momentarily taken aback by their appearance. Those are night vision goggles!
Han Xiao cursed his luck.
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You have been grazed by an SWP sniper rifle! 18 damage taken!
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Holy cow. Even though it was just a graze, it did as much damage as a direct shot from a handgun!
_____________________
You have entered combat and gained enemy information!
Night Owl Agent
Lv. 15
Classes: Lv. 10 Agent, Lv. 5 Elite Agent
Stats: 18 Strength, 15 Dexterity, 25 Endurance, 10 Intelligence, 3 MYS, 8 Charisma, 1 Luck
Energy: 0
Power Level: 40
Health: 350
Abilities:
Grinder: +100 Health
Pain Tolerance: Combat strength not affected by injury
Skills:
Lv. 4 Basic Combat
Lv. 5 Basic Shooting
Lv. 2 Precise Aim
Lv. 1 Sniper (Leader)
Equipment:
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SWP Sniper Rifle (High Caliber)
Grade: Common
Damage: 70-88
Fire Rate: 0.5/s
Ammo: 5 bullets per magazine
Power Level: 30
Prerequisite(s): Lv. 1 Sniper
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Thermal Night-vision Goggles
Grade: Common
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73-WASP Handgun
Grade: Common
Small Caliber Handgun
Damage: 28-35
Fire Rate: 1.1/s
Ammo: 10 bullets per magazine
Power Level: 13
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G-Grenade (3)
Deals 50-80 damage to all targets in a 20-meter radius. Has a chance to do bonus damage.
Power Level: 45
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Jackson Assault Rifle
Grade: Common
Assault Rifle
Damage: 36-42
Fire Rate (manual): 1.5/s
Fire Rate (continuous): 4/s
Maximum Fire Rate (burst): 10/s (3 seconds)
Ammo: 30 bullets per magazine
Power Level: 33
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Lightweight Kevlar Vest
Grade: Common
Defense: 10-12
Durability: 50
Metal Alloy Dagger
Grade: Common
Damage: 8-12
Length: 0.28m
_____________________
All six of them were elite agents, an advanced class. Although they were lower level than Han Xiao, they still had high stats, and were much better equipped.
Han Xiao’s face darkened.
Oh boy…
All that Han Xiao had in his arsenal was the enhanced 73-WASP handgun, an N9 Colt Assault Rifle, 15 magazines of ammo, and the Lightweight Mecha Arm whose durability had been reduced to 130. He was essentially outmatched in terms of equipment.
Bang!
The sniper rifle was fired again. The bullet pierced through the tree he was hiding behind, narrowly missing him. Han Xiao groaned. While the enemy had night-vision, he could only attempt to make out their position from the muzzle flashes.
The sniper rifle was too powerful. With his current health, it would probably take only 3 shots to kill him. Han Xiao decided to put the 18 unassigned stat points at his disposal to use. He added 14 points into Endurance for additional health and 4 into Strength to bolster his Strength advantage. Engaging in a shootout would only be disadvantageous, so even though close combat was risky, he had to take the chance. It was virtually impossible to run away since the enemy had night vision. The only way to make it out now was to kill them all!
With the +10 bonus from the Mechanical Arm on top of his 29 Strength, Han Xiao had enough Strength to ensure that his blows would proc ‘overwhelming blows’. With 36 points in Endurance, he now had a max HP of 460. He had instantly gained 140 HP from adding Endurance, which was crucial as Han Xiao was already low on health. His current HP was now close to 400, which was much more optimistic than before.
The agents were fanning out to surround him, and Han Xiao noticed that they were not very closely coordinated.
He estimated that it would take around 5 to 8 seconds for them to reach each other to help.
In other words, Han Xiao had to be sure to finish off his target in this short amount of time.
Having killed over 30 guards in the Valkyrie base, Han Xiao was now sitting on 116,000 experience points.
He dumped all of it into his combat skills.
_____________________
[Grappling] has been raised to Lv. 5
+7% Counter, +10% Damage (bare-handed)
[Basic Combat] has been raised to Lv. 8
+8% Damage (bare-handed)
As [Basic Combat] has reached Lv. 8 and [Submission] has reached Lv. 3, you may learn one of these three advanced skills:
[Special Ops Combat]
[Jiu-jitsu]
[Iron Fist]
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Special Ops focused on explosiveness, assassination, and usage of tools; Jiu-jitsu focused on grappling and submission; Iron Fist focused on strengthening the limbs and improving one’s tolerance to taking damage. They were three very different styles of skills. What Han Xiao needed now was explosiveness, so he chose [Special Ops Combat].
_____________________
You have learnt the advanced skill [Special Ops Combat]
+6% Crit Rate (melee), +4% Damage (bare-handed)
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Han Xiao’s melee damage was now increased by 15%, and his overall combat ability was also boosted considerably. Not only did he feel much stronger than before, he had a mysterious feeling that he had somehow acquired mastery over several fighting styles.
It’s a pity that I still don’t have any active energy-based combat skills, thought Han Xiao. As Mechanics had very few active skills in their earlier levels, they couldn’t make much use of their Energy.
Han Xiao put on the Lightweight Mecha Arm and crouched down. He took a few moments to regulate his breathing and optimize his oxygen flow before suddenly springing forward and charging towards the agent closest to him on the flank. As soon as Han Xiao showed himself, the 6 agents opened fire.
With the mecha arm as his shield, Han Xiao weaved through the trees to evade the rain of metal while returning fire with the SMG in his other hand. The smell of gunpowder was overbearing.
In 3 seconds, Han Xiao came within range of his target. He threw the SMG at the agent’s gun hand as a distraction before swinging the mighty mecha arm at him. The agent raised his arms in reflex to block the blow and endured the pain to draw his handgun. He aimed at Han Xiao’s head and fired, but Han Xiao’s Dexterity was not just for show. With seemingly inhuman reflexes, Han Xiao clipped his arm over the agent’s gun hand and tugged down to make him lose balance and buckle forward before proceeding to ruthlessly smash his knee up into his groin.
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You have dealt a fatal blow! 2x Critical Hit! Your target is stunned for 2 seconds!
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Although the agent’s expression was covered by his goggles, his painful scream was telling of the blow’s effectiveness. Han Xiao took advantage of his temporary immobility to knee him again and again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
-78! -81! -84!
Sorry brother, I know it must hurt a lot, but I’m not the one who decided not to include groin protection in your armour!
The agent’s HP plummeted and Han Xiao finished him off by ripping into his throat with the Mechanical Arm. Before Han Xiao could celebrate his first kill, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He hurriedly dropped to the ground and dragged the agent’s body over him as a shield while he crawled towards a tree for cover.
_____________________
You have been shot by an SWP Sniper Rifle! 68 Damage taken!
You have been shot by a high caliber bullet! You are now bleeding (medium)! You will lose 3 HP every second for 15 seconds.
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The pain caused Han Xiao’s face to pale. Just a single shot had taken out one whole chunk of his health bar. Unfortunately, he could not afford the time to bandage the wound.
“Damn it!” The remaining five Night Owl agents were enraged that Han Xiao had killed their comrade. They rapidly closed in as they fired, cornering Han Xiao.
Han Xiao quickly searched through the agent’s body and put on his Kevlar Vest. It would do well to block one or two shots. More importantly, however, he found three G-fragment grenades, one of which he immediately tossed out.
Kaboom!
The agents had to stop shooting as they frantically ducked for cover.
“Shoot more, assholes!” yelled Han Xiao furiously as he threw out a second grenade, causing the five agents to scramble back to the ground just as they were about to get up.
After the blast, a third black object was flung out in the air, and the five agents subconsciously crouched down once more. However, when there was no explosion after two seconds had passed, they looked up to see that it was just a piece of rock.
Meanwhile, Han Xiao was already charging towards the next agent while firing his assault rifle wildly. Although Han Xiao managed to kill the agent who was seeking cover in the grass, he was now out of ammo.
Han Xiao tossed the rifle away and threw the third grenade, buying himself some time to get in range. As he rammed into the third agent, knocking him down, a shot from Silver Blade’s assault rifle clipped him in the calf.
Han Xiao grimaced. The calf injury affected his movement speed, so Han Xiao decided to jump into the agent he had knocked down, causing them to tumble together out of the other agents’ line of sight where he made short work of him behind a tree. The agents simply stood no chance against him at close combat.
But there were still three agents left! Although the odds were against him and he had lost half of his HP, Han Xiao remained calm and spent some time to plan his next move.
“The enemy will probably…”
Meanwhile, Silver Blade was in complete disbelief. He had vastly underestimated the test subject, resulting in their number being halved.
“Bomb him!” he ordered.
They threw grenades
Kaboom!
“Is he dead?”
“Stay cautious,” replied Silver Blade as he and the other two agents slowly approached.
When they reached the tree, they noticed that there was a burnt corpse on the ground. From what remained of its uniform, it appeared to have been Han Xiao.
“Finally.” The two agents lowered their guns and relaxed.
“No!” shouted Silver Blade all of a sudden. “Get down!”
Before the two agents could react, a gunshot was fired! However, the gunshot was not intended for either of them! Instead, it was aimed at the corpse, or more precisely, the three grenades that were planted on it!
As they were at point blank range, the two agents were instantly engulfed by the blast and bombarded with shrapnel.
_____________________
You have dealt 60 Damage to the enemy! x8
You have killed a Night Owl Agent! 1500 EXP gained! x2
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Han Xiao rose up weakly from a patch of tall grass. He was heavily injured, bleeding, and almost out of stamina. Fatigue was setting in, and it was taking him all the willpower and focus that he could muster just to keep his eyes open.
He had managed to survive the previous blast with 50 HP left by using the agent’s corpse as a meat shield, after which he had dressed the corpse in his clothes and planted the grenades. Only Silver Blade had been vigilant enough to escape his trap.
Han Xiao limbs were shaking uncontrollably, and he couldn’t even see properly due to the blood blurring his vision.
Suddenly, a black figure darted towards him.
“You asked for it!” howled an enraged Silver Blade as he thrust a knife forward.
…
The searchlight from a Black Harrier helicopter was illuminating the forest. Hila jumped down from the aircraft into what seemed like the aftermath of a fierce battle.
The test subject squad had already arrived and were collecting blood samples. No. 1 was standing silently with clenched fists.
The sight of the six agents’ bodies stunned Hila for a few moments.
As unbelievable as it seemed, Zero had eliminated Night Owl Squad 3 and escaped!
She crouched down to examine the bodies, and was able to deduce that one had died by gunshot, two by explosion, and three in melee combat.
Silver Blade’s entire lower body had been pulverized, and there were shards of glass from his night vision goggles embedded in his eyes. He had clearly been done in by someone much more powerful than him!
How could Zero have become so strong all of a sudden? Even if he had been hiding his true capabilities the entire time, Zero had only been training for at most half a year! It was simply inconceivable that he could take on the Night Owl Squad that comprised of veteran elite agents.
“Could he have awoken superpowers like I did?”
Hila regretted not having kept a closer eye on Han Xiao. Perhaps, she thought, she could have prevented all of this.
Also, Zero had chosen to escape on the same day that she had happened to be away. Was it luck, or had he planned it all?
“Their equipment is missing, but we managed to find this,” reported one of the agents as he showed the mecha arm to Hila.
The mecha arm was drenched in blood, and there was a knife sticking out of its engine.
“Bring it back.”
…
One day later, a large number of Germinal personnel arrived at the Valkyrie base to salvage any remaining surveillance footage and gather clues. The boss himself also came.
The boss of the Germinal Organization wore a black coat, black mask, black gloves… well, he was essentially covered in black from head to toe, and looked like he had come right out of ‘Detective Conan’. Only five people in the entire organization had ever seen his face.
“Where is Zero?” he asked plainly.
“We failed to track him,” answered No. 1 through clenched teeth. “If I have more time…”
The boss abruptly raised a hand in dismissal. No. 1 immediately stopped blabbering.
The boss was in an extremely bad mood. Just a few days ago, he had dismissed Zero as a piece of trash, and this ‘piece of trash’ had managed to escape while taking out so many of his men.
“Thirty armed guards killed, all the research destroyed, and one elite squad wiped. On top of that, he killed Lin Wei Xian and escaped? Are you kidding me‽” he yelled at his men.
“I want to know when he turned and how he got so strong.”
A researcher hastily replied, “We have come up with a theory after going through his records.”
“Go on.”
“Zero’s behavior and actions before and after the experiment are strikingly different. According to the original reports from his capture, Zero’s original identity was Xiao Han, the third son of the Alumera family’s second-in-charge.”
This was shocking news even to the boss himself. The Alumera family were a powerful warring clan allied with the country of Theus.
Test subjects captured for experimentation were usually criminals or stragglers. How did someone with such background end up in their hands?
“The son of the Alumera’s second-in-charge? How?”
“According to our investigations, Xiao Han was the most ungifted among his siblings. Not only was he unable to awaken any energy, he was extremely incapable at leadership and weak-minded,” answered the researcher as he flipped through his report. “Our agents stumbled across him in the wreckage of a battle. He had been following his elder brother, Xiao Hai, on a transport mission when they were ambushed by an enemy.”
“Continue.”
“At the time, Xiao Hai was in command of the team, and the assailants’ true aim was not the goods that they were transporting, but he himself. He was the most promising of his siblings, and was more or less guaranteed to succeed his father’s position. According to our intel, the ambush was an inside job. Someone within the family wanted to get rid of him.”
“During the ambush, Xiao Hai forced Xiao Han to swap clothes with him and he used him as bait. In the end, while Xiao Han was hit by a cannon, Xiao Hai managed to escape to safety.”
“Since when was our network that well-informed?” frowned the boss.
“Erm… Xiao Hai did not bother to hide the truth, including the fact that he used Xiao Han as bait.”
“The circumstances of Xiao Han’s death did not hurt Xiao Hai’s standing in the family. At the time, the second-in-charge even said that Xiao Hai had done well. As you know, the Alumera family values power above all. A burden like Xiao Han meant nothing to them. Even his siblings did not mourn his death.”
Han Xiao’s past existence was like a roadside flower that everyone trampled over without notice.
The boss laughed coldly.
“The weak do indeed deserve no sympathy. Enough of his past. Tell me what happened during the 6 months.”
“We think that the Valkyrie experiment triggered a change within his body—a change greater than we could have imagined. It did not just unlock his talent for machinery; what it did was enhance his intelligence. We think that he has been planning his escape from the very start!”
“Are you saying that the brainwash did not work on him?” interrupted Hila.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
Hila frowned.
The researcher continued, “How is it possible for a subject with no memories to develop his own will? The only explanation seems to be that Valkyrie helped him to regain his memories. However, since he was never a gifted person to begin with, Valykrie must have also awakened some kind of hidden strength within him.”
“Are you sure?” asked the leader coldly.
“Not absolutely…” admitted the researcher. It was simply conjecture after all. Who the hell could be sure.
No. 1 couldn’t help but butt in. “Was he just luck—”
The boss instantly silenced him with a stare.
“Oh right. The guards also brought back this mecha arm that he used,” added the researcher. “Although the craftsmanship of the arm itself is not very refined, I must say that it is quite a revolutionary concept. It seems like this mecha arm played a huge part in his escape. The weapons development department would like to replicate this model for development.”
Finally, thought the boss, something good to hear.
“Funds are not an issue. I just want results.”
The researcher nodded, continuing. “No matter what, Zero’s cunning and talents make him a dangerous person. He has high research value. Whether dead or alive, obtaining his body will undoubtedly help us in perfecting Valkyrie.”
While the researchers were all terrified of Han Xiao as he could have killed them anytime he wanted, they were, after all, men of science.
No. 1 frowned.
From the moment that he was created, he knew that he had a predecessor. This fact alone caused him to identify Han Xiao as an enemy. However, just when he thought that he had surpassed Han Xiao, reality hit him like a truck.
“Before determining the exact factor behind the drug’s effects, cease all experimentation. Round up all the test subjects once more for another round of brainwashing. I don’t want another Zero to appear,” ordered the boss.
No. 1’s eyes widened in disbelief. He felt that his loyalty to the organization was being doubted.
“I wish to lead a team to pursue Zero!” he burst out.
The boss looked at No. 1 as he contemplated. He did indeed have high expectations for the test subject squad.
“Can you do it?”
“I will definitely succeed!” declared No. 1.
“Fine. Bring Zero back—dead or alive!”
Seven days later, somewhere in a radiant, glowing forest, a frail-looking man was still trying to find his way out of the seemingly endless woods.
Han Xiao needed food and water desperately. His backpack was bulging but only with equipment.
Seven days ago, he had defeated Silver Blade with relative ease by sacrificing the mecha arm.
Losing it was not that big of a deal though, as Han Xiao still had the blueprints and could always craft another.
Although the forest was not an ideal place for recovery, Han Xiao’s high Endurance gave him resistance to wound infection. Still, he did have to withstand the pain of digging out the bullets inside him. The pain from extracting the sniper bullet lodged in his shoulder blade, in particular, had been so excruciating that it had immobilized Han Xiao for almost an hour.
At the very least, he was lucky to have not encountered any wild beasts, although he did catch a few hares. The wild beasts on Planet Aquamarine were extremely ferocious, and some of them were even intelligent. In Galaxy, they occasionally attacked human cities. Some beasts, like the amphibious orca elephant, were so massive that conventional weaponry was completely ineffective against them.
Although Han Xiao knew the geography of Planet Aquamarine well, it wasn’t really of much use to him when he did not know where exactly he was. Han Xiao would sleep on top of trees at night, and if the past seven nights had taught him anything, it was that mosquitoes were the most detestable creatures in the world.
Will I ever get out of this forest?
As if in answer to his prayers, a wanderers’ encampment soon appeared in Han Xiao’s sights.
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s expression changed and he jumped backwards abruptly. In the same instant that he had reacted, a huge net sprung up from beneath the sand. It was embedded with shards of metal.
“The bastard dodged!”
A long-haired young man carrying a shotgun walked out from behind a tree. His clothes were ragged and patched with animal skin.
“Stand still!” he shouted.
The young man was most likely one of the residents from the encampment, and Han Xiao, not wishing to create unnecessary trouble, held his hands up above his head.
“I’m just a passerby.”
“A passerby?”
Han Xiao’s bulging backpack caught the young man’s eye.
“What’s in the bag? Take everything out! ”
Han Xiao sighed. No wonder the trap was so big; it was precisely meant to catch people. Morals are always blurred in times of trouble. Most wanderers were surviving citizens of the old countries who opted not to join the Six Nations. As life in the wild was harsh, killing and stealing might have been frowned upon, but they were inevitable occurrences.
“Are you deaf? I said, take everything out!” yelled the long-haired young man as he walked forward to hit Han Xiao on the forehead with the butt of his shotgun.
Han Xiao was exasperated. The only contents in his backpack were guns, ammo, and equipment that belonged to the Germinal Organisation. How was he going to explain that?
“Do you not understand me? Want me to screw you up‽”
The long-haired young man cocked the shotgun threateningly.
Suddenly, Han Xiao threw an elbow into the chest of the unsuspecting young man, sending him flying back in shock. Han Xiao grabbed the shotgun from him out of mid-air.
The young man landed heavily on the ground, and he clutched his chest in terror as he scrambled to crawl away.
Han Xiao cut out some rope from the trap and tied the whimpering young man to a tree.
When he examined the shotgun, he realized that its barrel was outright crooked and shook his head. At the very least, it implied that the young man had never killed before and that he had only been acting.
Nonetheless, the young man was so terrified that when he saw it in Han Xiao’s hand, he panicked even more.
“Big brother, please spare me! Forgive me for not recognizing Mt. Tai.”
Han Xiao slapped him squarely on the face, reprimanding, “So, you know that you were wrong‽”
“I was wrong. I was wrong,” blurted the young man shamelessly.
“Why?”
The young man thought for a moment before carefully answering, “I… should have brought one more gun?”
Han Xiao burst into laughter.
“You’re a funny one, eh?”
“Please show me mercy, Mr. Saint. Just let me go as if you’re passing wind,” sobbed the young man with dripping tears.
“Get lost! I’ve never passed such a big wind before.”
Han Xiao raised the shotgun and struck the young man across his face to knock him out cold. At the end of the day, the young man was most likely a resident of the encampment, and Han Xiao still needed to obtain food and water from them.
“Count yourself lucky.”
Half an hour later, Han Xiao finally reached the encampment. His appearance seemed to unsettle the wanderers.
Life in the wild was full of perils, and wanderers were often unwelcoming to outsiders. Their way of life was similar to that of the gypsies, and they were frequently on the go. There were pick-up trucks lined up outside the tent. Most of them were rusty and some didn’t even have exteriors.
Han Xiao noticed that there were only a few dozen tents, making this community a relatively small one. Nevertheless, it was a miniature society in its own, and Han Xiao located the camp’s merchant: a bearded westerner who conducted his business by his pick-up truck.
“Outsider?” The bearded man raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know the rules?” he asked.
“What rules?”
“Barter trading only.”
Well, that’s just fine , thought Han Xiao, since I don’t have a single penny.
“I want a map, three buckets of water, and five kilos of food. Bread or dried meat will do.” said Han Xiao as he retrieved a handful of bullets from his bag and put them on the truck.
“I’ll pay with this.”
“Gunpowder?”
The bearded merchant’s eyes flashed with greed.
Gunpowder was extremely valuable among wanderers as hunting was a key source of food.
“150 bullets,” stated the bearded merchant.
Han Xiao’s face darkened.
Daylight robbery!
The items he had asked for were basic necessities. There was no way that they could be worth so much.
Han Xiao’s bronze bullets were high-quality bullets that could easily go for $10 apiece, yet the merchant was asking for 150 of them, equivalent to $1,500!
“Up to you,” added the merchant nonchalantly as he turned his attention to his fingernails.
As Han Xiao desperately needed food and water, he gave in to the merchant’s demand.
Sighing, he aligned 150 bullets on the back of the truck.
Suddenly, the big bearded man waved a finger.
“180.”
Han Xiao glared at him.
“Ohoho! Such scary eyes. Do you want to kill me or something? Quickly, people, come and see! This man wants to kill me!”
Dozens of wanderers gathered around in an instant. Some of them even came with sticks and bats.
“This is our territory. Are you trying to be funny kid?”
“Okay, okay. 180 bullets. Fuck me.”
Han Xiao hastily threw out more bullets in case he jacked the price up further.
The merchant laughed shrewdly and sent someone to fetch the goods.
After confirming the items, Han Xiao raised a middle finger at the merchant before turning around.
Suddenly, the merchant spoke.
“Hey, are you planning to walk out of the forest?”
“Why, you have a problem with that?”
“I have an old pickup. Want it?” asked the bearded merchant nicely.
“Not as though I can afford your price.” Han Xiao shot back.
“Oh, I think you can,” said the merchant as he pointed towards Han Xiao’s bag. “You have so many bullets. You must have many guns too.”
Han Xiao’s bag was indeed full of guns—high quality ones at that. He had looted from the Night Owl Squad. He even had the sniper rifle and some Kevlar vests. He could easily afford an old pickup.
However, Han Xiao shook his head.
A car would leave a trail. Han Xiao would rather not try racing a helicopter. Walking was safer.
Furthermore, if the Germinal Organization’s agents discovered their guns here, it would be disastrous not only for Han Xiao, but for the wanderers here as well. In some sense, it would be dishonest of him to sell them.
Although Han Xiao had recently killed a big number of people, it was not out of perverseness. It was to survive.
The merchant, however, was not an easily dissuaded person.
He was about to speak again when, suddenly, a man’s voice boomed out. “Kai Luo! You’re taking advantage of outsiders again!”
A well-built man clad in hunter’s clothes patched with animal skins appeared behind the crowd. As he strode forward to the centre of the crowd, everyone shifted to make way for him. The man seemed to command respect.
The big bearded merchant groaned.
“Hu Xuan Jun, I just painstakingly closed a deal. Don’t come and interfere!”
Hu Xuan Jun grabbed the bullets on the truck up and pushed them back into Han Xiao.
“The stuff you want isn’t actually worth much. Treat it as a gift. Here, take these back.”
Han Xiao was stunned by the man’s chivalry and stared at him in disbelief. The man was an extremely muscular Mongolian with white hair on the sides of his head, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle. He looked very much the part of a righteous man, and Han Xiao instantly warmed up to him.
“Hey, what about me?” interrupted Kai Luo.
“Isn’t it just some food? I’ll give you more tomorrow,” replied Hu Xuan Jun casually.
Kai Luo was frustrated. It wasn’t every day that a foreigner came by for him to make a quick buck.
“He who comes from afar is a guest. You look too frail to be travelling alone. Why not recuperate over at my house?”
Han Xiao hesitated. He did indeed need a proper place to recuperate. In any case, Hu Xuan Jun had given him a very good first impression, so he nodded.
As Han Xiao followed Hu Xuan Jun, the crowd scattered. Kai Luo fumed, but there was nothing that he could do. He did not dare to offend Hu Xuan Jun.
Hu Xuan Jun led Han Xiao to his tent. As he entered the tent, he shouted, “An, we have a guest today. Cook more.”
“Okay!” replied a woman’s voice..
Han Xiao followed behind Hu Xuan Jun into the tent. An was a woman who looked rather ordinary and wore a simple waist skirt. Han Xiao noticed that she was blind.
“This is my wife,” introduced Hu Xuan Jun with a smile.
“Nice to meet you,” greeted An as she faced the entrance. She then turned back to pick up crockery, dried meat, and wild vegetables and arranged them inside a simple clay oven in the center of the tent.
Han Xiao and Hu Xuan Jun sat down and chatted away.
After a while, Han Xiao became certain that Hu Xuan Jun did not have any ulterior motives; he was simply an extremely nice person.
“I noticed earlier that most of the people in your community are white. How did you end up with them?” asked Han Xiao.
There were four races of humans on Aquamarine: black, white, yellow, and shanu.
“There wasn’t any special reason for it. It just happened to be a chaotic time. I met some travelers by chance and decided to stay with them as An was sick at the time. Although we come from different countries and are of different races, we are all remnants of the old era, and have all experienced the loss of our countries. There isn’t a need for distinction. We are all human after all.”
Some of those who had lost their countries chose to join the Six Nations. Others opted to join the Germinal Organization. The rest could only become wanderers. Wanderers made up a third of the planet’s population.
Aquamarine used to have over a hundred nations, but that all changed when an advanced civilization came into contact with the planet. The idea of advancing humanity and stepping out into space sparked a movement for sustainability, and the idea of unifying countries gained some popularity. While it was indeed far-fetched to think that that alone could change the face of the entire planet, there were people in power who supported the idea and conspired behind the scenes to make it happen. Long story short, after numerous wars, negotiations, and all kinds of peaceful and non-peaceful efforts, all the countries were united into the Six Nations in the span of a few decades.
Many things that people had once thought to be irreplaceable were simply shove aside by the unstoppable tides of change, and many lives were sacrificed in the process.
Such is civilization. People are like the sediments in the river, destined to go with the flow.
While maintaining the status quo is always easy, revolution always comes with pain and suffering. When comparing individual gain to societal improvement, it is natural for people to favor the former. Truly selfless people are rare creatures, otherwise selflessness would not be seen as a virtue. Statements such as 'see, there are still good people in the world” are sad to hear.
Nevertheless, change had come too soon to Aquamarine.
“The Battle of Andrea was the nail in the coffin. Sometimes, I think about the way we took our lives for granted. I miss how life was peaceful back then. Who would have thought that change could come so suddenly? I mean, even if the planet’s resources do end up being depleted, wouldn’t that be in a few hundred years from now? Why do we have to answer for something like that?” lamented Hu Xuan Jun.
Han Xiao sighed empathetically.
“Who knows, perhaps it was inevitable. Societal strife was destined to reach a boiling point. Maybe short-term pain is better than long-term suffering.” Han Xiao shrugged.
The Battle of Andrea set the post-unification landscape of the planet in stone.
Andrea was the name of a continent, once home to several nations. As the war developed, Andrea had, for some reason, became the proxy of the conflict. It was as though all the countries had agreed to settle things there once and for all, as though they were trying to contain the scale of damage inflicted onto the planet. However, billions of lives were lost as a result.
By the time the war ended, all that remained of Andrea was a desolate land of scorched earth and withered trees. Its rivers were left blighted, and the once fertile, lush landscape was no more. The Six Nations simply packed up and left as soon as the battle ended, ignoring the destruction that they had caused.
Han Xiao noticed an old blister on Hu Xuan Jun’s palm.
“You used to be a soldier?” he asked.
“Yes, for over ten years.”
“I thought that remnants like yourself would choose to join the Germinal Organization.”
Hu Xuan Jun shook his head.
“My home country was peacefully annexed by Stardragon. Soldiers like me didn’t have any say. We simply follow the decision that our leaders made. I do detest the Six Nations, but the Germinal Organization is no better. They popped out of nowhere to take advantage of our hatred for the Six Nations. Sigh… I’m a simple man. All I want is to escape war.”
“War is cruel. My eyes were blinded by a flash grenade. My husband and I fled tirelessly before settling here. Even though life as a wanderer is not easy, it is better than war,” An chimed in.
As she finished speaking, the smell of meat filled up the tent, causing Han Xiao’s mouth to water.
“How do you cook without being able to see?” he asked.
An puffed her cheeks.
“Don’t look down on me! I might be blind, but I can still smell, hear, and feel! It’s not like I don’t have any limbs.”
Hu Xuan Jun smiled.
“She has a strong character. Won’t even let me take care of her.”
“I don’t want to be your baggage,” responded An meekly, prompting Hu Xuan Jun to scratch his head in embarrassment. He hurriedly changed the subject.
“Oh right, I’ll let you take a look at my baby.”
Hu Xuan Jun opened a storage box beside him to retrieve an old-fashioned gun.
“Let’s see if you know your guns,” he said proudly.
_____________________
Bayonet Musket (Old Era)
Grade: Average
Base Stats:
Damage: 38-40
Fire Rate: 0.9/s
Magazine Capacity: 20
Range: 200m Range
Power Output: 25
Durability: 5/300
Stat Bonus: +1 Dexterity
Length: 0.77m
Weight: 7.1kg
Additional Effects: Accurate
Remarks: This weapon has accompanied its master through countless battles.
_____________________
“It is a fine gun,” praised Han Xiao. “Even though it has been used for so long, you still keep it well polished. The barrel is perfect. Truly a well-made gun.”
“This gun is my partner. He’s been with me for close to ten years,” laughed Hu Xuan Jun. “It only looks new because I frequently oil it. The truth is that its workings have aged. It can’t be used anymore.”
The pair continued to chat until the sky darkened and An had finished cooking.
An had cooked a gigantic pot of creamy soup filled with tender meat and wild vegetables. Not only was it extremely fragrant and flavorful, it was also visually appetizing, and Han Xiao couldn’t help but drool.
Han Xiao gulped at the sight of the meat. He had had nothing good to eat for the past seven days! His closeness with Hu Jun Xuan was skyrocketing on the spot. +1! +1! +1!
After dinner, Hu Xuan Jun asked Han Xiao to stay for the night.
Han Xiao decided to stay since he did not intend to travel at night anyway. They laid a mattress for him and set up a partition.
“Your bag is too big. I’ll put it outside,” said An.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Before bringing his bag out, Han Xiao dismantled all the guns in his backpack to take out their triggers. He wrapped them in some animal skin that he got from Hu Jun Xuan and set the package in a corner.
Han Xiao also loaded up his 73-WASP and placed it under his pillow. Of course, he was not being weary of his warm hosts or anything like that. It was simply important always to be prepared and alert.
As soon as Han Xiao’s head hit the pillow, he instantly fell asleep.
His snoring could be heard through the curtain. Hu Xuan Jun laughed as he shook his head.
“Looks like he’s beat. Let’s not disturb him.”
An nodded and proceeded to take the cutlery outside to wash.
“Uncle, uncle! I’m famished!”
Suddenly, a disheveled young man entered the tent. His entire face was covered in mud, and there was a swollen bump on his head. It was none other than the young man that Han Xiao had encountered this afternoon.
He was Hu Xuan Jun’s nephew, Hu Fei.
“Where have you been all day? I didn’t see you at all,” questioned Hu Xuan Jun.
“I— I went out hunting,” stammered Hu Fei.
Hu Xuan Jun could tell that his nephew was lying. He pulled Hu Fei’s ear and began to scold him in a strict but soft voice, “Are you up to your pranks again‽ I told you that I would fucking chop them off if you took that broken shotgun to scare people again, didn’t I?”
Tears began to flow out of Hu Fei’s eyes as he filled up with indignance and pain. “Your nephew not only got bullied today, he was even tied to a tree for the entire day! I’m so tired and hungry, uncle, give me a break,” he thought.
“Please, uncle, don’t chop them off,” he bawled.
“Which leg do you want me to chop?”
“J-just don’t chop off my balls…”
“…”
“You and your dirty mind! Don’t worry, I’ll chop them off for you since that’s what you want!”
Hu Xuan Jun was about to raise a hand to slap Hu Fei when he remembered that Han Xiao was sleeping. He let Hu Fei off with a warning.
Noticing that there was someone else in the tent, Hu Fei peered beyond the partition to see who it was. When he saw Han Xiao, his jaw dropped.
‘Isn’t that the devil from this afternoon‽’
“What are you looking at? Tonight, you sleep outside,” Hu Xuan Jun suddenly whispered from his side.
Hu Fei gave a start and fell backwards. He quickly scrambled out of the tent on all fours, leaving Hu Xuan Jun bewildered.
‘Is my face that hideous?’
…
“Why am I running away from my own home? This is the perfect chance to get my revenge!” realized Hu Fei as he stopped in his tracks.
He proceeded to turn back to return to the tent, instantly changed his mind at the thought of Han Xiao’s scary face.
“Hu Fei, ah, Hu Fei, show some guts!”
As he began to formulate a plan he recalled that there was a package in the tent that he had never seen before.
“It must be his!”
…
Hu Fei waited until midnight, when everyone had gone to bed. He tiptoed into his own house and picked up the package.
“Hehe. What do we have here?”
When Hu Fei unfolded the package, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Guns!
High quality guns!
“I can’t take them all…”
Hu Fei picked out two 73-WASPs.
“Forget it. Since my uncle is playing host to you, I’ll only take two as compensation!”
He wrapped the remaining guns up and returned the package to its original position.
“It’s only two guns. He probably won’t notice.”
Han Xiao woke up the next morning fully recovered.
“Brother Han, you’re awake,” greeted Hu Xuan Jun, who was doing his morning exercises outside the tent.
Although Han Xiao was somewhat unwilling to bid farewell to the kindhearted couple, he knew that he had to leave.
“I am indebted to you. Unfortunately, I need to leave now. I will repay you in the future.”
“I’ve made some pancakes; you can eat them while traveling,” said An as she handed a small package over to Han Xiao.
The warmth from the pancakes flowed into Han Xiao’s hands, resonating with his heart.
“I slept well last night. Thank you for everything.”
“Ha ha. Don’t mention it. Just helping a brother in need,” replied Hu Xuan Jun sincerely.
Han Xiao went to gather his belongings. When he went to fetch the bundle of guns, he noticed that the leaf he had placed on it the night before had fallen off.
“Someone has touched my stuff.”
“That’s not possible!” Hu Xuan Jun was alarmed. “An and I didn’t—hold on! Hu Fei! Get your ass over here right now!”
Hu Fei, who had been eavesdropping from behind the tent, walked out.
“You again?”
Hu Fei averted his eyes to the ground.
Hu Xuan Jun kicked his nephew in the butt.
“Did you steal again? Hand it back right now!”
Hu Fei bit his lips and grudgingly took out a 73-WASP handgun from his clothes.
“Brother Han, do as you deem fit! This kid deserves a beating.”
“It’s okay. Everything is fine as long as I get the gun back. My guns will bring you misfortune,” Han Xiao sighed a breath of relief.
“May we be fated to meet again. Farewell,” bid Han Xiao.
“Take care,” nodded Hu Xuan Jun.
Han Xiao picked up his backpack and departed.
“I will never forget this kindness,” he thought to himself.
“Bastard’s finally gone,” rejoiced Hu Fei. “Hehe, he didn’t realize that I stole two guns.”
He slipped to the back of the tent where he had hidden the other handgun in a box.
“Even if he comes back, I just have to deny that I have it.”
“But… why does this gun have no trigger?”
…
The map that Han Xiao had obtained had been crudely drawn. However, Han Xiao was able to learn his current position from it and that sufficed.
He was currently in the country of Stardragon, and by his estimations, it would take him just three more days to reach the main road. There, he could hitch a ride to the city.
In the afternoon, Han Xiao found a spot to eat and replenish his stamina.
As he unpacked his guns to return them to his backpack, he suddenly discovered that something was amiss.
There seems to be a missing gun.
Han Xiao recounted to confirm his suspicions. He immediately dispelled any thoughts of lunch and hastily packed up to retrieve it.
…
No. 1 and his men arrived at the encampment right after Han Xiao had left. They rounded up the wanderers and were holding them at gunpoint.
“Has anyone seen this man?”
No. 1 projected a holographic face in mid-air using a device on his wrist.
It was none other than Han Xiao.
“No.”
“Never seen him before.”
Everyone denied seeing him.
They knew that the Germinal Organization would not dare to do anything to them.
Wanderers were a neutral faction, and both the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization were always trying to win their support.
Only one wanderer was trembling uncontrollably for some reason.
No. 1 was in a foul mood, having been in pursuit of Han Xiao for 7 days before arriving at this encampment. If the people here had not seen Han Xiao, it meant that he had gone in the completely wrong direction.
“Withdraw!” ordered No. 1. However, just as he was about to board the car, he noticed the shaking Hu Fei.
“Bring that kid here!”
Hu Fei was dragged to No. 1.
No. 1 squinted at him and asked, “Do you know this person?”
“No, I don’t.” Hu Fei shook his head repeatedly.
No. 1 noticed an out-of-place outline in his clothes and ordered, “Search his body!”
Hu Fei was pressed to the ground and watched in horror as the 73-WASP was taken from him.
“This is one of our guns!” exclaimed No. 1. He held the gun up to the crowd and shouted, “Zero has obviously been here. How dare you all try and lie! Do you want to die‽”
“Speak! Where has he gone!”
The terrified wanderers began to turn their eyes to the person who had first spoken to Han Xiao, Kai Luo.
Kai Luo was squatting in the corner like an ostrich.
“What are you guys looking at me for? All I did was sell him some stuff. Ask Hu Xuan Jun! He definitely knows!”
Hu Xuan Jun stood up slowly in the crowd.
“I don’t know,” he declared.
Kai Luo, wanting to cast away the suspicion on him, retorted, “How can you not know? You let him spend the night at your house!”
No. 1’s face darkened.
The other wanderers began to urge Hu Xuan Jun to say the truth.
“Hurry up and say what you know!”
“Do you want us to die because of some outsider?”
Hu Xuan Jun cursed Kai Luo under his breath before taking a deep breath to compose himself.
“That person went in that direction,” he said, pointing to the opposite of where Han Xiao had headed.
“You’re very good, you.”
Bang!
A hole appeared in Hu Xuan Jun’s forehead. He fell back and landed on the ground with a loud thud.
Hu Fei shrieked at the sight of his lifeless body.
Just… just like that‽
No. 1 stared at the Hu Xuan Jun’s dead body. He would not hesitate to kill anyone who helped Han Xiao.
“Old Hu?” An couldn’t see, but she could hear exactly what had transpired. She stood up from the crowd and attempted to locate her husband.
Bang!
Her head exploded.
An’s body crumpled to the ground, landing an arm’s length away from her husband.
No. 1 sneered.
“Asked for it.”
Hu Fei was torn with regret.
His one moment of greed had caused all of this.
All the wanderers were stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Suddenly, No. 1’s transmitter lit up, projecting a holograph of the boss’s face.
“What the hell are you doing? Who gave you permission to kill?”
No. 1 instantly shrunk in fear. He hastily began to explain, “These wanderers lied to us, so I was just trying to teach them a lesson. We’ll depart right now.”
“Forget it. Since you’ve already started it, end it properly. Don’t let news of this get out.”
No. 1 nodded and gave a signal.
…
Dusk had fallen.
Han Xiao was finally reaching the encampment. Suddenly, the smell of blood filled his nose, causing his heart to sink.
“I’m too late.”
Han Xiao entered the encampment to a gruesome sight. It was the aftermath of a bloodbath.
He spotted Hu Xuan Jun and An’s lifeless bodies, causing him to shake with rage.
Suddenly, a figure began got up from the ground. It was the big bearded merchant who had attempted to scam Han Xiao.
Kai Luo had fainted at the start of the massacre, and it ended up saving his life. Before he could rejoice, however, he noticed that there was someone looking at him. When he saw that it was Han Xiao, he began to tremble in fear.
Han Xiao walked over to him and grabbed his collar.
“Tell me what happened here!”
“It was the Germinal Organization! The Germinal Organization! They killed us because we wouldn’t tell them where you went! Ah! They massacred us! You must take revenge for us, for Hu Xuan Jun!”
“Ugh… cough…”
Han Xiao suddenly heard another person making feeble noises. He followed the sound and found Hu Fei, who was riddled with 5 or 6 bullet holes. He was on the brink of death.
When he saw the handgun clutched in Hu Fei’s hand, Han Xiao understood exactly what had transpired. Mixed emotions filled him.
“I told you the gun was dangerous… but you didn’t listen…”
Hu Fei clutched onto Han Xiao’s pants with a shaking hand. The sight of him crying was heartbreaking.
“I shouldn’t have been so greedy! I— I regret it so much… I was wrong… I was wrong…”
Hu Fei weakly lifted a finger to point at Kai Luo.
“Don’t believe him… he betrayed my uncle…”
Hu Fei spurted out a big mouthful of blood.
“I will help you end your misery,” said Han Xiao, shaking his head.
Crack!
“Don’t listen to h-”
Before Kai Luo could finish his sentence, Han Xiao fired a shot. A hole appeared in his head.
Kai Luo’s body collapsed to its knees.
“Everyone is dead. You should join them, too.”
Han Xiao closed his eyes tightly.
Although Han Xiao’s killing intent was skyrocketing, it was being restrained by his logic, much like a caged tiger. The cooler he appeared, the hotter he would erupt.
Han Xiao walked over to Hu Xuan Jun’s body. His finger was still outstretched, pointing towards some car trails.
The exact opposite of where he had headed to!
Hu Xuan Jun had not sold him out.
Han Xiao’s heart ached.
Even until the end, Hu Xuan Jun had looked out for him, an outsider.
_____________________
You have activated a Class-E Quest
[Revenge]
Quest Hint: Eliminate the Test Subject Squad
Quest Reward: 15,000 Experience
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Han Xiao left the couple’s side and walked into the tent to retrieve Hu Xuan Jun’s prized bayonet musket. For a second, it seemed to glow and call out to Han Xiao.
“You want to avenge your partner, right?”
Han Xiao took all the guns in his bag and lay them beside the bayonet musket. He began to dismantle them and use their parts to remodel the bayonet musket.
Han Xiao’s Basic Assembly and Basic Enhancement were both Lv. 10. Although the names of these two abilities were very simple, they were indispensable abilities of a mechanic.
_____________________
Bayonet Rifle (Modified)
Grade: Average
Base Stats:
Damage: 66-69
Fire Rate: 1.1/s
Magazine Capacity: 10
Effective Range: 450
Power Output: 37
Bonus Stats: +2 Dexterity
Length: 0.86m
Weight: 8.3kg
Additional Effect: Accurate – Wind effects reduced.
Additional Effect: Piercing – Modified to use large-caliber ammo for higher penetration.
Description: It hungers for vengeance.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Han Xiao counted his sniper bullets. There were 25, all looted from Silver Blade.
As there seemed to have only been two cars, there was probably not more than twelve enemies.
Han Xiao began to give chase into the forest.
He knew that it would be impossible to catch up with a car, but that was not Han Xiao’s intention at all.
There was a high chance that they would realize they had been lied to and head back. Hence, Han Xiao planned to ambush them when they inevitably retraced their steps.
Although if Han Xiao fled in the opposite direction he would be able to shake them off once and for all, an inner voice told him that he would regret it.
The quest itself was irrelevant. This was personal.
“Germinal!” spat Han Xiao hatefully.
…
The forest was pitch black at night, making it hard to even see one’s fingers. Wolves howled in the distance.
Han Xiao had been lying in wait for almost three hours.
Suddenly, the sound of engines approached. Han Xiao’s face twitched. Four headlights appeared in the distance.
“Finally…” mumbled Han Xiao calmly.
He put on one of the Night Owl Squad’s night vision goggles and spotted the outline of two cars.
He then cocked the rifle and held his breath to aim.
After eight seconds, he pulled the trigger.
In an instant, the sniper bullet travelled across hundreds of meters to strike a tyre on the front car, causing it to explode.
The car crashed into a tree.
“Do you even know how to drive‽” cursed a dazed No. 1.
“Leader, the tire exploded.”
“How can a low-pressure tyre explode‽”
One of the squad members knelt down to investigate the tyre.
“There’s a bullet lodged in here!” he suddenly exclaimed.
“Ambush!”
Suddenly, the agent closest to No. 1 was blown up in the head by a sniper bullet. His blood splattered all over No. 1.
“Get down!” he yelled.
The agents hurriedly dropped to the ground. A suffocating silence ensued. They were all terrified. Only No. 1 was able to contain his nerves and he immediately called for reinforcements.
The Test Subject Squad was pinned. None of them dared to move.
“Who is ambushing us?”
“No idea!”
“It’s so dark here. He must have night-vision goggles!”
“What do we do now?”
“Just lie in wait I think… until reinforcements arrive.”
No. 1 suddenly exploded. “Are you stupid‽ Won’t he escape then? The enemy is one, why are we so afraid of him? What will the Organization think of us?”
The faces of his teammates instantly changed.
“It’s just one enemy! We have cars, guns, and the advantage in numbers. How can we lose?” No. 1 added.
“Right…! We need to counterattack!”
“Ascertain the sniper’s position!”
One squad member plucked up the courage to reveal himself, hoping to bait the sniper into revealing his location. However, the sniper was faster than he could imagine. He was instantly shot. The force of the impact alone caused his body to fly back several metres.
No. 1 felt a chill run down his spine. Who is this godlike sniper‽
The agent’s death had not been in vain. One squad member was able to catch the muzzle flash of Han Xiao’s rifle.
“I’ve found him! 300 meters south!”
“Get in the car!”
Han Xiao could see them get up and run towards the other vehicle. He instantly understood their plan.
There were seven enemies displayed on the thermal imaging. They seemed to be betting on the slow firing rate of a sniper, and were willing to sacrifice one or two to get to the vehicle.
Han Xiao decided not to rush. He calmly fired two more shots to kill two more of them before the rest hopped onto the vehicle. The vehicle’s engine roared as it charged towards him.
All of a sudden, Han Xiao’s situation seemed to turn for the worse. However, he still appeared calm.
The best tactic, he mused, is also the most predictable one.
“Go to hell!” screamed No. 1 as he stepped on the pedal, not noticing several grenades hanging from mid-air in their path.
The vehicle came to a sudden stop as it ran into the rope that Han Xiao had tied between two trees. The two trees were almost uprooted by the force of the crash, and, the agents in the vehicle were tossed around like rag dolls.
Immediately after, the grenades exploded, setting the night ablaze. The bulletproof windshield was heavily cracked by the shrapnel.
It was a simple, yet devastating trap.
Han Xiao tossed the night-vision goggles away as soon as the grenades exploded. The fire from the blast gave him all the vision that he needed. He began to fire. The rifle was so powerful that each shot caused Han Xiao’s entire upper body to shudder in recoil.
Han Xiao was firing at the windscreen, and from the pattern that the windscreen cracked, it was clear that Han Xiao was aiming for the driver, No. 1.
No. 1 gritted his teeth and yanked the person next to him up to use as a shield. In the next instant, the windscreen shattered, and the poor guy’s brains blew up in his face.
“Get out of the car!”
The remaining agents hastily jumped out of the car. In his rage, No. 1 began to spray wildly with a submachine gun. His teammates blindly followed suit.
Han Xiao ceased shooting to reload.
Bullets whizzed past in Han Xiao’s surroundings, but Han Xiao knew that they did not know his exact location. They were simply panicking. He patiently waited for them to reload.
The agents soon realized that they had acted too rashly, but it was too late – Han Xiao now had the initiative.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
There was a strangely beautiful rhythm to Han Xiao’s shots.
As his comrades began to fall one after another, No. 1 started to tremble. As he wildly fired, he screamed, “Who the hell are you! Show yourself!”
His confidence had been completely and utterly destroyed.
Click click click…
He ran out of ammo once more.
“Show yourself!”
Suddenly, Han Xiao walked out into the clearing.
No. 1’s eyes widened in shock
“H-h-how can it be!”
Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected Han Xiao to counterattack. He had, in his hubris, thought for sure that Han Xiao was fleeing for dear life. Despite all the facts proving otherwise, he had stubbornly refused to believe that Han Xiao was better than him. Now, it finally dawned upon him.
Zero was way stronger than him.
His false sense of superiority was instantly replaced by jealousy.
“I am the better test subject! You are the failure! A failure!”
He pulled a handgun out and attempted to shoot, but Han Xiao was faster. A sniper bullet tore through No. 1’s entire right arm.
As No. 1 slowly turned to look at the right side of his body in horror.
Han Xiao fired again, this time at No. 1’s leg, causing him to collapse to the ground. He then took his time to reload before continuing to maim his remaining limbs.
No. 1 lay helplessly on the ground as he stared at Han Xiao hatefully.
“ZERO!” he screamed hoarsely, like a wounded beast.
“Keep quiet.”
Han Xiao strode forward to No. 1 to give him a vicious kick in his jaw.
“Wanna know why I left you for last? Because I don’t want you to enjoy a quick death.”
No. 1 was writhing on the ground, unable to reply. Blood was continuously spurting out of his wounds.
Suddenly, the communication device on his severed arm lit up. A holograph of the leader appeared in mid-air.
“Zero, that’s enough,” he said.
Han Xiao frowned.
“I am the leader of the Germinal Organization,” he introduced.
“Do you think you can truly escape from us? No matter where you go, the Germinal Organization will find you. However, I can give you a chance to live.”
“How?” asked Han Xiao plainly.
“Return to the organization obediently. I will allow you to retain your memories. You will be given a position you deserve,” answered the boss. He was truly fascinated by Han Xiao’s strength.
No. 1’s face grew livid at his leader’s words. How could he treat Zero so well after all the men that he had killed?
Han Xiao glanced at No. 1 and replied tauntingly, “You want to rope me in even after I’ve killed so many of your people?”
“A bunch of failures. Their deaths are not worth mourning,” the boss replied instantly.
No. 1 shuddered.
“What makes you think I want to work under you?”
“We are destined to accomplish greater things. Join us. What’s there to hesitate? Oh, I know. Is it because you are still unhappy with how we treated you before? Don’t be so petty, think of the bigger picture. Such things are trivial when compared to our ultimate goal.”
Han Xiao replied coldly, “I have no interest whatsoever in your ideology. You killed my friends, so you are my enemy. That is all.”
“If you refuse to join us, there will not be a place for you in this world!” threatened the boss.
“I will destroy you all,” Han Xiao declared.
It was the only solution.
The boss burst out in laughter.
“Destroy us? What do you think you are? You are just a small, pitiful ant that we can squash whenever we want. Did killing a few lowly grunts make you think that you are invincible now? Childish!”
“Wait and see then. The world is bigger than you can imagine.”
Han Xiao shook his head and raised his gun. He fired three shots aimed at No. 1’s heart.
The test subject squad no longer existed!
The boss’s mask could not conceal his fury.
“You’ll regret this,” he coldly warned before ending the transmission.
_____________________
You have killed the No. 1, the Valkyrie Experiment Test Subject, gaining 900 experience.
You have completed [Revenge], gaining 15,000 experience.
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Crack!
Suddenly, the bayonet rifle came apart.
The SWP sniper rifle that Han Xiao retrieved from the test subject squad had the prerequisite of the [Sniper] ability, so Han Xiao dismantled it to fix the bayonet rifle.
Han Xiao had gained a total of 20,000 experience tonight.
As the Germinal Organization would surely come for him, Han Xiao needed to find a hiding place. He was indeed still too weak to take them head-on. The wealth of information that he carried over from the game was his trump card.
In order to make good use of it, Han Xiao needed to seek the aid of a power as mighty as the Organization.
The Six Nations!
Stardragon, Maple, Theseus, Raylen, Hesla, and Ordina.
Since he was already in Stardragon, and they were the most peaceful of the six nations, there could be no better choice.
The next morning, the boss, Hila, and a group of staff arrived at the wreckage of the battle.
The boss snorted coldly at the sight of No. 1’s corpse.
“Useless trash.”
“All of them are dead,” reported a researcher after they gathered all the bodies.
The leader gazed thoughtfully at the mountain range in the distance.
“Issue a bounty under the name of the Organization. $1,000,000, dead or alive,” he suddenly ordered.
Hila and the rest of the group were shocked by his decision.
The Germinal Organization was the kingpin of the underworld, and they had not needed to issue a bounty for the past three years. Was it really necessary to do so for a lowly traitor?
“My leader, you seem to overrate him. Zero barely managed to escape by the skin of teeth. What threat can he pose to us?”
“Hmph. That bastard actually dared to declare war against us, so I will make him pay for his arrogance! I will crush him! If Zero is captured alive, use all available means to extract his secrets! If he is killed, then dissect his body to figure it out!”
“What about those people?” asked the researcher as he pointed towards the corpses.
The boss was about to order them to be disposed of when a thought crossed his mind.
“How’s the preparation for the super soldier project?” he asked.
“The basic theory has been perfected. We are about to proceed with cell and animal testing. We should be able to remove any side effects and carry out human experimentation in eight months—”
“Skip the testing. Proceed with human experimentation immediately,” interrupted the boss.
“Erm… the risks are too huge. Only Valkyrie test subjects can endure the procedure, and there aren’t many of them. Rushing things might be unproductive.”
“Experimentation can only create cannon fodder. Only vengeance can create true monsters,” he replied enigmatically.
“He is the perfect subject,” he added, pointing at No. 1. “Hatred will fuel him. No pain will stop him from his desire for revenge.”
“I see.”
The researcher nodded.
“Summon his soul,” the boss ordered Hila.
Hila exhaled deeply before raising her hands in the air. They began to glow in a grayish light as the surrounding temperature instantly dropped.
Suddenly, ghostly wailing resonated in their surroundings, and No. 1’s body seemed to respond to the cries.
A gray, misty cloud of fog began to materialize above No. 1 before flowing into his orifices.
The boss unfurled his jacket to retrieve a vial of crimson red fluid. Hila’s expression changed when she saw the red fluid. Her eyes flickered with killing intent for a moment. She had to force herself to surpress her emotions.
Aurora Reviving Drug.
An extremely powerful healing drug made from her sister’s bone marrow extract!
The boss poured the fluid over No. 1.
The fluid seeped into his body, and what followed next could only be called miraculous. No. 1 began to regain his color, and his wounds started to regenerate. The damage to his jaw was reversed, and limbs began to form out of his stumps.
No. 1 suddenly opened his eyes. His face was twisted in agony.
” Zero! ”
_____________________
You have unlocked reputation with the Germinal Organization faction!
Your reputation with the Germinal Organization has dropped by 1000!
Germinal Organization: Hated (Traitor)
_____________________
You have triggered the Class A quest, [A Seedling in the Dirt].
Quest Synopsis: Freedom is priceless, and you have risked your life to earn it, but your troubles are not over yet. The Organization has put a bounty on your head. You will be hunted down for the rest of your day. You may have escaped, but your prison has simply grown larger. In order to to obtain true freedom, there is only one path. You know what to do!
Quest Tip: This quest is an achievement quest. You will be rewarded based on the amount of damage and destruction you cause to the organization.
Current achievement rate: 0%
Note: Your achievement rate may not be fixed. Your achievement rate may drop. You may also choose to finish the quest at any time. If your achievement rate is less than 20%, you will fail the quest. If your achievement rate is higher than 20%, you will be rewarded based on your achievement tier.
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Generally speaking, Class B and higher quests were main quests related to key events. In Version 1.0, the key event on Planet Aquamarine was the clash between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, and players were allowed a choice of ally.
From Han Xiao’s memory, there had been quite a number of players who had allied with the Germinal Organization. This meant that he would have to face up against them eventually.
Although the Germinal Organization neither won nor lost, they did suffer huge losses. Han Xiao realized that he would have to watch out for competitors – there were many factions fighting against the Germinal Organization.
Han Xiao felt that having to contribute 20% of the total damage done was asking too much. Nevertheless, he accepted the quest without hesitation—there was no harm in trying.
This is the main quest line.
In Version 1.0, the events of Aquamarine were heavily centered around the Germinal Organization. Since Han Xiao would have get stronger on the planet anyway, he would definitely become involved in the war.
During the character creation process of Galaxy, the system would ask the player to input his preferences, such as the type of planet or class they would enjoy. From their answers, they would be sent to a planet that suited them. This was a key feature of the game and attracted many players. Some people simply liked exploring the universe and experiencing different kinds of civilizations. Aquamarine was a more ‘realistic’ science-fiction city-style planet modeled after Earth itself.
The truth was that Han Xiao could just hide himself in the wilderness and wait until the Germinal Organization weakened. However, while this ensured his safety, he wouldn’t be able to get stronger.
When the main plot of the planet unfolded, there would be an influx of quests and missions. With Han Xiao’s knowledge of the game gave him an unfair advantage.
3 days later, Han Xiao finally emerged from the forest. The forest was situated within Stardragon territory, which made the fact that the Germinal Organization dared to setup a base here quite surprising. Perhaps, the safest place is where the enemy least expects them to be.
Han Xiao walked for a while more before seeing railway tracks. He hopped onto a freight train that was on its way to deliver livestock to the Western Capital.
As the wilderness was fraught with danger, and war seemed like it would break out at any moment, most of the public roads connecting Stardragon’s cities had been blockaded. Resources were transported mainly by freight.
Stardragon’s cities were all enclosed in giant electric metal fences.
Two days later, Han Xiao could spot the giant enclosure through the windon in his carriage.
He swept aside the hens jumping around him to make space to stand up and take a better look.
Stardragon, Western Capital. Division 13, here I come!
“Cock-a-doodle-doo—”
Stardragon—one of the Six Nations. The majority of Stardragon’s population was comprised of yellow people, and its national symbol was a celestial dragon.
The bad blood between Stardragon and the Germinal Organization can be traced back to the Battle of Andrea, where the Germinal Organization had colluded with other enemies of Stardragon to launch large-scale assaults on its cities during the crucial period of the war. Casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and Stardragon had been forced to recall all its forces. Back then, it had severely weakened their status as one of the Six Nations.
All of Stardragon’s cities were barricaded by great electric fences of barbed wire, and the only way to enter any city was through a main gate.
The freight train arrived at the open-air train station connected to the entrance of the city. The area was like a military base – there were bunkers and watchtowers guarded by the army. Troops were stationed in every corner.
Over a thousand wanderers alighted onto to the station square. They began to queue up for the inspection. Only those confirmed not to possess weaponry or carry infectious diseases were permitted to enter.
The Six Nations all welcomed wanderers. The war had caused a lack of manpower and talent.
Han Xiao needed to find a way to evade inspection. The Germinal Organization had offered a bounty for him, so things could go awry if he were to be recognized. While his aim was to get in touch with Division 13, he could not risk being exposed before then.
Fortunately, there existed a way.
Back in the game, players that were wanted by a country simply had to pay a smuggler NPC a fee to be sneaked in.
There was a very inconspicuous man in a corner of the station. He was neither queuing up to enter, nor seemed to be waiting for anything in particular.
This man was the ringleader of the smuggling business, and normally, he would only serve people who were trusted in their network.
Suddenly, he noticed a frail-looking man coming up to him. It was none other than Han Xiao.
“Is it safe?” he asked.
The ringleader looked up at Han Xiao. It was a face he did not recognize.
“Safe?” the ringleader played dumb.
“I’ll pay with these – enough?”
Han Xiao tossed his backpack to the ringleader. He opened the bag up to take a look inside.
Holy shit! So many guns! Which syndicate is this young master the boss of?
As guns were prohibited in the western capital, Han Xiao had to dispose of them one way or the other.
“Enough, definitely enough.”
“Where did you learn about my business?” he curiously asked.
“That’s none of your business.”
The ringleader took no offence to Han Xiao. He knew that he had been too inquisitive in his excitement. He got up and asked Han Xiao to follow.
Han Xiao was led to a van parked outside the station. There were already a few passengers on board, and when he arrived, he became the center of attention. Han Xiao found a spot and sat down quietly.
The windows of the van were plastered with black tape. The van would bring them to a secret military side-entrance. As long as the price was right, the officer in charge would turn a blind eye.
A short young man was sitting beside Han Xiao. Bored, and seeing that Han Xiao seemed like an easygoing person, the young man spoke to him.
“Little brother, your first time to the western capital?”
Han Xiao glanced at him and replied, “Yeah, it is. How should I address you?”
“Ma Jie, you?”
“Han Xiao.”
“Hannie, since it’s your first time to the Western Capital, I shall introduce you to the city. The Western Capital is divided into eight districts. District 1 is the seat of the government, and where the officials reside. No one is allowed to enter there. The other seven districts each have their own attractions, but they are all secretly controlled by big shots in the underworld. Remember, never offend any of them, or else you might lose your life.”
Han Xiao sighed inwardly. The underworld referred to illegal operations like drugs, prostitution, trafficking, and mercenaries. These ‘big shots’ that Ma Jie mentioned were actually just small-time hoodlums. Ma Jie was clearly trying to brag.
“What about the army?” asked Han Xiao.
“Heh, what can they do? Do you expect them to raid the districts? My cousin is the right-hand man of one of the bosses in the underworld. I came here to seek—cough—help him,” boasted Ma Jie.
“Wow, you’re so cool,” replied Han Xiao.
Being praised sent Ma Jie over the moon.
“Of course! My cousin is quite the figure in western capital. Have you ever heard of his great name, The Leopard? Oh, right, it’s your first time here. Are you here to seek refuge with relatives?”
“No, I’ve come to find a job and settle down,” Han Xiao chose a random answer.
“What do you say—wanna come with me? Follow my brother and you will have a bright future!”
Ma Jie suddenly became animated.
Han Xiao rejected his offer, but Ma Jie was not easily dissuaded.
“Let me tell you what ordinary life is like in the city. Two words – poverty and sadness! Do you want to eat spoilt food everyday? The Six Nations are just putting on a show to welcome wanderers like you. The truth is that they could hardly give a damn about you! If you follow me, I can guarantee that you’ll be fed well for the rest of your life!”
“No thanks.”
Han Xiao’s repeated refusals clearly upset Ma Jie.
“Fool! You’ll regret this. Don’t come crying to me in the future.”
Han Xiao ignored the idiot and turned away. Ma Jie glared at him.
…
A while later, the van stopped in front of what seemed to be a closed tunnel.
There was an officer waiting for them on the other side of the fence in the tunnel. He opened the passageway to let them in upon receiving payment from the ringleader.
“Follow the officer, he will bring you to the outskirts of the city.”
The officer silently led them through the compound. When they finally stepped out into the sun, they were greeted by a line of skyscrapers in the distance.
As the group scattered, Ma Jie glared at Han Xiao one more time before going on his way.
As Han Xiao walked on the streets, he noticed that his tattered clothes were gaining a lot of attention. Without any money to quench his thirst, he had to look for a public water dispensary. All he had to his name was a seven-day stench.
Of course, none of it actually posed a problem to him.
…
Half an hour later, Han Xiao emerged from a shopping mall dressed in a white shirt and black pants. There was a cigarette in his mouth.
_____________________
You have unlocked a new ability: Lv. 1 [Steal]!
[Steal]: Increases your success rate when stealing
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In his previous life, many real life skills had practical use in the game. For example, someone who had a military background would have an easier time grasping shooting-related abilities in the game.
As the saying goes, one can never learn too many tricks. Han Xiao only acquired skills in thievery as a means of self-defense against thieves…
Me, a thief? Hey hey, don’t accuse me of stealing if you don’t have proof! I, the venerable Han, am a law-abiding, state-loving citizen. Back in secondary school and high school, I was always the model student! I was in the top 3 every year! People always praised me for being a righteous young man, plus I’ve never even peeked on a girl before, much less steal!
As for now— cough, cough —I’m just borrowing some money from a kindred soul out of desperation. You feel me bro?
Now that Han Xiao had escaped from the Germinal Organization, he no longer had access to the resources that he would need to become stronger. Joining the Six Nations would solve this problem.
Han Xiao already had a plan in mind.
In Galaxy, there was known to be a secret encounter hidden in the Western Capital.
Han Xiao arrived at the gates of a workshop concealed inside an inconspicuous alley. The workshop was nameless, but it had a spanner for a logo.
The secret encounter will be mine in this life!
There was a chess table set up at the entrance of the workshop. Two elderly men were currently engaged in a game.
Their appearances were in stark contrast to one another. The shorter elderly man was bearded and had long, unkempt hair, while the taller old man was prim and proper. Both of them were staring at the chess board intently.
Han Xiao noticed that the tall old man had a missing arm.
Both of them paid little heed to Han Xiao as he stepped into the workshop.
Han Xiao took a look at the chess board. They seemed to be playing playing an intense game of Go.
Suddenly, Han Xiao realized that it was not Go at all! It was Five in a Row!
What the hell are you guys looking so serious for‽
A woman appeared from within the workshop. “Do you need something repaired?”
She had a fair complexion, rosy cheeks, and was around 1.65m tall. Her hair was clipped behind with a black pin, and she was wearing a black vest on top of denim shorts. Although Han Xiao wouldn’t go so far as to call her a stunning beauty, she did have an extremely pleasant-looking face. She was very much the proverbial girl-next-door who had gentle eyes and a warm smile. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties—Han Xiao’s personal preference.
Women at twenty can be compared to peaches—good to look at but not yet ripe.
Women at thirty, on the other hand, are like ripe grapes.
Of course, these things are always a matter of taste.
As for women at forty…
Huh, what about fifty?
Fifty-year-old women cannot be described as fruits anymore! They are potatoes!
“May I know if this place needs an apprentice?” Han Xiao asked.
For some reason, the woman was overjoyed to hear his words. She hastily grabbed Han Xiao’s eblow and pulled him in, as though afraid that he would change his mind.
“Come in, quickly! You might catch a cold.”
Han Xiao looked up at the blazing sun and wondered, Is catching a cold the dialect here for heat stroke?
The workshop was largely coloured in black and white, and there was a second floor.
The first floor was the working area, and it was a fairly spacious area. There were a number of vehicle platforms and workbenches equipped with various tools and machinery. Han Xiao could tell from the blemishes on the workbenches that they were relatively old. There was also quite a number of metal shelves lined up against the wall that were stacked with all sorts of metals and spare parts.
“My name is Lu Qian. I’m the boss here. You can call me Sister Qian,” introduced the woman.
“Sister Qian,” Han Xiao greeted. He then inquired, “I wish to take up apprenticeship here. Are there any requirements?”
“Tell me your situation,” replied Lu Qian. Her first impression of Han Xiao was quite favorable. She particularly liked the dead look in his eyes—they made Han Xiao look like he was a bum.
He will probably be content with a low wage, she thought to herself.
“I come from afar. My name is Han Xiao. I’m 21 years old, and I have some basic mechanic skills. You can call me Technician Han.”
Technician Han? A puzzled look appeared on Lu Qian’s face.
“From afar… meaning you’re not a student of the Western Capital School?”
The Western Capital School was an elite school that only a select few could enroll in. It followed a special syllabus based on the knowledge given to Aquamarine by the galactic civilization. There, students were taught Pugilist and Mechanic knowledge. Many of its graduates went on to become important figures in Stardragon.
However, as less than 1 in 10,000 people possessed superpowers, having guidance did not make it easier to awaken them.
“I’ve only learnt some basic Mechanic theory,” Han Xiao replied humbly.
“That’s a pity…” bemoaned Lu Qian.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” she hastily added.
“It’s fine.”
“Anyway, I still need to test you. I do need a helper, but you will have to meet my criteria first.”
Lu Qian went to fetch a faulty household appliance back to test Han Xiao. Before Han Xiao could begin, the shorter old man at the chess board suddenly spoke. “Kid, why did you come here?”
Lu Qian frowned in puzzlement. Wasn’t it just to find work?
Han Xiao looked at the old man and replied, “I’m just looking for a job.”
For some reason, his reply upset the old man, and he flipped the chessboard.
“I am the owner of this shop. Pass my test, and I will allow you to stay.”
“Oi, Old Man Lu, you’re being a sore loser again,” erupted the tall old man.
“I have something important to do,” stated Old Man Lu matter-of-factly.
“Shameless,” replied the tall old man exasperatedly.
Stardragon Strategic Defense Division, also known as Division 13.
Han Xiao’s mind was racing.
Old Man Lu was none other than the key character in the secret questline, and Han Xiao had come here to meet him.
However, what Han Xiao had not expected was running into the tall old man here. This old man was an important figure in Stardragon, and Han Xiao knew that there was no point in trying to hide his identity from him.
Han Xiao’s original plan had been to gain Division 13’s trust before revealing himself. He intended to do so by feeding them with anonymous intel on the Germinal Organization. However, that was no longer possible.
To have to reveal himself to Division 13 so soon had certainly not been a part of Han Xiao’s calculations, but Han Xiao was not rigid in his thinking.
Since remaining hidden was no longer an option, he might as well reveal himself and demonstrate his value to them. Like they say, the enemy of an enemy is a friend; Han Xiao and Stardragon shared common ground.
Fortunately, he was now in the city; if he had been exposed before entering, it would have put himself in an unfavorable position to negotiate.
Furthermore, the unexpected turn of events might prove to be a good thing instead. The tall old man was extremely influential, so gaining his trust would give him quite the head start.
“What test?” he asked Old Man Lu in response.
Old Man Lu looked around as he tried to come up with something. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Pointing towards the tall old man’s missing arm, he said, “Make him a prosthetic limb. If it satisfies him, you pass.”
“Why drag me into this?” The tall old man was confused, but he quickly understood Old Man Lu’s intentions from his subtle winks.
“Grandpa, you’re too much! What if you scare him away? Every day, all you do is drink, play chess, and go for strolls. When was the last time you actually bothered to help out with the business? Can’t I even get a helper?”
Lu Qian was disgruntled, but her words fell on deaf ears. Old Man Lu ignored her as he looked at Han Xiao for a reply.
For some reason though, Han Xiao seemed amused.
“Are you sure you want me to make a prosthetic arm that satisfies him?” he asked to clarify.
“If you’re scared then leave!”
“I accept,” Han Xiao happily agreed to the task.
He still had the [Bionic Arm] blueprints that sat gathering dust in his inventory! Not only was Old Man Lu’s request too simple for Han Xiao, it even presented him with the opportunity to curry favor with the tall old man! For some reason, everything seemed to be going well for Han Xiao, as though someone was looking out for him.
“You only have three hours; I don’t have the time to wait an entire day,” Old Man Lu snorted.
“Grandpa!” Lu Qian exclaimed in protest.
Creating a bionic limb was not a straightforward task. Measurements first had to be taken, followed by designing, and lastly crafting. Designing alone would take hours, and while using a workbench would speed up much of the crafting process, that would still take another two hours! It was completely unfair!
However, Han Xiao, was not flustered at all. He whipped out a measuring tape and asked the tall old man politely, “Senior, may I?”
The tall old man removed his outerwear without fuss. He observed Han Xiao thoughtfully as his measurements were taken. To remain calm and confident despite being pressed so was praiseworthy, he thought.
‘But why would the Germinal Organization lay a million dollar bounty on him?’
Yes, the tall old man indeed recognized Han Xiao. The Germinal Organization’s issuing of a bounty had caused a huge commotion in the underworld and this resulted in Han Xiao’s face becoming well known. Such news did not escape his ears.
‘Looks like there’s some corrupt guards again,’ he concluded from Han Xiao’s presence here in the city.
‘Why did Han Xiao come to the Western Capital?
‘Does he pose a threat to Stardragon?’
These were the questions on the tall old man’s mind. He decided to continue observing Han Xiao for now.
While Old Man Lu did not know anything about the infamous Zero, he had his reason for wanting to chase Han Xiao away. A seasoned veteran himself, he was able to sense that Han Xiao had killed before. He simply wanted to avoid trouble where he could.
“Looks like Old Lu is leaving it to me,” thought the tall old man as the pair exchanged glances.
As soon as Han Xiao finished taking measurements, Lu Qian offered him her help.
“Tell me your concept. We can draw up the plans together to save time.”
“No need, I already have the perfect design,” declined Han Xiao unexpectedly.
“Only two minutes?”
Lu Qian’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
“Your bragging might even reach the moon!”
Old Man Lu burst out in laughter. To come up with a complete blueprint in just two minutes was an impossible task even for him, what more a kid like Han Xiao?
Han Xiao passed a list of the materials and tools he needed to Lu Qian, who swiftly went to fetch everything. However, she did not hold much hope for Han Xiao as the test was simply absurd and unfair.
Han Xiao started to use the pressing machine to shape metals into shapes and parts. He planned to use an aluminum alloy as the core material of the arm as aluminum alloys were light, yet sturdy, but also easy to shape. Having parts like screws, rivets, and chains readily provided saved him a lot of time.
[Basic Machinery Affinity] gave Han Xiao keen intuition for the composition of machines. For a second, it seemed to him like the parts themselves came to life, as though they were excited at the prospect of being assembled into a machine. A mechanic’s affinity and skills with machines was extremely important. Each level in [Basic Machinery Affinity] improved production quantity as well as crafting speed by 1%.
A top-class bionic limb could be operated simply by thought, and would be functionally indiscernible from a real limb. The prosthetic arm of the Winter Soldier was a strengthened version of such a limb. However, the installation of such a prosthetic would require surgery, as well as the ‘Control’ talents of [Basic Electromagnetism] and [Nerve Integration].
With cybernetics, it was possible to replace any part of the body, except the brain, with machines to turn a person into a cyborg that relies not on physical stamina and bio-energy, but modular upgrades and replacements instead. Although a cyborg wouldn’t need to eat or drink to survive, and could live much longer than a normal human, the loss of one’s human senses would gradually make a cyborg susceptible to manipulation and eventually cause them to lose their sense of self. While this could be prevented by implementing thought programming and logic parameters to immunize one against external influences, they would then lose their freedom of thought instead. More advanced civilizations used this method to produce cannon fodder.
A voice-controlled prosthetic could also be made with the ‘Control’ talent, [Basic Acoustics]. Mechanics were a multi-layered class that was able to utilize all sorts of knowledge to create different versions of tools for the same purpose.
Presently, though, Han Xiao was not that far advanced as a mechanic, and his concept was very simple; he was using the Lightweight Mechanical Arm as a model for his prosthetic. He planned to incorporate its dynamics and chains into his prosthetic for realistic movement. Unlike the Lightweight Mechanical Arm, however, it would run on clean batteries instead of smoke-causing fuel.
Old Man Lu watched Han Xiao as he enjoyed a bottle of beer. He couldn’t wait to see him make a fool of himself.
As Han Xiao began to weld and assemble the parts he created, the prosthetic arm began to take shape. The others were surprised by the fact that Han Xiao did not create any excess parts. He had been thoroughly efficient from the start, which proved that he had actually planned everything out.
“My god, he won’t actually succeed, will he?” muttered Old Man Lu, causing Lu Qian to glare at him. What a sly grandpa!
Seeing them look so amazed almost caused Han Xiao to burst out in laughter. How could he possibly fail when he already had the blueprint in his memory?
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You have created [Bionic Arm – Left (Mechanical Version)], giving you 2000 exp!
[Bionic Arm – Left (Mechanical Version)]
Special Item
A very realistic prosthetic created using the principles of machine dynamics and suspension. Adjustable to suit the user’s needs, it is soft, yet extremely durable!
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The polished metallic prosthetic took Han Xiao a total of 2 hours and 33 minutes to make. One look at its structure and everyone present could tell that it was an extremely functional prosthetic.
Everyone was shocked!
He really made it!
As Lu Qian covered her mouth in disbelief, a single thought came to her mind.I’ve struck gold!
“This prosthetic will look realistic if you cover it with—”
“Save the bullshit, let’s test it now,” interrupted Old Man Lu as he swallowed his saliva. Although Han Xiao had truly exceeded his expectations, his mind was still unchanged.
The tall old man rolled his eyes at Old Man Lu and picked the prosthetic up to examine it. He instantly fell in love with it. It fit onto his stump extremely comfortably, unlike other prosthetics that had nonadjustable, rigid attachments. The reason that he did not like to wear a prosthetic arm was that they always got in the way of his movement. However, Han Xiao’s creation did not give him this problem. It felt so realistic that when he moved it, it felt like he had grown back an arm! The elastic suspension enabled him to effortlessly make simple movements.
Perfection!
This was the only word that could describe how he felt about it.
“What do you think? Satisfactory?” asked Old Man Lu coolly as he sipped on his beer.
Lu Qian looked anxiously at the tall old man.
The tall old man found himself in a tight spot. Should he help his friend? Or should he say his true feelings? Which was more important?
“This thing is excellent. I’m satisfied!”
Old Man Lu spat out his beer and glared at the tall old man as he coughed continuously.
Weren’t we allies‽ We had a plan!
“Since you like it, you can have it.” Han Xiao was not surprised at all.
The tall old man nodded his head and replied, “I will remember this favor.”
Old Man Lu was flabbergasted. The arm was made with my materials! Did you ask for my permission‽
“Then, can I stay?” Han Xiao turned to Old Man Lu and asked, his lips curling.
Old Man Lu’s shock immediately turned into embarrassment. As he turned around to head upstairs, he reluctantly replied, “Whatever, if you want to stay, then stay. Let’s see how long you’ll last.”
Lu Qian shook her fists in celebration.
The tall old man smiled at Han Xiao before leaving the workshop. After walking out of the alley, he entered a black sedan car that had been waiting for him.
The chauffeur respectfully passed a mobile phone to him. As the tall old man picked up the phone, his entire demeanor completely changed. He now looked extremely stern, a totally different person from the genial old man from before.
“The Germinal Organization fugitive has snuck into the Western Capital. These are the coordinates…” he spoke in a deep voice. “Have the intelligence department monitor him for now. I have come into contact with the target, and will slowly find out his intentions. Unless necessary, do not act.”
Deserters of the Germinal Organization were highly valued by the Six Nations as they sometimes held valuable information. Unfortunately, most of the deserters were usually small fry. Han Xiao, on the other hand, was the first person to have a bounty issued for on him; it followed that it was highly likely that he possessed crucial information.
In the workshop, Han Xiao turned his eyes back from where the tall old man had left.
His performance should have let the tall old man know that he was not hostile, and laid the groundwork for a better relationship.
There were three things for Han Xiao to gain from coming to the workshop. The first was that Old Man Lu kept a very comprehensive collection of Mechanic-related basic knowledge.
The second was that this workshop was a good place to hide from the Germinal Organization. While the Germinal Organization had spies across the Six Nations, they did not know every single nook and cranny. This workshop was one of the few places that they were not aware of. And even if they found it, there was Old Man Lu. Old Man Lu was far stronger than the current Hila. Although he appeared like some carefree good-for-nothing, he was actually one of the few Class-D superhumans on the planet. On beginner planets in Version 1.0, the strongest superhumans were only Class-C.
There was a lot of discussion regarding why Mechanics were a superhuman class, such as: ‘If Mechanics were limited to a normal human’s standards, it would restrict their inventions by over 90%’, and ‘Only a superhuman can use some of the stronger machines they make.’ At higher levels, there were stricter requirements for using the machines that Mechanics made. Some of them were even not usable by the other four classes, but only by Mechanics.
Mechanics were not all about big guns and giant robots! A high level mechanic could specialize in one of many things. They might prefer to wield swords, specialize in assassination, or even pilot mobile suits! These were but a few of the endless possibilities that the class had to offer.
The official information described the class as such: “Masters of combat machinery and compaction. Well balanced.”
After learning [Compression Technology] and [Spatial Technology], mechanics would be able to disassemble and compress huge machinery into small capsules that they could activate whenever they wanted to reassemble them instantaneously!
After learning certain skills like [Rapid Assembly], Mechanics with a large amount of energy would be able to create machines on the fly without the need for tools or equipment. All they needed was sufficient energy and necessary materials, and they would be able to bypass the creation process and instantaneously create whatever they needed.
Player inventories were weight-realistic, and with these abilities, mechanics were the only class—apart from Mages and telekinetic ESPers—to be able to disregard weight constraints.
The third reason that Han Xiao had come to the workshop was the most important one, for the secret story line! Its rewards were some blueprints of early level godly equipment!
In the future, Old Man Lu would leave the workshop and leave behind a digital safe that contained these blueprints. He would instruct Lu Qian to pass it to her father, Lu Cheng, who was a warlord amongst the wanderers. He and his father, Old Man Lu, were always on bad terms.
Back in the game, a player managed to complete the tedious quest line and obtain the password to the safe. He then had to painstakingly search for the necessary materials to craft those equipment. However, it all proved worth it. With just that equipment, he was able to dominate the PVP arena and set the highest record of 38 continuous victories!
While all that time and effort was certainly worth it for that player, Han Xiao didn’t have to go through the entire quest line as he already knew the password!
Although the secret quest line was a competitive quest, and only one person could complete it, other players that attempted it also learnt the password to the safe. Since it was not a big deal, the password was posted alongside information to the quest line in various forums.
Still, the story line only occurred after release, so there was still plenty of time before then. Han Xiao intended to foster a good relationship with them first.
For the godly equipment!
“I’ll explain your apprenticeship. Your meals and accommodation will be provided for; there is an unused room on the second floor. Your job scope will consist of helping out with maintenance work, as well as orders. I’ll pay you $1000 a month, is that fine?”
Lu Qian looked at Han Xiao nervously. She knew that he was skilled, but she truly did not have the money to offer him a higher salary.
“I accept!” said Han Xiao without hesitation, at which she rejoiced.
On the second floor was a full apartment complete with a living room, a kitchen, and several bedrooms.
Lu Qian brought Han Xiao to his bedroom. It was furnished simply with a wooden bed, a wardrobe, a book shelf, and a small work space.
“This is now your room,” said Lu Qian happily as she passed the key to Han Xiao and began to dust the area.
She really couldn’t be any happier. A thousand dollars was a very small amount of money, not even enough for an average person’s monthly meal expenses! Han Xiao was a steal!
I must treat this kid well so he won’t run away! she thought to herself.
Han Xiao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Shouldn’t the job applicant be the nervous one, instead of the boss?
Lu Qian left after tidying up the room.
Han Xiao climbed onto the bed and closed his eyes. Now, he had to wait for Division 13 to approach him.
“I am not strong enough yet.”
Han Xiao understood that he couldn’t just rely on Stardragon to deal with the Germinal Organization. He had to become much stronger in order to be able to take matters into his own hands. In any case, for now, he also had to be strong enough to gain Division 13’s special attention.
Since there were neither quests to do nor monsters to hunt, the only way to get stronger now was through crafting. Han Xiao would need money to make machines, so he planned to find some way to make extra income. The city provided him with many opportunities. His long journey had only just begun.
With only six months left to launch, he had to treasure the remaining time.
After resting for a while, Han Xiao returned downstairs. Lu Qian was working on a household appliance at the workbench. Her denim shorts truly accentuated her perky curves, and Han Xiao couldn’t help but steal glances at those slender, long legs of hers.
“The orders are in the drawer,” she said to Han Xiao as she wiped her sweat with a towel.
The workshop didn’t see much business and most of the orders were advance orders. Han Xiao picked out a few easy ones and began working.
At 7 PM, they closed for the day.
Lu Qian changed into a comfy white dress and let her hair down, giving her the air of a kind, beautiful sister. There were patches sewn onto her dress, implying that they weren’t doing so well financially. Han Xiao wondered if the reason she wore so little during work was if she was saving fabric.
Old Man Lu finally showed his face for dinner.
“Let’s eat.”
Old Man Lu with his long and, messy hair certainly did not seem the type of person to do household chores. Their meals were, indeed, always prepared by Lu Qian.
Han Xiao picked up a piece of char siu 1 with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth. It was fatty but not oily, and was extremely tasteful. Han Xiao was visibly delighted.
“Delicious, right?” smiled Lu Qian in glee.
Now this—this is proper food! What the hell have I been eating for the past 6 months?
“There’s still a lot, so eat slowly,” she added, pleased by the sight of his voracious appetite.
As they continued eating, Old Man Lu suddenly asked, “Who exactly are you?”
Han Xiao, stopping his chopsticks in mid-air, replied, “I’m just an ordinary person.”
“Do you think you can deceive me with such a blatant lie, kid? Tell me the truth,” the old man snorted.
Han Xiao’s eye twitched.
“And what if I don’t want to?”
“Don’t want to?”
Suddenly, Old Man Lu tilted his head back as he began to release a domineering aura of strange, wild melancholy that threatened to engulf Han Xiao.
A look of seriousness appeared on Han Xiao’s face. Twisting, he leapt backwards five meters, raising his arms in a cross-shaped guard to defend himself.
Old Man Lu’s eyes narrowed.
“I have a skill that can kill the target’s very soul in an instant. Do you want to test it?” he asked.
“Does such a godly skill really exist?” Han Xiao’s face began to pale.
“The level of strength I have attained cannot be comprehended by the likes of you!” Old Man Lu snorted in reply.
Suddenly, a black, stormy cloud arose from behind Lu Qian. Lightning crackled and thunder roared. Wearing the same usual smile that she always displayed, she tapped the table with her chopsticks and ordered plainly, “Sit down and eat.”
The duo instantly returned to their original positions and continued eating, as though nothing had happened at all.
The Western Capital was vast, comprising of eight districts and three citadels interconnected by military roads.
District 1 was the central district and the Western Capital’s seat of government. Regular citizens were not allowed inside.
Although the Six Nations were united against the Germinal Organization, they still remained competitive with one another. After all, alliances were only temporary. The assassination of important figures occurred frequently amongst the Six Nations, and although they would always blame these incidents on the Germinal Organization or other dangerous individuals, the governments knew that 70% of them were each other’s doing.
The Germinal Organization, the wanderer’s army, intelligence agencies and brokers, illegal arms dealers, individual criminals, mercenary assassins, hackers, and other kinds of shady groups comprised the planet’s underworld.
Dragonhorn Tower was the central building of the government, where the top brass operated from. Its walls were reputed to be strong enough to repel intercontinental missiles.
The headquarters of a secret department was situated below Dragonhorn Tower.
Beneath Dragonhorn Tower, at an undisclosed basement level was the Stardragon Strategic Defense Division.
Dozens of screens hung from the wall, displaying countless data and information. Intelligence agents typed away at their keyboards while even more bustled around. This place was the central network of the government, where information was filtered and channeled.
Division 13 served not only as Stardragon’s ears and eyes, but also as a hidden knife.
“Reporting: ‘Zero’ has been located.”
A gentle-looking bespectacled female secretary hastily knocked open the office door of the department’s director. A stern-faced man was seated behind the desk. Drool could be seen on the corner of his mouth.
“Speak,” he said in a low voice.
“Director, were you secretly taking a nap again?” The bespectacled secretary squinted at him.
“Cut the crap!” The intelligence director glared back. “Talk.”
“Zero is currently hiding in a machinery maintenance shop in district 7.”
The director swiveled away from his secretary and she could hear him sigh in contemplation with his back faced towards her. After a moment, he turned around to face her again and said, “The higher-ups want to adopt a friendly approach.”
“You just turned back to wipe your drool, right?”
“I really regret promoting you…”
The secretary pushed her glasses up and ignored him. “How exactly should we proceed?”
“Since Zero came to the Western Capital alone, he must want to cooperate… Activate protection protocol immediately. We must not let Germinal’s agents learn of his presence here. Have the hackers intercept any news of his trail and prevent leaks. Also, send an undercover agent to check him out; he might just be a spy they sent. Get confirmation before making direct contact.”
“A traitor worth a one million dollar bounty. There are two possibilities: either he possesses important information, or he possesses great power. For now, we are unable to ascertain how dangerous he might be, so proceed with utmost caution. I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Black Spider. Two streets bombed yet we failed to apprehend him. I was scolded for two whole hours by the minister as a result of that.”
As the workshop wasn’t that busy, Han Xiao had quite a lot of free time to look for the extra income he needed.
Kero Junkyard: the biggest disposal ground in District 7. Here, endless piles of trash were sorted out everyday.
This place fell under the territory of an underworld boss known as Big Raccoon. Where there is light, there will be shadows—such is society—and this holds all the more true in times of chaos.
Although the Western Capital was the main capital of Stardragon, it was certainly not a holy sanctuary for the law-abiding. It was infiltrated with spies from other nations, and plagued by criminal networks and illegal businesses. Small-time bosses like Big Raccoon may have been infamous, but they were certainly not the key players.
As Han Xiao entered the junkyard with a dust mask on, he was stopped by a few vicious-looking thugs.
“Kid, you’re in the wrong neighborhood.”
A bald, muscular thug blocked Han Xiao’s path as he stared him down. To them, Han Xiao, with his small frame, looked like an easy target to bully.
Han Xiao, unfazed, spoke. “I want to see Raccoon.”
The thugs instantly burst out in laughter.
“We don’t have time to play with you, kid. Run home to mummy, or I’ll break your legs,” threatened the bald thug.
“Is that what Raccoon teaches his dogs to say?”
“What did you say?” The bald thug was enraged. He began to grab Han Xiao by the collar.
Han Xiao looked back at the thug calmly as he squeezed his wrist.
The pain caused the thug to let go of his grip, and when he looked at his wrist, he found that there were already bruise marks on them.
“Friend, which gang are you from?” The bald thug’s expression had changed to one of caution.
Suddenly, he paused to listen to his receiver and stepped away from Han Xiao’s path, saying, “The boss wants to see you.”
Han Xiao followed the bald thug and was brought to a resting area inside the junkyard where a thin man sat cross-legged on a sofa as he enjoyed a glass of red wine. From his appearance alone it was hard to believe that this man was the infamous Raccoon who ruled the District 7 underworld.
“I heard that you want to see me. What’s your name?” he casually asked.
“Technician Han,” answered Han Xiao.
The Raccoon sneered.
“You should know what will happen to you if you’re just wasting my time.”
The reason why he had agreed to letting Han Xiao in was that he was curious to see what business a snotty-looking brat had with him.
Suddenly, Han Xiao reached out to steal the bald thug’s gun. The bald thug felt a tug at his waist and turned around, but it was too late.
The grunts behind Raccoon hastily drew their guns.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked nervously. The bald thug was one of his most trusted subordinates, and he was strong enough to take on ten people at the same time. Yet, he wasn’t able to react to Han Xiao’s speed! Who the hell is this kid?
Unexpectedly, Han Xiao began to disassemble the gun, but it wasn’t a simple disassembly. The gun unraveled almost instantaneously, as if Han Xiao were performing some kind of magic; the disassembled parts fell and scattered onto the floor.
“Firearms are a sure-profit. I can help you manufacture them in exchange for a little bit of compensation.”
This kid can make guns!
Firearms were hot in demand in the black market. Using a gun and making a gun were two completely separate concepts. Mechanics who knew how to create guns were rare and highly esteemed. Even though Raccoon was the leader of a gang, they were just small-time hoodlums. To be able to find a mechanic willing to make guns for them was inconceivable; yet, here Han Xiao was. ‘This is my chance!’ thought Raccoon.
“What arrangements do you have in mind?”
“I will make a list of materials and parts for you to gather. Manufacturing and assembly will all be done by me. I’ll come here to work for two hours every morning. I want $1500 per gun, and freedom to take anything I want from this junkyard.”
Han Xiao had already thoroughly analyzed the Germinal Organization’s guns. He was now able to easily make simple guns.
“Since I’m providing the materials, $1000,” negotiated Raccoon.
Han Xiao instantly turned around and began to walk away.
This caused Raccoon to become flustered. He had only been trying to test out Han Xiao, and did not expect such a big reaction.
“Wait wait wait—we’ll follow your charges,” he hastily said.
One handgun was worth $3,000 to $4,000 on the black market. Han Xiao’s asking fee was still quite reasonable.
“Get a workbench ready, along with the materials. I will come from tomorrow onwards. I’ll go check the junkyard out now.”
A skilled craftsman always retained the power to dictate his terms. Han Xiao knew full well his own value. Furthermore, his true strength and identity was a mystery to them. This gave him the complete upper hand.
…
Han Xiao salvaged quite a number of parts from the junkyard before leaving. As he left, he noticed that someone was following him. Clearly, Raccoon was trying to find out more information about him. However, for Han Xiao, shaking him off the thug was an easy task.
Division 13 will learn of my mechanic skills… thought Han Xiao to himself. The fact that he was working with Raccoon would definitely be found out by them. In any case, it was a way to demonstrate his abilities to them, plus he also needed the opportunity to craft machinery for experience.
The reason he had chosen Raccoon was due to the junkyard’s proximity.
…
When he returned to the workshop, Lu Qian questioned his whereabouts.
“I went to the junkyard,” said Han Xiao, pointing to the big bag of spare parts in his hand.
“The junkyard? That place is not safe. Don’t go there in the future.”
Lu Qian wasn’t really concerned with what Han Xiao did in his free time as long as his did his job right. In fact, she had a soft spot for people who did not demand high pay.
Han Xiao put the spare parts aside and summoned the interface. He still had a lot of unused talent points, and he decided he would dump all of them into the two unlocked ‘Arms’ talents.
This workshop was a treasure trove of Mechanic knowledge. It was one of the best places to level up as a mechanic. Han Xiao went to look for Old Man Lu to borrow some of his books. He found him cooped up in his room as he expected.
“I wish to borrow some Mechanic knowledge books.”
“Go away, you! There’s not a single book for you here.”
“Don’t be so petty! Think of it as investing into a promising young man and nurturing him.”
“…It seems like you are more thick-skinned than me. However, I simply don’t want to lend you my books. What can you do about it?”
What, indeed, could Han Xiao do about it?
…
The following day, Lu Qian entered Old Man Lu’s room with a spare key and stole some books for Han Xiao. Old Man Lu was infuriated.
“Why do I have such a disloyal granddaughter‽
“Just you wait! I will make you leave this workshop!”
…
In Galaxy, each player’s advancement mission was not always the same. Han Xiao’s Lv. 20 advancement mission could be counted as one of the harder ones as advancement knowledge was extremely rare on beginner planets. In fact, his advancement difficulty was actually comparable to a Lv. 40 one.
Most Lv. 20 characters were usually unable to find basic knowledge for even one talent tree. Some unlucky ones would not even have a main class.
Since there wasn’t any advancement knowledge in the workshop, Han Xiao could only learn more basic knowledge. However, Han Xiao was content with this. Finding knowledge books was a common problem for players. Some players weren’t even able to learn all their class’s basic knowledge by Lv. 40 or even Lv. 50!
Fortunately for Han Xiao, the workshop contained a complete set of basic Mechanic knowledge, which more than gave him a head start—it was an expressway to the finish line!
Inter-galactic Contact Law (7th Edition).
“When coming into contact with new civilizations, these 127 intrusive actions are to be avoided: war, gene manipulation…”
This was why Planet Aquamarine had not been given any cutting-edge technology. Advanced knowledge was the best that the planet had to offer, and even that itself was heavily controlled and treated as a top secret.
_____________________
Add 1 talent point into [Basic Weaponry]? Yes/No
Add 1 talent point into [Basic Material Composition]? Yes/No
“Confirm.”
[Basic Weaponry] contained knowledge on how to craft simple guns and conventional weaponry. It also increased mastery and crafting speeds.
[Basic Material Composition] was one of the core Weaponry talents. The quality and grade of a product was affected by that of its materials, and many of the key materials for higher level machinery were synthetic compounds that had to be crafted.
_____________________
You have learnt five Weaponry talents! You have unlocked [Novice Refining] and [Overload]!
You have unlocked the blueprint [Robot – Rover]!
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[Novice Refining] allowed one to refine materials for higher quality ones. Any skills or abilities with the terms ‘novice’, ‘beginner’, or ‘basic’ were generally the lowest versions of themselves. Most of them would have more advanced versions. For example, [Molecular Refining], that allowed the user to perform instantaneous molecular manipulation simply by expending Energy.
Materials were graded similarly to equipment. Of course, the higher the grade, the higher the value, but the two materials of the same grade could also have differing values. For example, a common iron ore was worth about $13 a pound, while a refined dark iron ore was worth about $45 a pound. Both were Common materials.
[Overload] – Active Skill
Drains Energy to temporarily increase the output of Machinery by 30-50% at the cost of durability. If Han Xiao activated this skill together with his Lightweight Mechanical Arm, its damage and defense would both be significantly boosted. However, with only 120 Energy, he would only be able to maintain the skill for 10 seconds or so.
I’ve finally unlocked an active skill! rejoiced Han Xiao. Mechanics had so few active skills in their early levels that it was quite sad. His escape from the Germinal would have been much, much easier had he possessed this active skill back then.
The [Robot – Rover] blueprint was an easy-to-obtain, early level robot blueprint. It was a low level utility robot that could be equipped with weapons and armor for combat, scouting, and defense purposes, and was also able to self-destruct. It wasn’t created for a specific purpose, but could be modified and improved. They were widely used for prospecting and mining.
Gaining so much from just two talent points, a bargain!
Suddenly, he noticed Old Man Lu creeping up towards him.
“What are you looking so excited all of a sudden?”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes at him, replying, “Aren’t you being a little too nosy?”
“Nosy? Why?” Old Man Lu took a moment to inspect himself.
“It’s working hours. If you’re not helping then go away!” interrupted Lu Qian as she slammed her welding torch down. Her face was flushed and dripping with sweat under the protective goggles she was wearing.
“Little brat,” grumbled Old Man Lu as he carried his bottle of beer outside for a walk.
“Shop owner, is this a repair shop?”
A customer arrived as soon as he left. It was a middle-aged man.
Han Xiao turned to look at the guest, and he noticed the man was looking at him. The man immediately averted his gaze.
Suspicious, thought Han Xiao. When he further noticed his above average sense of balance and solid footing, he realized that the man was most likely an agent from Division 13 who had been sent to test him.
Lu Qian walked forward to receive him with a polite smile.
“Welcome. What is it that you need repaired?”
“My car broke down,” replied the middle-aged man as he watched Han Xiao. “It’s outside.”
“Alright, no problem.”
Just as Lu Qian was about to pick up her toolkit, the middle-aged man suddenly pointed at Han Xiao and said, “I want this little brother to repair my car.”
Lu Qian was stunned. Do I not look capable enough? You’re being sexist!
“I’ll do it,” agreed Han Xiao as he took the toolkit from his dejected boss.
The pair came out of the alley into the main street, where an old sedan car was stopped by the roadside.
“This is the car.”
Han Xiao lifted the bonnet, inspected the interior, and swiftly began to perform repairs.
As Han Xiao worked on the car, the middle-aged man tried to strike a conversation.
“Kid, you’re quite young, aren’t you?”
“I’m 30.”
30? Do you think I’m blind or what‽ The middle-aged man nearly choked.
“How should I address you?” he asked.
“You should show some sincerity when asking for a person’s name,” replied Han Xiao without looking at him.
“I’m Feng Jun,” answered the middle-aged man awkwardly.
“That’s a nice name,” complimented Han Xiao, except that he didn’t sound the least bit sincere, leaving the middle aged speechless.” But you misunderstand; I just want a cigarette,” he added.
Feng Jun uncomfortably took out his cigarette pack and passed one to Han Xiao.
“You can call me Han Xiao,” introduced Han Xiao as he took a puff and returned to the task at hand.
Feng Jun continued to probe. “Han Xiao? You’re not a local, are you? Where are—”
“It’s done,” Han Xiao suddenly interrupted, cutting his words off.
What the hell? I’ve only just started to probe you! Can you not be so quick?
Han Xiao expressionlessly stretched out a hand, saying, “A pipe was broken. I’ll charge you $60. Pay up.”
Of course I know the pipe is broken, damn it! I broke it on purpose!
Feng Jun smiled as he took out his wallet and slowly fiddled around in an attempt to buy more time.
“You have pretty good skills. Where did you acquire them?”
“Natural talent.”
“Oh, that’s amazing. Where are you from?”
“From the countryside.”
“…”
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Are you trying to get a discount out of me?”
At his wits end, Feng Jun coughed dryly before finally pulling out the money to pay up.
Will the department reimburse me for this? he wondered.
Han Xiao sneered. “I thought it would take you another hour to find your money. How big is your wallet?”
As he whistled whimsically, he proceeded to pack up and headed back to the workshop.
When he left, Feng Jun cheerlessly made a phone call.
“Initial observation concluded. The target is a mechanic and his threat level is still an uncertainty. Duration of contact was 4 minutes and 38 seconds. The target named himself as Han Xiao. I suggest proceeding with more testing, and to avoid direct confrontation.
“My analysis of his character? Hmm… yes… extremely annoying!”
The next couple of days went by peacefully. Han Xiao’s daily routine now included going to the junkyard every morning to produce guns. He was paid in cash daily after each session, and was able to salvage a number of spare parts for creating the rover. He had already begun to craft some of its parts, but was holding back on assembling it.
Old Man Lu would occasionally lurk around to spy on Han Xiao as he worked. He was trying to figure out Han Xiao’s background from his craftsmanship. However, because Han Xiao was self-taught, his efforts were in vain.
The tall old man frequently came over to compete with Old Man Lu at 5 in a Row, which Han Xiao found hard to understand. Is 5 in a Row that fun? The tall old man also gradually began to converse with Han Xiao more, and Han Xiao was more than happy to entertain him. Everything was going according to plan.
For Mechanics, crafting rewarded the most experience, followed by enhancement, repairing, and lastly, assembly.
As Han Xiao had no way of acquiring advanced knowledge for now, he decided to use his accumulated experience points to raise the 3 skills of [Beginner Machinery Affinity Lv. 3], [Basic Combat Lv. 8], and [Basic Shooting Lv. 6] to close to max level, and he gained quite a number of talent points from this.
The prerequisite for advancing to a [Trainee Mechanic] happened to be unlocking [Intermediate Machinery Affinity], which required Lv. 5 in [Beginner Machinery Affinity]. Machinery Affinity was one of the common prerequisites for many blueprints and skills.
Although Han Xiao now had a whopping 15 talent points, which seemed a lot, it was always better to save some for rainy days. This was something that he had learned the hard way.
To think I actually had to spend over tens of millions of Enas (universal currency) just to buy Water of Lethe to reset my talent points back then!
At Kero Junkyard, Han Xiao had been busily producing guns all morning.
When he was about to leave, Raccoon passed him a stash of money that he pocketed without counting.
“That should be enough for today. I’ll make a move first,” said Han Xiao.
“Thank you for your contribution. We don’t need any more guns for the time being. However, our deal is still valid. You can continue to salvage any junk parts.”
Now that Han Xiao had served his purpose, Raccoon planned to get rid of him. However, it was not time yet. Raccoon was an extremely cautious person.
“Fine by me,” replied Han Xiao, who saw through his intentions.
He left the junkyard, remembering to make a few extra turns to shake off his tail before coming to a large mechanic market.
This market was popular among students from the Western Capital School and the Mechanic School due to the variety of machine parts and metals it offered.
Han Xiao spent all of the 70,000 Aquamarine Dollars that he had earned to buy the remaining materials that he needed for both the rover, as well as another Lightweight Mechanical Arm.
After obtaining the materials, he returned to his room to continue working on them.
…
A few days later, Han Xiao had finished crafting all of the rover’s parts, and he was now assembling the robot in his room.
1.2 meters tall and armor-plated to protect its interior. Its top half was the shape of a person, except that it didn’t have a neck. It ran on a basic integrated circuit.
It had two sectioned mechanical arms that could bend and rotate like a person’s, and its fingers were remodeled by Han Xiao into guns. Its torso could also rotate 90 degrees, and was inlaid with magazine compartments.
Instead of legs, it moved on tank tracks.
The system prompted Han Xiao to name his creation. Adopting his past naming style, he named it “Rover 1”.
_____________________
Rover 1 (Tank-style)
Type: Robot
Grade: Common
Basic Stats: 800/800 Durability, 18 Defense, 59 Power Output, 23 Max Speed, 120/120 Energy
Height: 1.18m
Weight: 64.8kg
Mode of Control: Remote (Electrical Signal)
Control Radius: 50m
Energy Source: Battery Unit
Energy Usage: 8/min
Power Capacity: 36/80 Ona
Right Arm Module: Small Caliber Machine Gun – 35-40 Dmg, 4 Firing Speed (Max 7 – for 10 seconds), 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 40 Power Output, 18% Accuracy
Left Arm Module: Small Caliber Machine Gun – 35-40 Dmg, 4 Firing Speed (Max 7 – for 10 seconds), 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 40 Power Output, 18% Accuracy
Skills:
– Self-destruct: Self-destruct to inflict 280-430 explosion damage in a 30m radius.
– Metal Armor: Reduces damage taken by 8% (except penetrative attacks).
Note: Don’t underestimate this little fella just because he looks stupid.
The name [Rover] is not exclusive to one type of robot.
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The key materials used to craft Rover 1 were two common materials: steel and plastic resin. If Han Xiao had used a higher quality steel alloy, Rover 1 would have higher durability and defense. Nevertheless, he would be able to update or upgrade the rover with better parts when he got them to keep it relevant. This was a selling point of Mechanics.
The number of modules that could be installed on robots, vehicles, and mobile suits, was limited by their ‘Energy Capacity’. Beside the quality of the energy source itself, ‘Energy Capacity’ could be upgraded by ‘Energy’ talents. Rover 1’s energy source was a standard battery unit, so its Energy Capacity was low.
Completing the rover rewarded Han Xiao with 24,000 exp.
The following day, Han Xiao finished crafting the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.
_____________________
You have crafted Lightweight Mechanical Arm (Left), gaining 2,500 exp.
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His second Lightweight Mechanical Arm was still a left arm, like before. However, the materials he had used to craft it were lower in quality than before, causing it to have a lower grade.
_____________________
Lightweight Mechanical Arm (Left)
Grade: Common
Base Stats: 28-45 Damage, 8-12 Defense, 26 Power Output, 205/205 Durability
Prerequisite(s): 23 Strength
Bonus Stats: -4 Attack Speed
Length: 0.51m
Weight: 6.1kg
Additional Effects: Bonus +6 Strength
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Currently, Han Xiao strongest form of combat was melee combat, so the Lightweight Mechanical Arm suited him well.
Mechanics that favored melee combat were known as Mecha-warriors. Han Xiao did not intend to walk down this path as it was long-ranged capabilities that Mechanics truly excelled in, after all. However, since Mecha-warriors was the style that offered low level Mechanics the highest combat prowess, it would have to do for now.
Han Xiao hid the Lightweight Mechanical Arm before heading downstairs. Lu Qian was engaged in a conversation with a customer who kept on glancing at Han Xiao when he appeared. He was clearly yet another agent from Division 13.
Division 13 had, over the past few days, sent many undercover agents to spy on Han Xiao, but since Han Xiao was a tough nut to crack, they were now attacking from a different angle.
“Why are there so many people asking about you?” asked a puzzled Lu Qian when the agent left.
“Well, I’m popular.”
“But they’re all guys.”
Han Xiao froze up.
“It’s not what you think-”
“Don’t worry! I won’t judge you,” replied Lu Qian as she started giggling.
Why are you giggling like that!
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s turned serious. He had received a system alert.
_____________________
You have triggered the Class-E Mission, [Assailants!]. Accept/Reject]
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Han Xiao was bewildered. What could have triggered such a mission?
“Accept.”
_____________________
Mission Synopsis: The bounty on your head is being eyed. Your enemies are near and they are hiding in the shadows. Meanwhile, a certain group of people has been watching you to assess your potential. What will you do?
Requirement: Avoid death
Reward: 10,000 experience
Bonus Reward: 1x Skill Level-up Card (Basic)
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Han Xiao rolled his eyes at the dramatic synopsis.
The ‘group of people’ referred to in the synopsis most definitely referred to Division 13. Han Xiao put the clues together and conjectured that Division 13 could have leaked intel on him in an elaborate set-up to test his combat strength. However, if that were the case, the people after him must not be too strong. After all, Division 13 wouldn’t risk things blowing up in the city.
Although Han Xiao wasn’t interested in typical Class-E mission rewards, the bonus reward caught his eye. A Skill Level-up Card was certainly something handy to have.
If a mission had a bonus reward, it meant that there was a secret condition to fulfill. Han Xiao guessed that this mission’s secret condition was most likely to kill all of his assailants.
“Since the enemy could appear at any moment, I’d better not stay in the workshop.”
Han Xiao didn’t want to rely on Old Man Lu. After contemplating for a moment, he thought of the perfect location for battle.
Kero Junkyard.
Kero Junkyard was Raccoon’s territory. Han Xiao planned to kill two birds with one stone. He put down his tools and called out to Lu Qian with a request.
“I wish to take the day off.”
“Okay,” replied Lu Qian, blinking. “Is something wrong?”
“No, why?” Han Xiao paused.
Han Xiao always looked lethargic and bored, and Lu Qian, being the observant woman that she was, had noticed the sudden change in air about him. If she had to describe the kind of feeling Han Xiao was giving her now, for some reason, dangerous was the word that came to mind.
“If you’re facing any difficulties, I’ll definitely help you,” she said in a serious tone.
Not knowing what to say, Han Xiao stared at her, which caused her to shift about uncomfortably. She turned away from Han Xiao and twirled her hair, saying, “Don’t you know its rude to stare?”
Han Xiao turned away too and replied, “I won’t be back for dinner.”
“I was actually thinking of letting you try my latest creation, black pepper pineapple baked ribs stew with parsley,” responded Lu Qian dejectedly.
Han Xiao shuddered. What kind of cuisine from hell is that?
Han Xiao returned to his room to get ready. After a short while, he headed out with a backpack and a trolley.
…
“Boss, is that kid the target?”
A man wearing shades was tailing Han Xiao. Every time Han Xiao turned back, he would instantly vanish by making use of his surroundings, be it a public phone booth or a magazine stand. He was clearly a professional. He was using the mini receiver in his ear to communicate with his partner who was hiding in an old van two streets away. There was a total of five masked men in the van. They were none other than Han Xiao’s assailants.
They were the Bee Sting Squad, a group of mercenaries who specialized in hunting bounties. They were decently well-known in underground networks, having successfully completed numerous missions. They had by chance ‘stumbled’ upon Han Xiao’s trail.
For them, this mission was more important than any that they had ever taken on before. Bounty aside, they were hoping to gain favor with the Germinal Organization and earn their backing.
“How could this kid be worth one million? He looks so ordinary! This will be a piece of cake,” said the number two of the squad, full of confidence.
“Don’t forget that we are deep in Stardragon territory. Act swiftly,” reminded the leader, Kelly, as he inspected his gun.
…
“The target is on the move.”
A black, plateless Jeep was following Han Xiao from afar. Inside the Jeep was a team of Division 13 field agents, led by their mission captain, Li Hui. Besides him were 8 other fully equipped agents and Feng Jun, who was acting as an advisor. They were armed with tranquilizer guns.
Just as Han Xiao had expected, his assailants, the Bee Sting Squad, were indeed being used by Division 13 to test him, and these agents were, in fact, tasked to play the role of hero.
Feng Jun brought up a video feed of Han Xiao.
“The target seems to be headed to the District 7’s Kero Junkyard. The Bee Sting Squad is following him. It would be ideal if the battle took place inside the junkyard.”
…
Han Xiao arrived at the Junkyard, to Raccoon’s surprise.
Why is he here?
“I’ve come to find some spare parts,” Han Xiao casually lied. It was a reasonably convincing excuse.
Raccoon then invited Han Xiao for lunch, assuming he would decline, but unexpectedly, Han Xiao agreed, causing him to be visibly caught off-guard.
Han Xiao took his dust mask off, revealing his face to Raccoon. Raccoon found his face strangely familiar, but wrote it off.
Although Han Xiao was unquestionably famous in the criminal world, small-time crooks like Raccoon were, for the most part, largely irrelevant. Hence, they were often not privy to, or bothered with, the latest ongoings.
Although Han Xiao had been wearing the mask to keep his identity a secret, it didn’t matter anymore.
A banquet table was set up by Raccoon’s men. Han Xiao and Raccoon sat on opposite sides, facing each other as they conversed.
“How was the last batch of guns?”
“The 73-WASP is an excellent gun. Even the Six Nations’ armies are using it. One of them is worth six to seven thousand on the black market. I’ve earned a lot thanks to you,” answered Raccoon, as he puffed on a cigar. “And the quality of your guns is way better than those shitty second-hand guns on the market.”
Although a batch of mass-produced guns wouldn’t vary too much in quality, there would always be minor differences from gun to gun. These differences arose from the innate composition of the materials, but they could be minimized by a skilled mechanic. A gun expert would be able to tell a hand-made gun from a mass-produced one.
“What’s in there?” asked Raccoon, pointing towards the stuffed bag and the push trolley.
“Some spare parts,” replied Han Xiao. Raccoon was satisfied with the answer.
They continued chatting until dusk arrived, and the sky had transformed into a gorgeous hue of orange and indigo.
One of Raccoon’s thugs suddenly ran into the room, saying, “Boss, someone is looking for you.”
“Can’t you see I’m with a guest?” replied an irritated Raccoon.
The thug whispered a few words into Raccoon’s ear that made him look at Han Xiao contemplatively. He then got up from his seat and smiled at Han Xiao.
“Please excuse me for a moment,” he said before leaving.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. Something’s up.
…
Half an hour ago.
“Cousin, I travelled all the way here just so I could enjoy a good life under your care. Please don’t abandon me!” pleaded Ma Jie as he chased after a young man.
He had come to the Western Capital intending to join his cousin’s gang, but his cousin had deemed him unworthy and given him a janitor’s position. Obviously, Ma Jie wouldn’t settle for it, but what else could he do but beg?
“I’ve told you before, don’t call me your cousin!” barked the irritated young man.
“Of course, of course. My bad. I’ll slap myself,” replied Ma Jie, after which he actually slapped himself.
“Just look at how pathetic you are. I let you watch the door precisely because we are relatives! Do you know how many wanderers out there have only spoilt food to eat? I’m going to see a big shot now; don’t follow me!”
“Big shot?” Ma Jie’s eyes lit up. “Who?”
“The boss of District 7, Mr. Raccoon! Each district other than District 1 has an underworld boss. Do you know how powerful they are?”
…
Before the pair realized, they had arrived at the entrance of the Junkyard. Ma Jie tried to follow him in, but the young man glared at him, causing him to give up. Just as Ma Jie was about to leave, he looked beyond the gates and noticed Han Xiao being welcomed. What the heck?
“Isn’t that the kid who sneaked in with me?”
A thug stopped the young man.
“Don’t loiter here,” he said.
“I’m also one of the boss’s men,” replied the young man respectfully. “I’ve come to make a report.”
Suddenly, Ma Jie interrupted them.
“Who is that guy?” he asked, pointing at Han Xiao.
“Who gave you the right to talk‽” snapped his infuriated cousin who motioned to slap him. However, the thug stopped him.
“That person is an important guest of the boss,” he answered.
An important guest? Ma Jie was shocked, but his shock was immediately replaced by jealousy and bitterness. This is unfair! Why is that ignorant brat having it so much better than me‽
Scenes from their conversation replayed in his mind, causing him to feel embarrassed.
“You know Technician Han?”
“Not really, but we did talk a bit when we were being smuggled in.”
The thug’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Follow me! The boss will want to see you!”
Ma Jie and the young man were stunned.
The duo was led to a room.
“What do you want from me?” asked Ma Jie nervously.
“Relax, it’s nothing. That guy is a mechanic who knows how to make guns and our boss has been thinking of making a move on him for a while, but since we aren’t sure of his background, we haven’t acted yet. I just want to know everything you know about him.”
Ma Jie’s eyes lit up at the thought of being able to gain the boss’ favor. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could allow him to surpass his cousin! He sneered and shot a scornful look at his cousin.
Who cares what happens to that bastard Han Xiao?
After waiting for about half an hour, Raccoon came to meet them. When he arrived, both Ma Jie and his cousin hastily arose to greet him. Ma Jie was so tense that he even knocked his own chair down.
“You know Technician Han’s background?” asked Raccoon.
“His name is Han Xiao. He’s a wanderer who snuck into the city with me. It was his first time coming here; he has no relatives.”
“That’s all?” Raccoon’s eyes twitched.
The sight of the boss’ displeasure made Ma Jie think harder to recall something.
“Oh right, he was empty-handed when he came here. His clothes were also extremely tattered, and he looked like a nobody.”
“Very good.”
Raccoon turned around and left.
“Anything for you, boss,” cried out Ma Jie after him.
Raccoon paused and turned around to look at him.
“I like you. Join my gang.”
Ma Jie’s eyes widened with joy.
I’ve hit the jackpot!
After Raccoon left, Huang Mao began to fawn all over Ma Jie. Their roles were now reversed.
“Ma Jie, please take good care of me in the future.”
“What did you just call me?” scoffed Ma Jie.
“Cou- cousin.”
Both of them sure were shamelessly quick to adapt. Ma Jie put his arm around Huang Mao’s shoulders gleefully.
“Brother, may I know what boss intends to do with Han Xiao?” he asked the thug.
“Isn’t it obvious? We’ll force him to spill out the blueprints for the guns before silencing him!”
“That’s good then,” replied a relieved Ma Jie.
…
Less than three minutes later, Raccoon returned to the banquet hall. Han Xiao had left all the dishes untouched. Raccoon smiled.
“Han Xiao… right?”
“Looks like you’ve found out my name.”
Sensing the calm before the storm, Han Xiao stealthily reached for the Lightweight Mechanical Arm in his backpack.
Click!
He equipped it. Although he had already intended to do battle from the start, Han Xiao still remained as vigilant as ever. He had learnt the importance of vigilance the hard way back in Galaxy, but that’s a story for another time.
Raccoon began tapping his fingers on the table.
“Hehe. I’ve always been curious about your true identity, but it turns out that you’re just a wanderer! I must say, you have indeed been very cautious all this time.”
“So what?”
Raccoon’s face darkened.
“Do you understand the situation you’re in? Hand over everything you know about making guns!”
“Why so cold?”
“Cold? We were nothing more than business partners!”
“Would you believe me if I said that I can slaughter all of you if I wanted to?” Han Xiao smiled tauntingly.
Raccoon snapped his fingers as he sneered. In an instant, the four thugs around him were pointing their guns at Han Xiao.
“Did you think that I wouldn’t be prepared? What a joke! All of these guns being pointed at you were created by yourself!”
Other than Raccoon and the four thugs across the table, there were two more men standing guard outside the room, and there was little space for Han Xiao to maneuver in the compact room.
“Even if I tell you, you will still silence me.”
Raccoon laughed coldly. It was exactly as Han Xiao said.
“I do hope that you cooperate though. At least it will save you some suffering.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I have some men who are good at things like torture. You will talk eventually.”
Suddenly, the air about Han Xiao changed as he decided to drop the facade.
“Do you actually think that you have me cornered?”
The sudden change alarmed Raccoon, but he shook his head.
“Even if you do have some kind of trump card in that bag of yours, do you actually think you can move faster than a bullet?”
“What if I told you that there’s powerful explosives in here?”
Raccoon laughed. Ma Jie’s appearance had been, without a doubt, a coincidence. How could Han Xiao have made preparations? Who was he trying to fool?
“I don’t know who the person who told you about me is, but he obviously knows very little. Why don’t you try checking the underworld network to see the latest bounties?”
Raccoon frowned. How could Han Xiao remain so calm, and what was he playing at?
Although Raccoon did have some power in the Western Capital, he was actually just a small-time hoodlum in the grand scheme of things – too insignificant to partake in the matters of the underworld. Hence, he paid little attention to such matters.
He must just be trying to buy more time! Why should I even listen to him?
“Since you don’t believe me, wanna bet? Life is always full of surprises anyway. Now that I noticed, this room is pretty small, isn’t it? Perfect for an explosion. First comes the blast, followed by the shrapnel. Then, this entire place will be razed to the ground. But I guess that’s fine, since we’d all have died in the initial shrapnel…”
“Enough! I have no time for jokes. Stand up, or I’ll fill you up with holes!”
Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders, sighing, “Can’t we talk things through? Fine, I’ll give-”
Suddenly, as the last rays of sunlight dissipated, darkness descended.
Han Xiao had been waiting for this!
Vroom!
The mechanical arm roared to life, shredding the backpack apart! Han Xiao flipped the dining table, sending pots and plates smashing into Raccoon and the four thugs.
Talk things through? Ha! As if!
There were four thugs in front of him, and two behind. Han Xiao knew exactly what he had to do. He picked the table up to use as a screen and charged forward like an unstoppable juggernaut, holding the mechanical arm up in front of him.
Crash!
The four thugs were knocked aside like flies.
“Fire!” screamed an enraged, bloody-faced Raccoon.
The two remaining guards began to fire.
Bullets clinked and clanked onto the mechanical arm, causing its durability to plummet. A bullet found its mark, hitting Han Xiao in his shoulder and doing 16 damage, dying his shirt with blood. However, all it did was give Han Xiao an itch. Han Xiao’s pain tolerance was extremely high, and his solid muscles halted the bullet.
Han Xiao smashed the mechanical arm into one of the thugs’ chest. One loud thud, and he exploded on the spot. He then proceeded to yank the other poor thug up to use as a meat shield against the four thugs who had gotten back up and were firing at him.
Gathering all his strength, Han Xiao ripped out the door from its bolts and threw it at them before running out.
“Chase!” barked Raccoon.
Dozens of thugs throughout the entire Junkyard were alerted by the gunshots and they were rushing over to help.
Kero Junkyard was Raccoon’s main base, and Han Xiao had to tread carefully to avoid being surrounded. He looted a gun from one of the thugs he encountered which made things easier for him.
With his fast reflexes, as well as [Basic Shooting] and [Precise Aim] to help auto-correct his shots, Han Xiao was able to always have the edge against the thugs in the battle of guns. If he encountered a group of them, he would tumble and duck and fire lethal shots as he evaded. The only limitation that he faced was ammo, so he would loot their magazines after each wave. The trail that Han Xiao left behind was bloody and littered with corpses, and Raccoon could hardly believe what he was seeing. Han Xiao had effortlessly taken out over 20 of his men single-handedly!
However, there were indeed way too many thugs converging on Han Xiao, making it hard for him to take the initiative.
Han Xiao hid behind the vehicle frame of a scrapped sedan as dozens of guns were fired in his direction, their muzzle flashes lighting up the night. The bullet storm was deafening, making it hard for Han Xiao to even hear his own breath, and it was extremely difficult to return fire.
“Good thing that this is my territory. No matter what, he can’t possibly make it out of this alone!”
Raccoon was seething with rage.
“I will make him regret ever being born!”
Suddenly, something unexpected occurred.
Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!
A submachine gun was being fired from the side of the battlefield! The thugs began dropping in numbers as their screams filled the air.
Bee Sting Squad was entering the fray! Under the guise of nightfall, they instantly overwhelmed Raccoon’s inexperienced thugs.
“Where did these mercenaries come from‽”
Raccoon was scared shitless. Are they after me‽
However, the mercenaries suddenly changed direction and advanced towards Han Xiao instead, ignoring him.
These mercenaries are after him‽
Raccoon stared at the unfolding events in disbelief.
As a villain himself, he understood the simple fact that the stronger a person was, the stronger his enemies. The fact that these mercenaries were willing to risk exposing themselves in the capital to go after Han Xiao meant that Han Xiao must not have been an ordinary person!
He thought back to Han Xiao’s words. “Why don’t you try checking the underworld network to see the latest bounties?”
He wasn’t just talking big‽
Who exactly is he?
…
“That’s the sound of submachine guns.”
His mission target had appeared! Han Xiao was able to sniff out the Bee Sting Squad’s location from their muzzle flashes.
“300m to the west: six people, six submachine guns.”
Han Xiao rapidly performed calculations in his head. The enemy’s firepower was overwhelming. It would be unwise to meet them head on.
Lucky, I came prepared with my trusty Rover. Han Xiao sighed in relief. He whipped out the touchscreen remote control that he had created for Rover 1.
When activated, the rover’s visual feed would appear on the screen. However, the display was currently reading “Out of Range”. Han Xiao had to get to within 50m of the rover to activate it!
Steeling himself, Han Xiao stood up and began to run back along his original path. He was instantly assaulted by submachine gun fire.
Han Xiao made use of the heaps of scrap and junk to duck and take cover, advancing through the rain of bullets.
“Damn it! There’s so much cover for him here,” cursed a long-haired Bee Sting Squad member as he reloaded. “He’s faster than a bloody rabbit!”
Although their original plan had been to assassinate Han Xiao, they had decided to take advantage of the ongoing fight between him and Raccoon to mask their intentions.
“He’s already exhausted! Go in for the kill!” Kelly shouted out.
After the earlier bloodbath, all of Raccoon’s men were either dead or had lost all morale and were unable to fight. Seeing Han Xiao running so desperately emboldened the Bee Sting Squad, and they gave chase.
While he ran, Han Xiao suddenly sensed danger and ducked down. A bullet narrowly missed him, severing a strand of his hair.
After sliding under two more scrap cars, he finally came in range with the rover!
Connection successful!
“Activate!”
In the resting area, amidst debris and dust, the cloth cover on the push trolley suddenly began to vibrate, and two red lights appeared from beneath it!
The rover’s eyes!
The rover’s engine started to whirl, and its wheels began to rotate as Han Xiao piloted it out of the resting area.
At this point of time, the Bee Sting Squad had come extremely close to Han Xiao. Rover 1’s defenses were not strong enough to take on the collective fire of six submachine guns, so it would be too risky to send him in head-on. The sole edge that Han Xiao had over them was the element of surprise, as they would never imagine him to have a robot as a reinforcement.
Han Xiao surveyed his surroundings to find a suitable spot for an ambush.
He found two scrap cars along the Bee Sting Squad’s path that were angled in a such a way that the bend they formed provided a spot of concealment! Han Xiao piloted the rover to hide inside the bend.
The noise from Rover 1’s engine was masked by the ongoing chaos, and only Kelly suspected that something was off. The instinct that he had acquired from surviving through numerous life-and-death encounters told him so. Pausing, he said to his team, “Something doesn’t feel right here.”
“What did you find?” asked the long-haired man.
“That’s the thing; I don’t see anything.”
“Well, it can’t be. The target is already cornered. He’s dead meat.”
At this exact moment, his squad entered Rover 1’s shooting range, and Han Xiao was quick with the command.
Du-du-du-du-du-du…!
Hell rained upon them from Rover 1’s fingers!
The entire squad was wiped out on the spot.
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Your machine, Rover 1 (Tank-style) has killed a mercenary! You have gained 800 exp!
Your machine, Rover 1 (Tank-style) has killed a mercenary! You have gained 800 exp!
Your machine, Rover 1 (Tank-style) has killed a mercenary! You have gained 800 exp!
Kai Li had managed to take cover in time, but he did not escape unscathed. A few bullets had grazed past his face, leaving him all bloody.
He had been so close to perishing with his squad mates.
“What the hell was that monster‽”
The long-haired man had also survived, but his condition was far worse. He had been shot in the abdomen and was bleeding profusely. Kai Li could hear him groaning in pain.
Suddenly, two red lights began to glimmer in the darkness, terrifying the duo who thought that some kind of savage beast was approaching. Paralyzed with fear, they could only watch on as… Rover 1 appeared!
“A robot‽”
Kai Li stared at Rover 1 in disbelief. He regretted not trusting his instinct.
What should I do now? Kai Li’s immediate thought was to retreat, but the long-haired man suddenly went berserk and opened fire on the rover.
” Die! Die! Die! ”
Clink! Clink! Clank! Clank!
Rover 1’s thin armor was slowly dented by the barrage. Seeing that his attacks were effective, Kai Li and his other remaining teammate began to join the counterattack.
_____________________
[Rover One (Tank-style)] has lost 14 points of armor…
[Rover One (Tank-style)] has lost 17 points of armor…
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As Rover One’s armor was made with inferior materials, it was not tanky at all, and its armor integrity plummeted under the trio’s assault. In just a few seconds of barrage, the poor rover was reduced to a useless hunk of metal.
It couldn’t be helped! As Han Xiao had to work with limited funds, all he had equipped the rover with were the finger guns.
“Damn it! Where is Division 13?”
Suddenly, as if in answer to his prayers, the sound of a marching troop began to fill up the night.
“Disarm yourselves!” someone roared out.
“Quickly retreat!” ordered Kai Li immediately.
The long-haired man emptied a final magazine onto the rover furiously before he relented.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
However, right as they were about to flee, the rover suddenly started to charge towards them as it began to glow!
Self-destruction!
The deafening explosion set the night ablaze, engulfing the trio.
About 50 meters away, Li Hui and his agents were shocked by the massive explosion.
“Damn it,” cursed Feng Jun, “this was supposed to be a covert operation!”
He could already imagine tomorrow’s headlines.
From the moment that the battle between Han Xiao and Raccoon had begun, the situation had already gone out of control; the gunshots alone had already caught the attention of many civilians. However, as they were ordered to act only after the Bee Sting Squad appeared, they could only continue waiting in anguish, and it was now too late.
Han Xiao got to his feet and brushed the sand off his hair. Things were not over yet.
Although the other two mercenaries were not as fortunate, Kai Li had managed to escape the blast in time. He hastily scrambled to his feet to make a run for it when, suddenly, someone other than Han Xiao begun to open fire on him! The shooter was none other than Li Hui!
“Want to steal my kill?” Han Xiao frowned. He had to be the one to finish Kai Li off for the bonus reward!
Han Xiao began to give chase, and he managed to intercept him effortlessly from the side.
Kai Li looked at the man who appeared before him with trepidation. The current Han Xiao felt like a completely different person than before.
“Die!”
Kai Li gritted his teeth and raised his gun to fire. However, before he could pull the trigger, Han Xiao suddenly began to sway from side to side as he closed in on him like a veteran boxer!
Flustered, Kai Li fired multiple shots, but they were all either evaded or blocked by the mechanical arm.
“Not even a single one hit‽”
Kai Li was completely overwhelmed. By his estimations, no matter how strong Han Xiao was, he would at best be at the level of an elite mercenary. Only a superhuman could possibly move faster than a bullet! However, what Han Xiao was doing was equally frightening and hard to believe; he was predicting the trajectory of his shots from just the angle of the gun! It was a feat that only the most experienced of veterans could perform, and even throughout the entire mercenary world, there were only two he knew of that were capable of it.
The look of disbelief on Kai Li’s face amused Han Xiao. Compared to that time he piloted a mobile suit through the crossfire of entire fleets, this was just a piece of cake.
Click!
Kai Li inevitably ran out of bullets and he fumbled to reload. However, it was too late as Han Xiao had closed the gap, suddenly appearing in front of him.
Paralyzed with fear, Kai Li could only watch on in horror. He could hear Han Xiao’s muscles bulge as he stretched his left arm back to prepare for a mighty swing.
Han Xiao twisted powerfully, transferring all the force and momentum in his body into his left arm as he unleashed a devastating hook, simultaneously shouting, “Overload!”
Black smoked billowed out as the engine of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm blared loudly, sending its gears and piston into overdrive. Its power was boosted by 30%.
And Han Xiao smashed it directly into Kai Li’s face.
Critical Hit!
Crushing Blow!
Blood splattered everywhere.
Kai Li may have survived a number of close calls, but he never stood a chance against this one.
When Li Hui and his team arrived, they were greeted by a blood-curdling scene.
Kai Li’s corpse lay limp on the ground beside a blood-soaked, expressionless Han Xiao, whose mechanical arm was covered in pieces of flesh. Half of his face was illuminated by the fire while the other half was grimly enshrouded in darkness.
As experienced as these agents were, they were unable to remain calm.
_____________________
You have completed the E-Class Quest [Hunted!], gaining 10,000 experience.
You have completed the bonus condition: Kill all 6 Assailants.
You have gained a Skill Level-up Card (Basic). Accept Reward: Y/N
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
No, selected Han Xiao. He could accept it later on.
“Don’t move!” shouted Li Hui after taking a moment to regain his senses from the initial shock. He raised his gun and pointed it at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao calmly took off the Lightweight Mechanical Arm before raising his arms in the air. Two agents slung a black bag over his head to block his vision before leading him away, presumably to bring him to Division 13.
About time! thought Han Xiao to himself.
Feng Jun gasped when he looked around to see aftermath of the battle.
“6 mercenaries taken out so easily. Is that the power of his machines?”
“Go gather whatever parts he’s left behind and notify the police to follow up,” ordered Li Hui sternly, after which they escorted Han Xiao to a car.
Han Xiao sat in the backseat sandwiched by two agents. Although he couldn’t see, he could sense that they were on their toes.
Although one or two things didn’t go exactly as planned, everything was still within Han Xiao’s expectations.
It was a quiet ride. The atmosphere amongst the agents was extremely tense, and only the sound of driving could be heard. They had been ordered not to converse with Han Xiao. On the contrary, Han Xiao had looked calm from the very moment that they appeared, which bewildered them. It almost seemed like he had expected them.
…
Raccoon’s face darkened as he looked at the aftermath of the battle.
“Bring me a laptop!” he barked.
As soon as he logged in to the underground network and clicked on bounties, he was greeted by Han Xiao’s face.
“Zero, 1 million bounty. He’s wanted by the Germinal Organization‽”
Raccoon’s face instantly paled and he slammed the laptop onto the ground in frustration.
Damn it, he really did have a bounty on him! And it was issued by the king of the underworld no less, the Germinal Organization!
Sometimes, ignorance isn’t bliss.
Now that the dust had cleared, Ma Jie and Huang Mao finally emerged too. Just the sight of the aftermath alone caused them to shake uncontrollably.
Raccoon erupted with anger when they came to him. He kicked Ma Jie to the ground, screaming, “Damn you! It’s all your fault! I will make you pay for this!”
Ma Jie clutched his stomach in pain as he shivered helplessly on the ground.What did I do now?
Suddenly, Raccoon heard the blaring of sirens and he turned to see seven or eight police cars arriving at the entrance.
“Hmph, the ever late police.”
Raccoon tidied himself a little bit before going up to receive them. He was not the least bit flustered by their appearance as, from his perspective, he was a victim and he also had connections with them.
But before he could say a word, the fully-armed officer pressed him to the ground to handcuff him.
Raccoon panicked, and as he struggled to break free he shouted, “What are you guys doing to me! I am the victim here, okay? I know your commander’s secretary…”
“Stop wasting your strength,” replied the officer plainly. “This is Division 13’s order.”
Hearing ‘Division 13’ caused Raccoon’s eyes to widen with disbelief.
Division 13 was involved with important matters relating to the country’s security, why would they come after me? It must have something to do with that damned Han Xiao!
Division 13 is helping him? Why‽
Germinal traitor… Division 13… Stardragon… Intel…
The truth dawned on him.
They want to silence me!
From the moment that Han Xiao had shown him his face, Raccoon’s fate was sealed.
He set me up!
Realizing his impending outcome, Raccoon began to tremble in fear and rage.
“Han Xiao! I curse your ancestors!”
Meanwhile, Ma Jie, shocked badly by the sudden turn of events, fainted and dropped to the ground.
When the bag over Han Xiao’s head was finally removed, he found himself in a bright room. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light.
He was seated on a cold metal chair in front of a table. It was a typical interrogation room with a one-way mirror to Han Xiao’s side.
Two people sat across the table: Li Hui and Feng Jun.
“Allow me to introduce myself, I am an intelligence officer from the Strategic Defense Division of Stardragon,” spoke Feng Jun. “This is not the first time we have met. Do you remember me?”
“I remember,” replied Han Xiao nonchalantly. “The man with the very big wallet.”
Feng Jun was speechless. Can you not bring that up?
“Division 13, Li Hui,” introduced Li Hui. Both his expression and his manner of speech were stone cold.
Stardragon’s Strategic Defense Division consisted of 13 sections in total and was referred to as Division 13.
“Should we call you Han Xiao, or Zero?” Feng Jun asked.
“Whatever you like.”
“Cut the crap,” interrupted Li Hui. “Explain why the Germinal Organization has a million dollar bounty on you and tell us everything you know.”
“Why should I tell you?” asked a bemused Han Xiao.
Li Hui laughed coldly in response.
“What do you think this place is? If we want you to talk, you have to talk!”
“So what if I don’t?” taunted Han Xiao. “Shoot me?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t dare?” barked Li Hui.
“Enough, enough! Calm down. Han Xiao, you should know we are with the government. If you cooperate, we won’t treat you badly.”
Han Xiao smiled and shifted in his seat to adopt a more comfortable posture before replying. “Good cop, bad cop. How outdated is this tactic? Can you at least try something different? I, for one, have a thing for pretty girls. Having to talk to two stern old man is such a turn off. Service with a smile, understand? Come on, smile.”
Han Xiao hit the nail on the spot, taking Feng Jun aback. Feng Jun coughed dryly and communicated with Li Hui through a glance, who understood the message. He abruptly stood up in an act of anger and pointed at Han Xiao as he shouted, “This is not a place for you to try and act funny! I have the power to imprison you for as long as I want!”
“How scary,” mocked Han Xiao before suddenly wiping the smile off his face and adding, “I’m from the Germinal Organization. Threats? Do you think such things will work on me? Come on, you’re making fools out of yourselves. If you want us to cooperate, sure! Show me your sincerity! Get someone qualified enough to speak to me. You two aren’t!” As Han Xiao finished his sentence, he tugged onto his restraints, slamming the chair so loudly that it echoed out in the tiny room.
Feng Jun and Li Hui looked at each other. Their task was only to get a grasp on Han Xiao’s position, and Han Xiao knew this well, which was why he was acting fearless on purpose to declare that he still had something up his sleeve.
Suddenly, a deep voice was transmitted through the speaker in the interrogation room. “As you wish, I will talk with you.”
“Who are you?” asked Han Xiao as he turned to the obvious one-way mirror.
“Division 13, intelligence director. Do I qualify to speak to you?”
“I guess you will do,” Han Xiao nonchalantly replied.
Both Li Hui and Feng Jun’s eyes twitched. What a shameless person!
The intelligence director let it slide and started to ask, “You just said that you are from the Germinal Organization—”
“I was.” Han Xiao corrected him mid-speech.
“So, you have deserted?”
“Yes.”
“What was your position?”
“A logistics research personnel.”
“What did you research?”
“Machinery and weapons.”
“You are lying,” cut the intelligence director. “How can that explain your million dollar bounty?”
Han Xiao smiled – he had expected this very question.
“Rather than call me a liar, haven’t you guys already assumed that I possess some kind of valuable intel? Isn’t that why you’ve been investigating me from a distance?” he replied. “Intel can indeed be used as a weapon – but only in the right hands. I left my trail exposed to prove my willingness to cooperate. I am not your enemy. The Germinal Organization is. And they are my enemy too.”
“Why should we even bother to cooperate with you?” asked the intelligence director in reply. “Look around you – you are in our territory. We have all sorts of tools to make you talk!”
Han Xiao paused to smile calmly for a moment before suddenly saying, “Message log: Galaxy Calendar Year 687, 14th of June. Signal location: Planet Aquamarine. Destination: Planet Blackstar’s 8th base. The contents of this message are top secret.”
The intelligence director remained silent for a full ten minutes.
Li Hui and Feng Jun gave a start when they realized that although what Han Xiao had spoken of made no sense to them, it was clearly valuable intel to the director who in turn had to go relay the information to the top brass for further instruction.
After the long wait, the intelligence director spoke through the speaker again. This time though, he sounded extremely serious.
“Are you sure?” he asked directly.
“How would I know of Blackstar otherwise?”
“…Fine.”
The intelligence director was wearing a grave expression. If the intel that Han Xiao had given him was actually true, it was extremely crucial to not only Stardragon, but the entire planet.
Han Xiao smirked. He had obviously come well-prepared.
In the exploration era, there existed three galactic powers who had been warring for tens of thousands of year. Although it took a long time, the three powers eventually came to an agreement and ceased their fighting. They agreed to work together for peace, order, and advancement.
The universe was extremely vast; it was filled with countless stars and far more life-forms that thrived in every corner. Large amounts of data and information were constantly being broadcast throughout the universe via technology, and the amalgamation of the thoughts and wills of all life in the universe gave rise to a phenomenon known as ‘the whispers of the universe’.
Although the universe did appear calm and static on the surface, it was, in fact, bustling with activity.
All kinds of civilizations underwent the same phase – from admiring space to wondering if they were the only ones. In their hubris, they would conquer their respective galaxies before entering the vast universe, thinking that they were the destined ones – only to find that they were not alone, and definitely not special at all.
The explored universe could be seen as divided into numerous sectors. For example: the Shattered Belt, the Ancient Starfield, the Silver Spiral, and the Sea of Purity. A sector comprised of dozens of star clusters, each containing numerous galaxies that in turn housed planetary systems or star systems that were number-coded, homes to the innumerable planets. Together, they formed the thrilling universal landscape of the game ‘Galaxy’.
Shattered Belt – Colton Group – The Garden – 9th System – Planet Aquamarine. This was basically Aquamarine’s place in the vast universe. Its precise coordinates would take a combination of words and numbers derived using complex math to describe.
The interstellar power that had come into contact with Aquamarine was an advanced civilization of The Garden, the Kedolas. The ‘Blackstar’ that Han Xiao referred to was originally a part of the Kedolas, but they broke away in an attempt to seize power and were now bitter enemies.
The world of ‘Galaxy’ was massive, and many powers and civilizations were constantly at odds with one other. A civilization’s degree of advancement largely depended on its space travel capabilities. As the Kedolas could freely travel between systems without relying on wormholes or stargates created by even advanced civilizations, they were considered a galactic civilization – a few levels higher than Planet Aquamarine.
If the Germinal Organization had actually come into contact with Blackstar and gained their support, things would be extremely grim for the Six Nations. An evil power like them paid no heed to the exploration rules laid down by the Three Powers: The Universal Treaty (currently in its 7th revised edition).
The fact that Aquamarine had been contacted by an interstellar power was top secret information withheld by the Six Nations. Hence, the intelligence director believed Han Xiao to be speaking the truth, and this was what made him extremely nervous.
However, the truth was that the Germinal Organization had made no such contact with Blackstar. Han Xiao simply made it up because it was impossible to verify anyway. It was a sly tactic to get them to not only value him, but also take action against the Germinal Organization. Furthermore, it would help him complete his main quest, so why not?
All the beginner planets were situated quite far away from each other. However, there were specialized galactic tourism services that one could get in touch with as long as he had a device capable of interstellar transmission. They would automatically locate the transmission and come to the buyer. As long as one had enough money, even having a full tour across the entire universe was not impossible. After all, if players on different planets weren’t able to come together, how would competitions and tournaments be held in Galaxy? Most game events were held on neutral or uninhabited planets.
“Get me a map of Stardragon and a pen,” asked Han Xiao suddenly.
Feng Jun went to fetch the items and put them on the table. Han Xiao picked up the pen and circled three locations on the map, saying briefly, “These are three of the Germinal Organization’s secret bases in Stardragon. Treat it as my proof of sincerity.”
“You only know 3?”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes inwardly.
“Of course not. But you can go check these ones out first. We can talk more after.”
“What are your conditions?” asked the intelligence director at long last. Feng Jun and Li Hui closely watched Han Xiao in anticipation.
“I just want us to work together against Germinal,” replied Han Xiao with a mysterious smile.
That’s all? thought the director to himself.
“I will relay our conversation to the higher-ups. Sorry, but you’ll have to continue staying here for the time being.”
Click!
The mic was turned off.
Han Xiao frowned as he shook around his handcuffs.
“Don’t take too long. I only have a day off.”
The director, vice-director, 13 section heads, and some other top brass of Division 13 quickly assembled in the conference room to discuss how to proceed with Han Xiao.
“Han Xiao possesses knowledge of vital information. With his help, we will be able to launch precise attacks on the Germinal Organization’s bases. He is a mechanic, and has demonstrated combat ability on par with elite agents. He is willing to cooperate…” read the intelligence head from a compiled report.
“I believe that we can put some trust in him and work together,” he added.
After a few seconds of uncertain silence, the Internal Affairs Minister was the first to raise his objection.
“No way. What if the intel he gives us is false?”
Division 13 was split into two factions: the hardliners, led by the Internal Affairs Minister, and the conservatives, led by the Intelligence Minister.
The two factions sat separately.
“That is very unlikely,” answered the Intelligence Minister. “He is a deserter of the Germinal Organization, and only stands a chance to live if he gains our protection. There is no reason to doubt his willingness to cooperate.”
“For all you know, it could just be an elaborate act!” The Internal Affairs Ministers shot back. “I suggest we detain him and extract the intel from him by force! Division 13 doesn’t need to negotiate with anyone.”
“You are being ridiculous! Such measures are uncalled for! Han Xiao has already demonstrated his sincerity to us, what we should be doing is accepting it and working together against the common enemy!”
“That is what a coward would do!”
“You are the definition of brainless!”
Under the leadership of their respective spokesmen, the other members from the two factions began to engage in an exchange of insults. Although both factions valued the intel that Han Xiao possessed, one faction wanted to befriend him and work together, while the other faction saw him as a potential threat. The squabble looked like it was almost about to escalate into a brawl.
The director and vice-director simply watched on. The director was the person with the most power in Division 13, while the vice-director was actually a bureaucrat tasked by the higher-ups to perform supervision. He was also referred to as the administrative director.
It wouldn’t be unusual for there to be power struggles for the director position in an institution like Division 13, but the vice-director actually couldn’t be bothered with much at all. Take now for example: he had been sitting still from the start without uttering a single word, as though his spirit had left his body and was on a tour of the world. He was probably even more concerned with what he would have for dinner later on. Well, if you consider that his ambitious predecessor had ended up mysteriously charged with treason, wanting to maintain a low profile was understandable.
The director, on the other hand, was a dignified-looking man who commanded respect. He contemplated for a moment before speaking his mind, “Since you want to both cooperate with him and control him, isn’t there a perfect solution? Let’s recruit him to the department.”
The bickering crowd instantly broke up; silence ensued. The hardliners stared at the director blankly.
What the heck‽
“Absolutely no way!”
“What if Han Xiao’s motive was precisely to infiltrate us‽”
“That goes against our secrecy policy!”
The director suddenly bellowed, “We’ll settle it the way we always do; we’ll have a vote!”
The conservatives rejoiced. Aside from the one neutral minister, each faction had exactly 6 people. With the director’s vote, they would most likely win it. On the other hand, the hardliners were panicking.
Suddenly, the Internal Affairs Ministers spoke, “I think that the logistics department will suit him well. Not only will it maximize his usefulness as a mechanic, we will be able to keep him under close watch since he will be inside the headquarters.”
He had already resigned himself to the inevitable.
For once, the conservatives agreed with him. The logistics department was indeed the best option as Han Xiao would be confined to the HQ.
However, the director suddenly cut in, “Since we are going to make use of his talents anyway, might as well assign him to the covert ops department!”
The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly froze. All the ministers turned and looked towards the neutral minister – the covert ops minister who had been in the middle of yawning.
“Ahhh— eh, what? Me?”
“Then it’s settled!” decided the director as he slammed the table. “Words and actions may be deceiving, but motives are not. We’ll let him join the covert ops department after verifying the locations he’s disclosed.”
The ministers all face-palmed themselves. Whatever makes you happy, boss.
The vice-director yawned to break the silence.
“Time to finish up already? What’s on the canteen menu today?”
…
After the conference, the intelligence minister and the logistics minister proceeded to the logistics department together to examine the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.
They were interested to see Han Xiao’s craftsmanship to gain insight on him.
The personnel they had tasked with conducting the examination was Luo Xuan, the ‘ace’ of the logistics department. He was the top machinery studies student of his year at the Western Capital University, and had been recruited directly into Division 13, where his continued excellence earned him the favor of his higher-ups. There were plans to transfer him to the covert ops department.
He was flawless – apart from being too arrogant.
“Begin.”
Luo Xuan began to get to work with the Lightweight Mechanical Arm, but he suddenly stopped and reported, “It’s encrypted.”
Machines were commonly installed with encryption to prevent unauthorized disassembly and reverse engineering. The [Basic Assembly] knowledge that Han Xiao possessed came with the method to install such encryption. The encryption that he had installed would take an E-class mechanic to crack. Evidently, Han Xiao had anticipated this series of events.
Rover One was also encrypted—not that it mattered, since it had self-destructed.
“Can you crack it?” asked the intelligence director.
“No problem,” replied the confident Luo Xuan. He didn’t think that it was possible for an unknown mechanic to make a lock that he, a genius, couldn’t crack.
Twenty minutes later, however, he had not made any progress, and was sweating profusely. “Four-layered encryption‽ Is the bastard who made this machine crazy or something?”
A four-layered encryption was extremely complex to crack as the slightest error would cause the machine’s internals to disintegrate, rendering it useless. Luo Xuan was at a loss of how to proceed.
The intelligence director’s face had long since darkened.
“Can you crack it or not? Don’t waste my time.”
Luo Xuan suppressed his irritation and, through gritted teeth, replied, “This encryption is too complex. I— I need more time.”
“Enough. I don’t have the time to wait for you. Just tell me your thoughts on the arm.”
Luo Xuan face darkened in displeasure and he replied, frustrated, “The craftsmanship itself is nothing special. Only the encryption was well made. Feels like the creator is some bumpkin who treats garbage like treasure.”
The intelligence director’s eyes twitched, but he left without saying anything else. His men retrieved the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. His next plan was to perform actual combat testing at the Germinal bases that Han Xiao had revealed to them.
He was actually more interested in the rover; it was a shame it was burnt beyond recognition.
Division 13 may have been powerful and mighty, but one could never have enough new weapons.
“The research department is always allocated with the largest cut of the budget, yet those useless fools only know how to create useless crap like double-sided sticky bombs, curved guns that don’t work at all, and fake nipples to hide poison needles! They even have male and female versions!”
The covert ops department had borne a grudge against the research team ever since two of their agents were self-poisoned due to a ‘wardrobe malfunction’.
…
Meanwhile, the director was making a phone call to the tall old man.
“I have ensured that Han Xiao will join the covert ops team.”
“Good work. Thank you.”
“Old man, is he really worth doing all this for?” asked the director curiously.
“Heh heh. Intel is not all he has to offer. I have a feeling that he will play a crucial role in the battle against the Germinal Organization.”
Elsewhere, ruined skyscrapers crawled with vines. Below, the streets were cold and empty, and fragments of broken glass littered the line of stores. The stores were in an utter mess; clearly, they had been plundered.
A piece of yellowed newspaper from who knows what year danced about on the streets, carried by the faint wind.
Moonlight filtered through the thick cloud of dust to lend the city some of its luster—the city’s only source of light.
This was an abandoned city. It had once belonged to a great nation, but even this great nation no longer existed, and its people had moved to other places. The living conditions here were so poor that even wanderers avoided this place.
Countless other cities had been similarly abandoned over the last few decades of change. As soon as the people left though, these forsaken jungles of concrete and steel became flourishing grounds for vegetation.
According to Han Xiao’s intel, the Germinal Organization had three bases within Stardragon territory. One of them was located here. The nation’s top brass had been both shocked and angered to learn of the presence of Germinal bases in the country. Within 24 hours, troops had been dispatched from the nearest military bases to attack.
Currently, the city was being bombarded. Over a dozen armored military vehicles had entered the city, and the sound of gunfire and cannon fire was incessant. Screams filled the night.
However, the surface battle was just a diversion.
3 covert ops agents had been tasked to infiltrate the base. They’d just arrived at a side entrance.
Li Ya Lin was an agent with level 4 clearance. A beautiful, young woman with extremely fair skin, she wore a yellow hoodie on top of black compression tights that accentuated her sexy, nose-bleed-inducing body. She had an athletic build.
Li Ya Lin held her hands up in the air as she stretched her back, demonstrating impressive flexibility in the beautifully arced, well-proportioned body of hers. She was clearly the most carefree and energetic of the trio.
She stopped chewing on her bubblegum to complain, “I was finally able to take a break because of my leader’s injury, but they call me back so suddenly for an emergency mission. Are agents not humans?”
Lambert continued to polish his dagger silently. Lambert was the ‘ace’ of a top-secret, unofficial squad during his time in the military, and he had been secretly transferred to the covert ops department after his ‘discharge’. He wore a military-style uniform, and on top of the dozen or so daggers strapped across his waist, there was a black sniper rifle across his back.
“This… this mission… seems to be very important,” stammered Li Yao, a 1.7 meters tall man who looked extremely young. He was the hacker of this three man cell, and carried a bag filled with the team’s tools. He was in the midst of hacking the door. It didn’t take him too long.
The trio exchanged glances before entering.
Li Ya Lin led the front while Lambert took the rear. They hacked through numerous high tech gates effortlessly as they made their way to the server room.
The Germinal Organization was very careful with its information. Once a base was compromised, they would cut off its access to their network, delete all traces of data, and activate an EMP blast to destroy the hardware. Hence, they had always remained elusive to the Six Nations – until Han Xiao arrived.
The trio swiftly arrived at Basement 2, where the server room was located. Suddenly, Lin Yao, who was monitoring the hacked feed, began to exclaim, “There are guards approaching from behind the…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a team of guards appeared in their sights!
Li Ya Lin was the quickest to react. She burst forward so quickly that the guards weren’t even able to draw their guns in time. Leaping gracefully into the air, Lin Ya Lin performed a mid-air split to kick the front two guards in their heads, snapping their necks instantly.
Her power was just as impressive as her flexibility.
She landed on her hands and used them as a pivot to spin her entire body. Her legs began to glow yellow as she extended them while spinning, easily sweeping through the crowd of guards.
“Pugilist!”
The last remaining guard was about to call for reinforcements when a streak of silver flashed across the corridor. A dagger pierced his throat, ending his life.
Lin Ya Lin and Lambert had effortlessly eliminated the fully-equipped squad of guards.
Suddenly, the lights in the corridor turned red as sirens began to wail.
“We’ve been discovered! There is a large number of guards heading towards us. The base is being locked down!” exclaimed Lin Yao.
“Hurry up and hack the server room’s doors!”
“I’m already on it! I need at least three minutes, but the guards will arrive in less than a minute! I can’t bypass the firewall in such a short time. Sor-sorry…” replied a profusely sweating Lin Yao as he frantically typed away at an unbelievable speed.
Very soon, they could hear the sound of footsteps coming from both ends of the corridor. There was no place to hide in the corridor. Although Li Ya Lin and Lambert were confident of killing their way out, the mission seemed like a lost cause.
“Oh right! Didn’t they give us some new equipment‽” recalled Li Ya Lin suddenly. She hastily retrieved a long black case from Lin Yao’s bag and opened it to reveal a metallic mechanical arm.
The Lightweight Mechanical Arm!
“How is this thing supposed to be used? Did you guys read the manual?”
“Slide your left arm through it and activate it with your thumb!” replied Lin Yao hastily. “I don’t know if it will explode though… I mean, it is the research department…”
It was well known throughout Division 13 that anything the research department produced was risky to use.
“We don’t have a choice!” Li Ya Lin gritted her teeth as she slid her hand into the mechanical arm.
The mechanical arm started to whirl!
“I’m fine!” she rejoiced, a look of amazement on her face.
She smashed the mechanical arm into the steel door and discovered to her surprise that it had caused a huge dent, so she continued to throw punches at it.
Twenty seconds later, right as the guards arrived, the door was blasted open.
The trio hurriedly entered the room.
“That was close.”
Li Yao immediately got to work. Digital lockdown was 57% complete. If he were fast enough, he would not only be able to make a backup of the base’s data, but also use its access to hack directly into Germinal Organization’s vaults.
With the room acting as a fort, Lin Ya Lin and Lambert were able to put their fearsome combat abilities to full use.
Li Yan Lin glowed with a yellow aura as she swiftly and gracefully dispatched of the invading guards with a metal baton on top of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. Her blows were so powerful that they shattered the guards’ bones through their bullet-proof armor.
Meanwhile, Lambert was throwing his daggers out from inside the room. They rebounded to find their marks with frightening accuracy.
The pair was causing a massive number of casualties. Although the guards numbered over a hundred, they were unable to do anything.
Suddenly, the network access and power supply were cut off, and the whole place turned dark.
“Charge out!” yelled Li Ya Lin.
Lambert and Lin Yao followed closely as they battled their way out.
Screams filled the base.
When they finally escaped, Lin Yao collapsed feebly to the ground, still shaking in fear. Li Ya Lin and Lambert seemed accustomed to the sight.
Li Ya Lin fiddled around with the Lightweight Mechanic Arm. She had grown fond of it.
“I wonder who invented this mechanical arm. Could it be that Luo Xuan?” she wondered aloud.
“Who knows, but I did hear that he is slated to join covert-ops. It’s possible,” conjectured Lin Yao as Li Yan Lin gazed lovingly upon it.
The battle lasted for two hours, and it was Stardragon’s most successful operation to date; not only did they destroy an entire Germinal base, they also managed to collect large amounts of data. The top brass in Division 13 were pleased, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Han Xiao’s intel.
However, Han Xiao’s past and the Blackstar issue remained a mystery as the information that Lin Yao had collected naturally had no mention of them—the Blackstar message log was fabricated, while the Valkyrie experiments were top secret.
Back at headquarters, Li Ya Lin reluctantly returned the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.
“Was the mechanical arm useful?” her superior asked.
Li Ya Lin nodded.
“It’s all thanks to it that our mission was a success. Who created it?”
“That, I can’t tell you.”
Ya Lin’s eyes sparkled.
“That will depend on the higher-ups.”
Li Ya Lin gave up with harassing her tight-lipped superior and headed to the logistics department to look for Luo Xuan.
The covert-ops insignia on her chest ensured her smooth passage, ignoring the ongoing commotion caused by her very presence.
Although all the departments in Division 13 were equal in status, the covert-ops department was full of beautiful wom—cough—elite agents, so they were looked up to by all the other departments.
Li Ya Lin suddenly turned around to the crowd following her and loudly declared, “I’m looking for Luo Xuan.”
Everyone looked towards Luo Xuan enviously, singling him out.
Is secret-ops here to recruit me? he wondered.
Suppressing his excitement, he answered, “I am Luo Xuan. How should I address you?”
“Li Ya Lin.”
“What can I help you with?” asked Luo Xuan.
“Are you the one who invented that mechanical arm?”
Mechanical arm? Luo Xuan immediately thought of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm that had caused him to lose face.
Could it have malfunctioned? Luo Xuan celebrated inwardly.
“Was there some kind of problem?” he asked with a straight face.
“Nothing like that. I just found it very useful. I want to make a personal order.”
Luo Xuan froze in embarrassment as snickers broke out in the crowd—he had been ranting loudly about how worthless he thought the mechanical arm was to the whole department.
“I didn’t invent it,” he replied with a forced smile.
“Then say so earlier! What a waste of my time.”
Luo Xuan’s face darkened.
Suddenly, Feng Jun, who had been passing by, came over and said, “The inventor’s identity is top secret. Please refrain from guessing or discussing it.”
Li Yan Lin was startled. Top secret?
As the crowd dispersed, all Luo Xuan could think about was the threat that this mysterious mechanic posed to him.
“I will not let him have a good time if he joins the logistics department!”
…
Elsewhere in a secret facility.
“Boss, base 45 has been destroyed.”
“By whom?”
“Stardragon.”
“How did they learn of our base‽”
“Not sure.”
The Germinal Organization’s bases were scattered all across the globe. However, only a few of them were situated within the territory of the six nations, and those key bases virtually hibernated all year round to prevent detection!
“How could they have discovered our base? Is there a spy amongst us?”
Only a handful of higher-ups in the organization knew the locations of their secret bases. It would be devastating if any of them turned traitor.
The boss decided that he would have to conduct a purge.
Of course, Han Xiao did come to his mind. However, he ruled him out as it didn’t seem possible for Han Xiao to have accessed top secret information as a lowly test subject.
Still, the thought of Han Xiao caused his blood to boil. It had been a while since the bounty was issued, yet there was still no news of him.
“You sure can run fast, but I’ll squash you sooner or later. Enjoy your remaining days while you can.”
The boss laughed coldly.
…
“Han Xiao has been missing for three days now. Where did he go?”
Lu Qian was anxiously pacing up and down.
“Did he lose his way? It’s all my fault! I should have gotten him a mobile phone. You said he’s a foreigner, right? He doesn’t even know this place well! What should I do!”
“Be optimistic. Maybe he just died,” consoled Old Man Lu.
“…”
“Grandpa! Why are you so biased against him?”
Old Man Lu continued picking his nose leisurely.
An idea crossed Lu Qian’s mind.
“Grandpa! Help me ask someone to look for him!” she pleaded.
“You wish,” snorted her grandpa. “Ha! When you stole my books, did you remember that I am your grandpa?”
“That’s not important at all! I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
“No way.”
“You really won’t help?”
“I won’t help!”
Suddenly, Lu Qian smiled shrewdly.
“Then I’ll help you sell all the fine wine that you’ve been hiding underneath the floor in your bedroom!”
“What are you talking about? Is your grandpa such a petty person? You just want to find him, right? I’ll do it, I’ll do it.” Old Man Lu instantly changed his tune.
“Thank you, grandpa,” replied Lu Qian with the widest smile.
Old Man Lu sighed. He proceeded to make a phone call to the tall, old man.
“Oi, old man, was Han Xiao taken away by you guys?”
“…You guessed?”
“What did he do?”
“He didn’t do anything; we just want to work with him.”
“If he didn’t do anything, then let him go right now, or else my granddaughter is going to ruin my wine collection!”
“I can’t. It’s against the rules.”
“Cut the bullshit! You are the one who sets the rules. You still owe me one for the last time, remember? I don’t care! Just release Han Xiao now!”
The tall, old man rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“Alright, alright. I got it.”
Old Man Lu unhappily put the phone down.
“Why do I have to help that bugger?” he sighed, reminded of his own past.
Han Xiao had been living in a luxurious one man cell for the past three days. He didn’t seem the least bit worried about his situation; instead, he was more concerned with getting stronger.
He was currently consulting the interface. Having accumulated a total of 90,000 experience recently, he decided to level Basic Combat (Lv. 8) to Lv. 9 before redeeming the Skill Level-up Card.
A glowing bronze card appeared in Han Xiao’s hand. With a thought, it dissipated into countless light particles that entered his forehead.
Han Xiao shuddered as a surge of energy welled up from within. When it stabilized, Han Xiao could feel that he had become stronger.
_____________________
[Basic Combat Lv. 10 (max)]: +10% damage (unarmed), +2 Strength, +1 Endurance
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Many skills gave stat bonuses at certain levels.
The level cap is just the beginning, eh.
Although Han Xiao’s character level couldn’t be increased any further for now, there were other ways to become stronger.
_____________________
[Basic Combat] has been raised to max level! You have gained 1 talent point!
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Alright! I have 16 talent points now!
Han Xiao also used some experience to raise Basic Shooting to Lv. 8, leaving him with 20,000 experience that he intended to gamble on blueprints.
While blueprints could be sold to other players for money and experience back in the game, NPC trading was monopolized by unions and guilds due to quotas.
Of course, that was not a problem for Han Xiao now, since he literally had no competitors. He intended to develop a large clientele, starting with Division 13.
_____________________
Proceed with talent fusion:
[Basic Weaponry + Basic Assembly]
Y/N
(This combination will use 10,000 experience)
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Confirm.
_____________________
Congratulations! You have discovered [Foldable Machete]!
Proceed with talent fusion:
[Basic Weaponry + Basic Material Composition]
Y/N
(This combination will use 10,000 experience)
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Confirm.
_____________________
Congratulations! You have discovered [High-Explosive Gunpowder]!
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Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. [High-Explosive Gunpowder] was one of the better discoveries possible. Not only were its applications manifold, it was not hard to craft at all with the required knowledge. It had been one of the most traded goods back in the game.
The [Foldable Machete], on the other hand, was a disappointing discovery. As its name suggested, it was simply a machete with a foldable blade. It was clearly a weapon for beginners, and Han Xiao could have easily come up with something like this even without the blueprint!
If only I had discovered some long-range weapon instead of this… At least I got something decent.
Nevertheless, as it was something new to Aquamarine, it was not completely worthless. Just because all Mechanics learnt the same knowledge did not mean that they would create the same things. Before Han Xiao had transmigrated, tons of discoveries and inventions were still being made on a regular basis. Granted, not all of them were practical, but they at least gave rise to possibilities.
Han Xiao would have to make do and work with these two blueprints. During his time in the Germinal Organization, he had managed to accumulate 60,000 experience. He would definitely be able to earn much more here in Stardragon after joining Division 13.
Suddenly, the interface lit up.
_____________________
Class-A Mission: [Fall of the Germinal]
Progress Rate: 1.6%
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Looks like Division 13 has made their move!
Han Xiao was surprised by the number. Logically speaking—with how massive and powerful the Germinal Organization was—even destroying one of their bases shouldn’t have that much of an impact on them as a whole.
In the game, the war between the Germinal Organization and the Six Nations had mostly been a back and forth, with neither side being able to hold a clear advantage. There was, however, a point of time in which the Six Nations were able to corner the Germinal Organization, and victory seemed all but assured. Yet, they were unable to end the war as the Germinal Organization had a trump card up its sleeve: Protocol Doomsday.
Hence, completing the mission would be impossible… unless Han Xiao could somehow shut the protocol down.
The doomsday protocol was a last resort, and although it saved the organization from destruction, many Germinal members were disillusioned and swayed as a result. Most of the people who join the Germinal Organization are people who hold a grudge against the Six Nations, and believe in the promise of a new government. However, none of them would truly want to see the world burn. If I could expose the truth…
Han Xiao shook his head. It was way too early for him to be thinking of such things.
…
A few moments later, Feng Jun finally returned. He brought Han Xiao back to the interrogation room where the intelligence minister came to talk with him again.
“The locations of the bases have been confirmed. We believe in your sincerity now. The higher-ups have decided to make you a member of Division 13!”
I did it! Inwardly, Han Xiao sighed in relief.
Looks like getting on good terms with the tall oldie has paid off, he thought to himself. He knew that the tall old man definitely had a hand in this.
“…And the department has decided that you will join covert-ops. You will be assigned to a squad.”
What‽ Han Xiao’s expression spoke of his grievances.
The dawn of the new era had seen the loss of countless lives, resulting in a lack of manpower and talent. While this resulted in the Six Nations having to loosen their recruitment criteria across the board, the covert-ops department could never be compromised!
This definitely has to be the tall old man’s doing! thought Han Xiao. Does he like me that much?
Of course, being able to join covert-ops was a good thing. Not only would Han Xiao be able to get to know stronger, more influential people, he would also be able to directly partake in key events that would occur in Stardragon!
The interface lit up.
_____________________
You have unlocked reputation with a new faction!
Your reputation with Stardragon Strategic Defense Division has increased by 300!
Stardragon Strategic Defense Division (Division 13): Neutral (300/1000) – Level 1 Clearance
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There were 8 levels of reputation: Hated, Hostile, Opposed, Unfriendly, Neutral, Friendly, Honored, and Revered.
300 Reputation was ‘Netural’. Most factions required a ‘Friendly’ reputation to access contribution benefits.
Feng Jun passed a black mobile phone to Han Xiao as he coughed, saying, “From today onwards, I will be your liaison. Never turn this off.”
“Oh, okay. It’s not actually important, right?” remarked Han Xiao aloofly.
“Why are you always so unpleasant to talk to‽”
It was a plain looking phone with a plain looking interface, and was only capable of making calls and sending messages. Han Xiao played with the phone in his hands as he asked, “It’s secure, right?”
“Rest assured. It’s encrypted.
“One more thing,” interjected the intelligence minister. “I hope that you can give us your machinery blueprints, including the ones for the Lightweight Mechanical Arm and that rover you used.”
Although giving them the blueprints would earn him contribution points, it would also result in him losing monopoly over them. Division 13 would definitely mass produce them.
Han Xiao shook his head in refusal, and the minister simply shrugged.
At the end of the day, what they truly valued was the intel that Han Xiao possessed. If he was unwilling to give them the blueprints, then so be it.
“Oh right. What if an agent makes a private order with me?” he asked.
“We have no rules against that,” answered the minister, to Han Xiao’s delight.
Feng Jun proceeded to pull a black bag over Han Xiao’s head once more.
The car stopped, and Han Xiao was pushed out with the black bag still over his head. When the car began to speed off, Han Xiao removed the black bag to find himself a few streets away from the workshop.
When he looked up, he could see several glistening moons in the night sky.
“Tsk. Why all the secrecy?” he muttered to himself.
Nevertheless, Han Xiao was feeling quite pleased for having accomplished his goal. He hummed merrily as he made his way back to the workshop. It was only when he reached the entrance that it dawned on him that going missing for 3 days would be hard to explain.
Han Xiao stepped inside the workshop to see an anxious Lu Qian pacing back and forth.
For some reason, she became enraged at the sight of him.
“Why did you only come back now‽ Do you know how worried I’ve been? You’re a foreigner! I thought something might have happened to you!”
Han Xiao put on his ‘huh, did something happen?’ expression and stared at her blankly.
“What exactly were you doing?”
“Taking a stroll.”
“Can you at least try to come up with a better excuse‽”
“I thought… it’s quite a good excuse?”
“A gunfight at the junkyard was reported on the news yesterday. I thought you got caught in it or something and…” Lu Qian began nagging.
Being nagged at did not irritate Han Xiao at all; on the contrary, it gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling.
However, Old Man Lu appeared to ruin the moment.
“You came back alive? How disappointing.”
“I’ll get you a mobile phone over the next few days. The cost will be deducted from your salary,” said Lu Qian.
“There’s no need. I already have one,” replied Han Xiao as he whipped the black mobile phone out.
Although they had told him not to share the number with anyone else, screw Division 13!
When he saw the black phone, Old Man Lu gave a start. He pulled Han Xiao away to a corner.
“This is a Division 13 phone. You joined Division 13?”
“So you know what this is.”
“Hmph. Since you’ve joined Division 13… get the hell out of my workshop!”
“You can leave if you want to; I’m not leaving.”
“How dare you talk to me like that‽ Why would you even want to-”
Old Man Lu suddenly paused.
“Are you… trying to woo my granddaughter?” He glowered.
“No!” Han Xiao hastily answered.
Suddenly, however, Old Man Lu’s expression grew strange.
“Hey Little Han, now that I think about it… my granddaughter is not that young anymore. What do you think about her?”
Han Xiao immediately stiffened up.
“Old Lu, as the saying goes, a stolen melon is not sweet!”
“But at least you would have a melon! Besides, we need a boy to carry on the family name.”
We‽ Don’t drag me into your family tree!
“…”
“Heh heh. Strike while the iron is hot! There is only so much I can help you with,” he added while patting Han Xiao on the shoulder before heading upstairs, leaving Han Xiao utterly bewildered.
Old people who want descendants are scary!
Han Xiao turned around, and to his horror, Lu Qian had been standing behind him the entire time. She stared at Han Xiao with big, bright eyes that seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“This is a misunderstanding!”
“J-jerk!” Lu Qian covered her blushing face and ran upstairs.
“It’s not like that…”
…
For Luo Xuan, the next few days were restless ones. He was afraid that Han Xiao would join the logistics department and steal the limelight from him.
When it finally got to his head, he went to find a director to ask about Han Xiao.
“His information is classified,” the big-bellied logistics director, who always wore a smile on his face, said when he asked. “All I can tell you is that he’s joined Division 13.”
Luo Xuan’s heart sank when he heard the news.
“Will he join logistics, or research?”
The director shook his head.
“Neither. He’s joined covert-ops. He’ll start in a few days.”
The news stunned Luo Xuan.
How could some unknown guy who popped out of nowhere be directly recruited into secret ops? I’ve worked my ass for so many years, yet I’m still in research?
This is unfair!
…
One week after the junkyard incident, the underworld bosses of the six other districts gathered together to discuss an important issue, the disappearance of Raccoon.
Through piecing together bits of the puzzle, they were able to uncover that Division 13 had a hand in it, and this shocked all of them.
What exactly did Raccoon do to incur the wrath of the mighty lion?
“Raccoon must have offended Division 13 somehow. He is probably dead already,” declared the boss of District 2, who had initiated the meeting.
All of the bosses present had grave expressions. Although they usually acted high and mighty in front of their subordinates, they all knew that Division 13 could easily wipe any one of them out. They were really just small-time hoodlums.
After all, the Western Capital was the seat of the government, and they were just sewer rats hiding around. In fact, they could not even be compared to the intelligence and firearms brokers in the slums! At least those people had powerful backers.
“Who wants to take over District 7?” asked the District 2 boss.
Everyone remained silent.
“No one?”
Although the bosses usually fought amongst one another for territory, none of them dared to take over District 7 without understanding why Division 13 had taken action.
“Fine, then we will leave it open to new blood.”
Now that Raccoon was removed from the picture, there would definitely be ambitious people in his gang rising up to seize power. Of course, it was not that they were willing to let a new rival emerge. Instead, as the situation in District 7 was still unclear, they were just waiting to see what would happen. It would not be too late to get rid of the new boss as soon as everything stabilized.
…
Han Xiao’s life in the workshop returned to normal. After a few days, he asked for an advance of his first month’s pay to order some materials from Division 13.
At present, he was examining a dark red bullet lying on his palm. It was carved with flame patterns.
_____________________
[High-explosive Bullet]: Causes an explosion in a 3 meter radius upon hitting the target.
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Although it was a very simple description, it was actually extremely powerful.
High-explosive bullets incorporated extremely flammable incendiary gels and gases that could ignite far easier than traditional armor-piercing ammunition. They would explode immediately upon coming into contact with air, and the bullet itself would also be consumed in the explosion, leaving nothing behind.
The method to craft the incendiary agents was described in detail in the blueprint, and although Han Xiao was not able to understand it well, as he had not learnt [Basic Chemistry] yet, he was still able to craft it by following the instructions.
From handgun bullets to sniper bullets, over the next few days, Han Xiao crafted dozens of high-explosive bullets.
He also used some good quality metal to craft a 2.5kg, 0.65m Foldable Knife with 13-19 Damage. It was an entirely black knife with a triangular-tipped edge, and while it was not really ideal for combat, it did have some practical uses.
Han Xiao used the experience he gained from crafting the high-explosives and the foldable knife to raise [Machinery Affinity (Novice)] to Lv. 4.
[Machinery Affinity (Novice)] had a level cap of 5, which would take Han Xiao 15,000 experience. His [Basic Shooting] was now Lv. 8, and that would take another 45,000 experience to level up. In all, Han Xiao just needed 60,000 more experience to gain 2 more talent points.
Each of the Six Nations possessed different types of advanced knowledge that they used to entice powerful people to work for them. On Planet Aquamarine, there was only advanced knowledge for three of the five main classes: Pugilist, Mechanic, and Esper.
While no beginner planet possessed advanced knowledge of all 5 main classes, newcomers were always sent to planets based on their inputted preferences.
While Division 13 possessed advanced Mechanic knowledge, it was only accessible to ‘revered’ allies.
There was still a long way to go before Han Xiao became revered with Division 13.
Ever since the night that Han Xiao returned to the workshop, Lu Qian had not once looked at him directly in the eye, and would blush and run away from him after just a few sentences, making Han Xiao feel extremely irked. It did not help that Old Man Lu would pop up from time to time to give him knowing looks.
As for Lu Qian herself, she actually had mixed feelings about Han Xiao.
Of course, she did not hate Han Xiao. However, it was not like she liked him either.
Instead, she was more worried that Han Xiao would pack up and leave if she rejected him. After all, where else would she able to find such a good (cheap) employee?
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s mobile phone lit up.
The message read: ‘The paperwork has been completed. Report today. – Feng Jun.’
“Finally.”
Stardragon Tower was a top-secret government facility where the headquarters of Division 13 was located at. The inside of the tower was like a maze. Han Xiao followed Feng Jun through passageways and tunnels for half an hour before finally reaching the HQ. This time, he wasn’t blindfolded.
“This place is so damn hard to access,” complained Han Xiao.
“That’s why it’s safe,” replied Feng Jun as he swiped his security pass over the sensor to unlock the giant automatic gate.
Han Xiao stepped through the gate into an extremely spacious hall bustling with people. To his surprise, despite being underground, Division 13 HQ was both well-lit and well-ventilated.
Feng Jun handed Han Xiao his security pass and a mouth mask.
“It’s better not to reveal your face to too many people. Wear this.”
Han Xiao was about to put it on when he noticed that there was a picture of a naked bodybuilder printed on it. He frowned and turned to see Feng Jun stifling his laughter.
“Why are you looking at me? Put it on quickly!”
“Hmph.”
Han Xiao suddenly yanked Feng Jun’s arm to rip out a piece of fabric from his sleeve.
“This thing suits you better,” he casually said as he tied it over his face and threw the custom mask back at him.
Feng Jun almost broke out into tears.
“This is my newly issued uniform…”
Suddenly, Han Xiao felt someone watching him. He looked around to find an unfamiliar young man wearing a white coat glaring at him hatefully.
“What’s he so angry about?” asked Han Xiao, bewildered.
Feng Jun laughed bitterly.
“He… just ignore him.”
Luo Xuan had never seen Han Xiao’s face before, but he knew for certain that the person beside Feng Jun was him.
…
The covert-ops department had a single floor all to themselves. It was noticeably less crowded than the other departments.
Feng Jun brought Han Xiao to a meeting room before leaving.
Han Xiao stepped through the door to see that there were already three people seated inside. They were none other than Li Ya Lin, Lambert, and Li Yao.
“You’re the logistics guy that the director gave special permission to join our team?”
Li Ya Lin rose up to circle around Han Xiao as she examined him.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. Special permission? Logistics guy? Suddenly, he noticed that the woman who had spoken to him was not only slender and perky, but extremely pretty. In Han Xiao’s books, she was easily up there with Hila. She was wearing a yellow sports-style jacket on top of black tights.
“I am Han Xiao, a mechanic.”
Li Yao abruptly stood up, knocking his chair down in the process.
“Ni-ni-nice to meet you. I am Li Yao, the team’s hacker,” he introduced, stretching out a hand.
“I am the sniper, Lambert,” introduced Lambert plainly without getting up.
Han Xiao shook Li Yao’s hand and casually acknowledged Lambert with a nod. He was obviously the silent type.
“Hey, why are you wearing a mask?” asked Li Ya Lin with big, bright, curious eyes as she reached out to pull Han Xiao’s mask off.
Han Xiao dodged.
“Why are you hiding your face! Don’t you trust us?” Li Ya Lin questioned unhappily.
“My identity is top-secret,” Han Xiao replied.
Although being assigned to this team would have to mean that these people were trustworthy, Han Xiao still felt that not revealing his face would save him some trouble. He could imagine the questions they would have for him after learning of his face…
“Aren’t you that wanted fugitive?”
“Why would Division 13 want you?”
“What did you do to the Germinal Organization?”
Answering all those questions would be a real headache.
Besides, Han Xiao did not plan to stay in Division 13 for too long.
“Your identity is top-secret? Hold on…” Li Ya Lin seemed to recall something, and she jumped in front of Han Xiao, asking, “Were you the one who made the Lightweight Mechanical Arm?”
Han Xiao gave a start.
“How do you know‽”
“Ha ha! So it’s you!” Li Ya Lin jumped about excitedly before slinging an arm over Han Xiao’s shoulder. “Make another one for me!”
Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.
“It won’t be free.”
Li Ya Lin laughed loudly before asking softly, “Can I have a discount?”
“No.”
“You miser!”
“I still don’t know your name.” This overly friendly pretty lady was giving him quite a headache.
“Li Ya Lin, in charge of close combat,” she reluctantly answered.
“So the four of us are a team?”
“No, there’s still our leader.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s not here. He’s recovering from an injury.”
“Even the leader gets injured. Covert-ops must be some dangerous work,” remarked Han Xiao.
The trio exchanged awkward glances.
“The leader is sick from food poisoning,” explained Li Yao.
“…”
Han Xiao was speechless.
Li Yao coughed dryly.
“The covert-ops department takes on special high difficulty missions. Each team contains 4-7 people, and other than completing the missions assigned to us each month, we are basically free to do whatever we want in our free time,” he began to explain.
“Covert-ops personnel are the cream of the crop. Some of us, like Uncle Lambert, are recruited from other organizations. He was recruited in from a special forces squad. Your designation is field support. You will be in charge of equipment, scheduling, and, during operations, gathering and organizing intel. You’ll be our eyes and ears from now on.”
That’s nice and all… thought Han Xiao, but I want to hunt monsters!
Nevertheless, he could understand why Division 13 arranged things like this – they would rather not put a valuable asset like him in the face of danger.
Well, at the end of the day, Han Xiao not only gained their protection, but also a platform to make some money, so he was satisfied.
Mechanics were really too weak early on compared to pugilists or espers, so crafting was much more efficient for them to earn experience.
“Does our team have a name?” asked Han Xiao.
“Team name? What use would that have?” replied a still displeased Li Ya Lin.
“That’s true…” muttered Han Xiao.
Suddenly, Li Yao interrupted, “We were just issued a mission to take in Black Spider. Apparently, he’s still hiding here in the Western Capital.”
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. The timing of the mission was too sudden. It was probably deliberately assigned by the higher-ups.
“Black Spider?” Li Ya Lin wondered aloud. “I know him. He’s infamous for being a solo bounty hunter. The last time those field agents tried to bring him in he blew up two whole streets. Why would he still hide here in the capital?”
“When will we depart?” Lambert asked.
“There’s no rush. Since they’ve already confirmed his location, let’s just act at night.”
“Since this is your first mission, just familiarize yourself with the logistics preparation.”
Although it was their first meeting, the trio did not inquire too much about Han Xiao’s identity. To be assigned to covert-ops already meant that the higher-ups trusted him, and that was enough.
_____________________
[You have triggered the Class-E mission, [Black Spider]. Accept/Decline]
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Accept.
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Mission Hint: Black Spider is a notorious murderer and bounty hunter. This is your first mission with the covert-ops department. Your responsibility is to help the team succeed.
Mission Requirement: Defeat Black Spider
Reward: 5,000 experience
Bonus Reward: 40,000 experience or Mind Stabilizer
Black Spider? Isn’t that a mini-boss? thought Han Xiao to himself.
Black Spider was an Esper who was regarded as one of the ‘Hardest Bosses to Kill in Version 1.0’.
Normally, a mini-boss quest at Han Xiao’s current level would be at least Class-D, and reward way more experience. However, in Galaxy, quests rewards were automatically adjusted according to character level and roles.
Generally, in a party quest, players who contributed the most damage or healing would earn the most experience. It was a system that prevented experience leeching.
I guess it’s still better than nothing, Han Xiao consoled himself.
From what Han Xiao knew about Black Spider, this mission would be a piece of cake for his team. However, the bonus reward was a different question. Han Xiao knew for sure that the condition for the bonus reward would be to take Black Spider in alive, but it could prove difficult to accomplish as Black Spider was in fact a superhuman, and his abilities made him much harder to catch than to defeat. As of now, only Han Xiao knew about the fact that he was a superhuman. In the game, it would only be revealed later on after launch.
On the other hand, since Han Xiao had a complete understanding of the extent of Black Spider’s abilities, it was still possible to catch him.
“How much will you charge me?” asked Li Ya Lin all of a sudden. She was clearly still hung up on the Lightweight Mecha Arm.
“One Lightweight Mecha Arm will cost 20,000. 10,000 upfront, plus materials, and I’ll make you one in two days.”
Li Ya Lin pouted. Although it was almost a month of her wage, she was still bent on having it.
“Do you have anything else for now?”
Han Xiao pondered for a moment before whipping out what seemed to be a 10 centimeter black knife handle without a blade.
“What’s this for?” asked Li Ya Lin uncertainly.
Han Xiao chuckled and pressed a small switch on the handle. Instantly, a blade shot out from within it, transforming the stick into a 70 centimeter sharp knife.
“This is a retractable knife.”
For Li Ya Lin, it was love at first sight. The reason she favored her baton was due to its portability, and the retractable knife took it one step further. It was as concealable, yet stronger. Just as she was about to grab it out of Han Xiao’s hands, Han Xiao dodged.
“1,000 for one,” he stated with a straight face. In truth, it had only costed him 300 to make.
“You stingy miser! Money-face!” Li Ya Lin scolded as she forked out the money.
As she started to play around with the knife, Lambert suddenly spoke.
“I want ten but shorter. Around 30 cm.”
Han Xiao was overjoyed.
“No problem!”
“I want them ready for tonight.”
“As long as I have the materials.”
“I want one, too!” Lin Yao exclaimed, to Han Xiao’s surprise. For some reason, this beginner weapon was turning out to be quite the hot item.
What Han Xiao did not know was that innovation was stifled in Division 13 – and it probably had something to do with the research department. Furthermore, the type of complex missions that secret-ops typically performed restricted their choice of equipment.
Most agents’ preferred weapon of choice for close combat was the dagger, so Han Xiao’s retractable knife was quite a game changer. Imagine if, during a mission, your enemy whipped out his 10 cm dagger, and you whipped out your meter long knife.
Longer is always more impressive.
…
After acquiring the materials from Lambert and Li Yao, Han Xiao headed over to the private workshop at the logistics department to get the knives crafted.
In one afternoon, Han Xiao earned 11,000 Aquamarine Dollars and even earned quite a bit of experience in the process: 8,000 in total.
“Not bad at all. Looks like Division 13 will be the goldmine that I expected it to be.”
After getting suited up, the trio departed for the city to hunt Black Spider. Han Xiao, though, stayed behind in the HQ to provide support, intel, and instructions.
Li Ya Lin, Lambert, and Li Yao all had cameras and mics attached to them, and their feeds were directly wired to Han Xiao. He could clearly see whatever they were seeing, and in some sense, his job was to act as a director of sorts.
Of course, as Han Xiao was new to the squad, he did not expect them to fully trust his judgement. Furthermore, it was an easy mission that all of them knew the higher-ups meant as a trial. While they did not object to Han Xiao playing captain, whether they would listen to him was another matter. They would still follow their own judgement no matter what, and Han Xiao fully knew this.
Nonetheless, Han Xiao was not only quite experienced as a captain – having led 50 men raids back in Galaxy – he was basically omniscient, and this alone made him the best person for the job.
…
Night had fallen.
Three people arrived at the dirty, wet streets of District 8. As it was night, the streets were empty, and the streetlights flickered ominously.
District 8 was vastly different from the other districts. The buildings here were shabby, and some did not even have proper roofs – instead, metal sheets and cloth could be seen covering the houses. Laundry was hanging up all over the place, and the streets were uncleaned and full of litter. This was a place that could hardly be called safe. Drug dealers and the like all thrived in this district, and it was to no one’s surprise that Black Spider would hide here.
The trio were fully equipped – even Li Yao. Although he was a hacker – and also a coward – he was still able to wield a gun.
“That apartment building ahead is Black Spider’s hiding spot. He should be on the third floor. We need to approach silently,” said Li Ya Lin to Lambert and Li Yan.
“There’s no point in acting stealthy,” interrupted Han Xiao through the intercom. “Black Spider has already discovered you all.”
“How do you know?” Li Ya Lin frowned.
Suddenly, gunfire pierced the silence of the night as a storm of bullets rained upon the trio. They immediately jumped into the nearest alley to seek cover.
The trio exchanged serious looks as they leaned against the wall.
Since when did he notice us‽
While a simple ambush like that would never have been enough to do them in, they would not have been able to react so fast without Han Xiao’s warning. Li Ya Lin put her game face on and clamped her earpiece tighter.
There was a man standing on top of the tall building from where the shots had come from smiling frenziedly upon the trio’s location with an assault rifle in his hands. On the left side of his face was a tattoo of a black spider. With a wave of his hand, ten masked men armed with guns suddenly jumped out of their hiding spots in the nearby streets and alleys to converge on the alley that the trio was in.
“Our intel was wrong! Wasn’t he alone‽” Lin Yao’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
Li Ya Lin’s heart sunk.
Black Spider began to laugh coldly.
“Did you think that I would continue staying here if I was not prepared? You guys got me good the other time, but now that you have all kindly offered yourselves up, I shall have my revenge!”
Black Spider was widely known to be an independent bounty hunter, and his modus operandi was to set up traps before the battle even broke out. The trio were akin to prey stepping into a spider’s web.
Li Ya Lin suddenly turned to face the wall and, as her leg began to glow yellow, smashed it down with a powerful kick to obstruct the enemy’s vision.
Low level pugilists relied mainly on their abnormally huge power. Li Ya Lin was a Lv. 25 E-class superhuman with over 300 ona.
Black Spider and his agents suppressed the trio with overwhelming gunfire as they converged onto the alleyway.
Li Ya Lin and Lambert dragged Lin Yao with them as they made use of their surroundings to evade the gunfire. While they were able to dodge all the bullets, they soon found themselves cornered in a dead end; Black Spider and his men had sealed off the alley.
Black Spider closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“My insects, you must be trembling with fear now,” he said frenziedly.
“Do you think you’ve won?” replied Li Ya Lin tauntingly as she shot a glance at Lambert.
Black Spider turned around to face his men as he opened up his arms.
“I just need to say give the order and you will become minced meat in an instant. I do think I’ve won, don’t you?”
“Then what are you waiting for?” glowered Li Ya Lin.
Black Spider waved a finger.
“Killing you all will do me no good. I’ll ransom you for a tidy sum!” he proudly declared, knowing full well that Division 13 could hear him through the trio’s intercom.
“But only one of you is enough!” he suddenly broke out in maniacal laughter.
Just as he was about to give the order to fire, Li Ya Lin jumped onto the wall, and, as her legs began to glow yellow, she sprung forward, soaring in the air like a graceful swallow to close in on Black Spider and his men.
“Kill her!” Black Spider frantically ordered. His men began to fire at Li Ya Lin, and while a few bullets managed to find their mark despite her being fast to the point of becoming a blur, they simply flattened into metal pancakes upon hitting her clothes.
Not only was the fabric of Li Ya Lin’s bodysuit weaved with bulletproof ceramic fiber, her own body itself was tough enough to deflect bullets. From the start, the trio had only been fleeing to bait in Black Spider and all of his men.
As Li Ya Lin distracted them, Lambert whipped out two knives with each hand and threw them out, killing four men instantly.
Li Ya Lin drew the sheathed retractable knife from her waist and slashed at the nearest agent. The agent threw his head back slightly, thinking that it would be enough to dodge, but, suddenly, a 10 cm blade extended out to rip his throat open.
“Excellent weapon!” remarked Li Ya Lin with shining eyes.
What happens when a gunman comes into the range of a pugilist goes without saying. Thirty seconds later, there was blood splattered everywhere, and only Black Spider, with both hands chopped off, remained.
Li Ya Lin exhaled as she sheathed the retractable knife. She clearly looked pleased with it.
“Well done,” praised Han Xiao. He had chosen to remain silent during the fight so as not to bother them.
“Thank— thank you,” Li Yao stammered.
“Not you.”
Li Yao lowered his head in depression. He had truly not contributed anything at all during the fight.
The heavily wounded Black Spider began to laugh hoarsely as he glared at Li Ya Lin without a single trace of fear in his eyes.
“Little brat, you guys can’t kill me,” he taunted.
Suddenly, Lambert whipped out his gun to shoot Black Spider in the head. Blood splattered across the floor as Black Spider’s body collapsed to the ground.
Li Ya Lin and Li Yao turned to look at him speechlessly.
“Can’t know until you try,” he stated plainly.
“Ay… whatever. They didn’t tell us to take him in alive anyway,” said Li Ya Lin as she lazily stretched her back. “Ah! I want to go back to take a shower! All of this blood is so smelly.”
Suddenly, however, Han Xiao spoke.
“Don’t let your guard down. He’s not dead yet.”
Li Ya Lin almost stumbled backwards in her stretch.
“How can he be alive?” she fumed as she pointed at what remained of Black Spider’s head.
“He is a superhuman with some tricky abilities. Unmask the corpse next to him. You will understand,” replied Han Xiao calmly.
“But there isn’t any piece of news on the dark web that says Black Spider is a superhuman,” hesitated Li Yao. “You might be mistaken.”
“Not might, he is definitely mistaken,” added a disgruntled Li Ya Lin. “Hey, newbie, I know you want to earn some credit, but don’t make these kind of things up!”
Han Xiao was speechless.
“Just give it a try.”
Lambert cut Li Ya Lin off as he bent down to unmask the agent. To their alarm, the man did not have a face, or rather, he did not have any facial features.
“What— what is this‽”
Li Yao was horror-struck. They proceeded to unmask the remaining 9 men, and they were all faceless!
Suddenly, a change occurred in the first man that Han Xiao had asked them to unmask. As the mark of a black spider slowly appeared on his face, facial features also began to form, and it soon became clear that it looked exactly like Black Spider’s face. Next, the wounds on this person actually began to heal up, and after a while, this ‘corpse’s’ eyelids began to move!
“Blow his brains up!” Han Xiao instructed firmly.
Lambert fired without hesitation.
They proceeded to listen to Han Xiao and repeat the same procedure one by one on whichever faceless man the same signs next appeared on. Li Ya Lin and Li Yao were thoroughly shocked by what was happening, but they suppressed their doubts and carried out Han Xiao’s instructions.
Although they had no idea how Han Xiao knew of Black Spider’s secret; he, without a doubt, knew his stuff.
When there was only one faceless man left, Han Xiao stopped them.
“Don’t kill him. Just cripple him.”
When the mark of the black spider and Black Spider’s face formed completely on the faceless man, he opened his eyes in horror and shouted, “How do you all know my superpowers‽”
The name of his ability was [Parasitic Copy].
It allowed him to create a faceless copy out of himself after a certain period of time. The copy did not possess intelligence and could only operate and follow simple instructions within a fixed radius of himself.
Each copy that Black Spider had was like an extra life, and he could reincarnate indefinitely as long as a copy still existed. In this manner, he was virtually immortal.
While this ability did not have any direct offensive use, what it did was alter Black Spider’s very life-form and free him from the restraints of flesh and blood, turning him into a force of consciousness that could reside in any of his copies.
As long as a copy existed, he was invincible!
It was his greatest secret, and one that he would never divulge to anyone.
How could anyone have figured it out‽
Han Xiao laughed at the sight of Black Spider’s dumbfounded and horrified face on the feed. If it had been some other mini-boss, he might not have been able to recall their abilities, but Black Spider had been a headache for countless players in the game, so he left a lasting impression.
At present, Black Spider had actually not even mastered his power, making it the perfect time to deal with him. Nonetheless, it was a superpower with extremely high potential. Who knows what someone who had mastered it would be capable of. Not even Han Xiao knew, as Black Spider had died early in the game as well—not this early though, of course.
How did he die?
Black Spider’s power might have been tricky to deal with, but there were still ways to deal with it. Since he had transcended flesh to become purely ‘soul’, one could simply damage his soul directly to cripple his wings. Still, superhumans with soul-damaging abilities were far and few in Galaxy, so most players remained incapable of killing him easily. This was why he was considered one of the ‘Hardest Bosses to Kill” in Version 1.0.
And of course, Black Spider considered himself so as well… until he met Hila.
Out of all the classes, Espers were the ones who possessed all sorts of extraordinary abilities. Unlike the other four superhuman classes, Espers only needed to consume gene awakening drugs instead of learning knowledge in order to unlock their abilities. Each character in Galaxy was given one chance to take the gene awakening drug, and if it failed, that character would never be able to switch classes to become an Esper again.
The success rate would depend on the type of gene awakening drug used, and as you might have guessed, this was indeed a pay-to-win feature.
Even the lowest grade gene awakening drugs went for as high as 398 dollars, and the [Ultra-Perfect-Deluxe Gene Awakening Elixir], the awakening drug with the highest success rate, was worth well over 5,000 dollars despite it only having an 18% success rate without guarantees.
It was truly a money spinner for the game’s company.
Previously, Han Xiao had also tried his hand at switching to an Esper. Unfortunately, the only result that he arrived at was that Esper players were all filthy rich.
Black Spider quickly calmed down and threatened, “I have unlimited copies. Even if you destroy this body, you won’t be able to kill me! Mark my words! I will definitely hunt you down for the rest of your lives!”
Lambert was about to raise his gun when Han Xiao hurriedly stopped him.
“Follow my instructions…”
As Li Ya Lin listened to Han Xiao, she suddenly began to act high and all-knowing as she replied to Black Spider, “Unlimited copies? Stop trying to scare people. You can have at most have 50 bodies! Apart from the 10 here, the rest are scattered across the globe!”
Black Spider’s eyes grew wide with disbelief. Figuring out the nature of his powers was one thing, but to actually know such secret information? How was that possible‽ Black Spider’s mind was racing.
Someone knows everything about my powers!
Who? Who could it be?
Could it be… an Esper who can read minds?
Li Ya Lin continued, “As long as we don’t kill this copy of you, we can lock you up for as long as we want!”
Black Spider’s face changed, and he immediately attempted to bite his own tongue off to avoid his impending fate. Unfortunately, Lambert was a step faster, and he managed to restrain him.
Unable to even end his own life, Black Spider could only glare hatefully at Li Ya Lin.
At this point in time, the trio had the same questions in their mind.
Who exactly is Han Xiao?
Why does Division 13 treat his identity with such secrecy?
How does he possess such secretive information?
…
A cleanup crew soon arrived to put a straitjacket over Black Spider and take him back.
At the same time, Han Xiao, who was relaxing in the faraway base, received a mission completion notification.
_____________________
You have completed the E-Class mission, ‘Black Spider’, earning 5,000 experience.
You have fulfilled the secret condition: “Take Black Spider in Alive”, earning 40,000 experience or a Soul Stabilizer.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The Soul Stabilizer had the effect of raising spiritual resistance, granting the user immunity to mental and spiritual attacks. It was a piece of equipment that was particularly useful against magic users.
As there were no mages or psychics on Aquamarine, the Soul Stabilizer was not really of much use to Han Xiao for now, so he naturally selected the more practical reward of 40,000 experience.
What about Hila, you ask? That would still be thinking too far ahead.
Not bad at all. Han Xiao smiled to himself.
…
The trio finally arrived back at the secret-ops HQ. Li Ya Lin rushed into the room and asked Han Xiao with wide, curious eyes, “How did you know that Black Spider was a superhuman?”
Han Xiao laughed enigmatically.
“I’ll tell you for one million dollars,” he offered, frustrating Li Ya Lin.
“Whatever. Oh right, what are we going to do about him?”
Li Yao shook his head.
“I heard that the higher-ups want to send him to Death’s Door Island and lock him up forever.”
Death’s Door Island was a maximum security prison that the Six Nations established together. It was located in the middle of an ocean, making it impossible to escape from. Only those that the Six Nations deemed the most dangerous were sent there—evil individuals, warlords of the Wanderers Army, and other important figureheads.
Death’s Door Island was so named as a sentence to the island was essentially a death sentence, except that it was worse—death would actually be an escape.
Han Xiao was pleased with the arrangement, as there was truly no other way to keep him from coming after them for revenge.
At the end of the day, the team’s first operation together was a perfect success, and after tidying up, everyone made their own way home.
Han Xiao, too, was about to leave when, suddenly, Feng Jun came up to him with a worried look.
“Internal affairs wants to ask you a few questions.”
“Haven’t I proved my trustworthiness?” asked Han Xiao.
“The internal affairs department appealed for a second interrogation. As it is within reason for them to do so, the higher-ups did not object. As you know, your previous identity is a sensitive topic.”
“The higher-ups are split in two on the matter of yourself,” he added softly. “While departments like intelligence and logistics think a friendly relationship is more beneficial, the hardliners led by internal affairs think otherwise.”
Han Xiao sighed. Where there is people there will be conflict.
…
At internal affairs, Han Xiao had his height and weight taken again before being brought to an interrogation room, where a sole investigator awaited him.
“Name.”
“Han Xiao.”
“Gender.”
“Female.”
The veins on the investigator’s temple bulged.
“Age.”
“30… no, I mean 31.”
Bang!
The investigator slammed the table.
“Stop playing a fool!”
“Why ask all these pointless things? Can we just go straight to the point?”
“Continue. Family relationships,” the investigator continued through gritted teeth.
“I’m an orphan. No relatives.”
“Where were you born?”
“Mt. Buzhou.”
“Nonsense! We didn’t find any record of your birth!”
“Go ask your superior,” Han Xiao replied plainly.
Obviously, the higher-ups would not divulge Han Xiao’s information to a normal member of staff. This interrogation was simply the internal affairs department’s idea of giving him a warning.
The investigator was being given instructions through his earpiece, and he suppressed his anger to proceed with the psychological assessment.
The investigator gave Han Xiao a number of hypothetical scenarios for him to say what he would do in each of them. Han Xiao, however, was not cooperative and gave random answers.
…
Finally, the interrogation ended.
As the investigator sealed the compiled information in an envelope, he coldly told Han Xiao, “The internal affairs department is always watching you. Pray we don’t find anything on you.”
“So you mean you currently have nothing, and can’t take any action against me?” taunted Han Xiao, before leaving the room in high spirits.
The investigator’s face instantly darkened, and his hands shook with fury as he clutched the envelope.
On his way back to the workshop, Han Xiao thought about how to go about starting his business in Division 13.
The first thing he would need to do was to get his name out there. Pulling out his phone, he made a call to Li Ya Lin to ask for her help. After some negotiation, she agreed to help him out on the condition of a lifetime 20% discount.
However, there was still a problem—the workshop was not well equipped for Han Xiao’s plans, so he would not be able to carry out mass production. After thinking things through, he decided that he had no choice but to speak to Lu Qian directly.
…
“Sister Qian, I have something to say.”
Lu Qian shivered.
‘It was unavoidable all along,’ she thought to herself, ‘but now I am mentally prepared!’
“There’s something I want to tell you,” continued Han Xiao. “Actually, I-”
Suddenly, Lu Qian turned to face him and bowed resolutely.
“S-sorry, but I have to reject you. Please don’t get me wrong, you are a good person.”
The atmosphere instantly stiffened.
Han Xiao’s eyelids twitched. Although he actually did not even have any intention of wooing her, being rejected in such a manner still left a bad taste in his mouth.
“…”
“You misunderstand. I just want to refit the workshop and install an independent workroom for my own use. My friend has lent me the money. What do you think? It’s like a small upgrade.”
Lu Qian gave a start and started to blush. She felt like she was about to die from embarrassment.
“Okay, fine. I agree,” she replied before running upstairs.
“Ahhhh! That was so embarrassing!”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes. He suspected that she probably did not even hear him clearly.
…
Han Xiao drew up a proposal for his upgrades and passed it to Feng Jun to get it approved by the higher-ups.
As Division 13 valued Han Xiao highly, and it was a perfectly reasonable request, it was immediately passed, and construction workers soon arrived at the workshop.
Two days later, there was now a new mini workshop right next to the main building. As Division 13 had fully paid for it, it would be more accurate to say that Han Xiao was borrowing it, and under his request, they had also built an underground space for his convenience.
Over the next few days, Han Xiao received many orders for the Retractable Knife.
Although all of his clients were Division 13 agents, Han Xiao preferred not to meet with any of them directly just in case. He instead relied on Li Ya Lin to act as a middleman.
The materials were sent directly to Han Xiao’s workshop, and he crafted dozens of Retractable Knives over the next few days, earning him quite a lot of experience, some of which he used to raise Mechanic Affinity to the highest level, thereby gaining another talent point.
Back in Division 13, word that Li Ya Lin’s team had acquired a mechanic named Han Xiao—and that he was open to private orders—spread like wildfire.
As a result, the amount of orders he received skyrocketed, and Han Xiao found himself barely able to meet the demand. Nonetheless, thanks to this, he was able to earn tons of experience each day.
Unlike in his previous life, there were no competitors, so Han Xiao had the entire market to himself.
Han Xiao only intended to take orders for both the Retractable Knife, and High-explosive Gunpowder, but he made an exception to craft a Lightweight Mecha Arm for Li Ya Lin.
While the Retractable Knife was indeed selling like hot pancakes, Han Xiao knew that its popularity would soon fizzle out. After all, most people were only buying it for its novelty. Moreover, as its design wasn’t really that complex at all, it wouldn’t be strange for imitations and similar products to appear in the near future.
As such, Han Xiao had planned all along to only use it to earn a quick buck. Comparatively, the [High-explosive Gunpowder] had more promising potential. Not only was it inexpensive, it was extremely useful, and being a consumable, clients would keep on returning for more.
Furthermore, unlike the retractable knife, [High Explosive Gunpowder] would not be easily replicated—as soon as the bullet cap was opened, the gunpowder would react with air to combust and leave no trace. It was essentially impossible to craft without the blueprints and manufacturing process for the planet’s current technology.
Han Xiao used the money he earned from the Retractable Knife each day to purchase large quantities of materials for making [High-explosive Gunpowder]. He only planned to push it out into the market after accumulating a stockpile.
…
One day, when Old Lu and the tall old man were having one of their ‘chess sessions’, Han Xiao saw the tall old man and came up to him.
“Is the prosthetic good to use?” he asked, smiling.
“Not bad,” the tall old man laughed and rolled up his sleeve. The prosthetic arm had been fitted with a layer of artificial skin, making it seem extremely realistic.
“As long as you like it. If it needs maintenance, feel free to come to me.”
The tall old man nodded and asked, “I heard from Old Lu that you joined Division 13?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What a promising young lad. Do your best for the country,” he applauded.
Han Xiao smirked inwardly. The tall old man did not know that he knew who he was.
Working for Division 13 was not a huge secret to keep. After all, the division had a front cover. Ordinary people had heard of a Division 13, but they simply knew it as a company.
As they conversed, Han Xiao wondered when the tall old man would come clean with him and if he should act surprised when he did.
Suddenly, Feng Jun entered the workshop in a hurry and said to Han Xiao with a grave expression, “Let’s go outside for a talk.”
As Han Xiao’s caretaker, Feng Jun always kept a small team around the compound to monitor the workshop, mainly to keep an eye out for any Germinal Organization operatives.
As they stepped outside, the tall old man wondered what had happened.
“The research department has their eyes on you!”
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“The research department is tasked with inventing new weapons and equipment. They have the power to perform risk assessment on any equipment we use. Using the claim that your Retractable Knife is dangerous to use, they are demanding that you cough up the blueprints! As they have the right to do so, the other departments are unable to interfere.”
‘So they want my blueprints!
‘Risk assessment? What a joke!’
Han Xiao snorted coldly. If he handed them the blueprints for the Retractable Knife, they would immediately begin mass production of it!
Feng Jun proceeded to enlighten Han Xiao on the internal strife in Division 13. The research department and internal affairs were both on the side of the hardliners, and essentially hostile towards him.
As the research department had not produced many results over the past few years, their budget was continuously slashed every year. In Division 13, their standing was even lower than that of the logistics department, which was why they were now targeting Han Xiao’s blueprints. They were truly desperate.
“And what if I refuse?”
“You will be blacklisted by them, and it will reflect on your record. The good thing is that you are not an ordinary agent, and the Division values your intel highly, so it should not cause you many problems; after all, the research department can’t really force you due to your position.”
“Then that’s fine. I won’t give them the blueprints,” said Han Xiao as he shook his head.
Feng Jun laughed bitterly. He had come knowing that Han Xiao would most likely refuse.
Although the Retractable Knife would end up being over-saturated in the market, it was still earning him a lot for the time being. Naturally, Han Xiao would not give it up.
The tall old man made a phone call to someone in Division 13. When he learnt of what had transpired, his face darkened.
“A bunch of greedy imbeciles! All they do is stir up nonsense!”
That Han Xiao was able to achieve an amicable relationship with Division 13 was something that the tall old man had played a huge role in. Now, however, there were people within the division itself who were clumsily undermining his efforts! What if Han Xiao became averse to the division and decided to pack up and leave‽ Then, all of his thoughts and efforts would have been in vain.
“The gall of them!”
“Unbelievable!”
Li Ya Lin was enraged to hear of the research department’s plot, mainly because she was worried about her 20% discount.
“This is the higher ups’ game,” said Li Yao. “We can’t do anything about it.”
“Might as well get rid of that research department head,” suggested Lambert plainly as he polished his daggers.
Li Yao gave a start.
“Uncle! Don’t say that kind of thing!”
“Well, that seems like one way to solve things…” mumbled Li Ya Lin in deep thought, sending Li Yao to the verge of tears.
Even if you guys don’t want to live, I still want to live! he thought to himself.
Although Han Xiao had only joined them a few days ago, after the Black Spider operation, the trio had fully accepted him as their comrade. Naturally, they were displeased to hear of his predicament.
“Why not ask for his opinion directly?” asked Li Yao.
“His address is top secret, and his phone is always off!” scowled Li Ya Lin. “Who knows where he could be…”
“Then what should we do? How can we just watch him suffer at the hands of the research department?”
“Wait,” Lambert abruptly interjected.
Footsteps could be heard, and a few seconds later, a woman appeared at the door.
“Hey, Lin Lin, I heard that your new teammate is quite the troublemaker.”
The woman was short-haired, and a beauty in her own right. However, her voice was derisive, and she looked down on the trio antagonistically as she leaned against the door with folded arms.
The woman’s skin was extremely fair, and her lips were exceedingly red, as though the petals of a rose. She possessed a flirtatious temperament, and although she was tall, the strength of her aura did not seem to pale against Li Ya Lin’s. Although Li Ya Lin was unquestionably prettier, the woman was, without a doubt, more of a head turner than her.
Li Ya Lin’s face immediately darkened at the sight of her.
“Vixen Su,” she growled through gritted teeth, “are you looking for a fight?”
Di Su Su giggled tauntingly.
“If you dare.”
Di Su Su and Li Ya Lin were well known to be hated rivals. The bad blood between them could be traced all the way back to when they were fellow disciples of a dojo in their childhood. While Di Su Su always excelled in each of their tests and fights, Li Ya Lin’s performance was always average, and she was always easily defeated by her.
Even until this day, Li Ya Lin would sometimes be reminded of the way that she would put on a pretense in front of everyone and act nice to her despite them detesting each other. While everyone would praise Di Su Su and offer her guidance, Li Ya Lin’s conversations with their master always end in a few sentences, and he would always just ask her to follow Di Su Su’s example.
Recalling those events always dampened Li Ya Lin’s mood. Her master essentially treated her like an abandoned dog in the rain.
The two would eventually both end up joining Division 13, but only for history to repeat itself. Di Su Su’s always outperformed Li Ya Lin’s team, and her team became the ace of secret ops. What Li Ya Lin hated most was how Di Su Su would frequently come over to mock her, and the way she called her ‘Lin Lin’!
Bitch! Since when were we close?
Di Su Su was obviously doing it on purpose, and while Li Ya Lin knew this, it still got on her nerves.
“Hehe,” Di Su Su laughed softly. “I heard that you guys have a new addition, so I came specially to look for him. Where is he? He can’t have gone to hide, right?”
“He’s not here,” replied Li Ya Lin coldly. “Get lost.”
“Looks like I’ve made a wasted trip, but I guess that’s understandable, since he’s busy being destroyed by the research department.”
Li Ya Lin stared at her.
“Hurry up and get lost!”
“How heartless.” Di Su Su pouted. “We’re childhood sweethearts, after all.”
She shot a look towards Li Yao before sauntering off.
Li Ya Lin was already frustrated, but when she turned around to see Li Yao all intoxicated, her anger swelled. She stood up abruptly to grab Li Yao by his collar.
“Is this beautiful woman right beside you not enough‽” she yelled. “Why are you looking at that vixen‽”
“B-b-but,” stammered Li Yao, 'she smiled at me…”
“You had better give me a good answer: is she more beautiful or am I?” she asked threateningly.
For some reason, Li Yao still had to take a moment to think before he replied, “I think… that Sister Su Su is gentler than you…”
“Humph, Li Yao! I think that your brain needs some adjustment!
“Reverse-avalanche-bridge-breaking suplex!”
As Lambert casually sipped on the cup of water in his hand, he picked his phone up to make a call.
“Get a doctor over here—a bone specialist, preferably.”
…
The research department had expected Han Xiao to refuse their demands.
To mechanics, blueprints were like their lifeline.
They did not care about Han Xiao’s personal gain, or rather, that was to be expected, as the hardliners were hostile to him from the very start. In their eyes, giving Han Xiao the chance to cooperate was a soft move, and he should have been locked up and controlled instead.
On the other hand, the conservatives thought exactly the opposite. They were willing to give Han Xiao the benefit of the doubt as he seemed trustworthy and was cooperative. Why cause unrest and animosity over a simple beginner equipment blueprint?
What if he wasn’t scared of torture?
Division 13 had tried all sorts of methods on captured Germinal members before, but torture seldom worked, and nine out of ten would give false intel that was harmful instead of beneficial.
Besides, Han Xiao was a truly unique case.
As such, the conservatives, too, were outraged at the pressure that the hardliners were trying to put on Han Xiao. They saw them as a bunch of outdated, old farts. Times had changed, and talent was in high demand—Division 13 should have been treasuring him, not pressuring him.
Weren’t there other mechanics in the division too? Stealing Han Xiao’s work would reflect poorly on the division.
What year was it? All the talk about loyalty and what not would only serve to chase away prospects and talents seeking refuge. Don’t forget that the Six Nations was the main culprit for the destruction of all the other countries! It would not be surprising if these foreign talents just up and rebelled!
Unfortunately, as Division 13 was extremely compartmentalized, only the top brass would be able to interfere with the research department’s actions, but they seemed to only be interested in continuing to observe for now.
The research department was offering high amounts of cash to the agents for the Retractable Knives that they had bought from Han Xiao, which everyone saw through as a low move.
As most of the agents did not know of Han Xiao’s special status, most felt that it was unreasonable to bully an ordinary mechanic so, and they decided not to turn in the knives. Doing so would also be, in some sense, disrespectful to Han Xiao.
However, there were still some who turned them in for the money.
Korat was the first agent to strike a deal with the research department. He asked for 30,000 dollars—thirty times more than the opening offer—and the research department relented.
His reasoning was simple—it was simply worth the money. While most of the agents held on to their morals, he laughed at them for being fools to pass up the opportunity.
It’s just a small-time mechanic anyway, who even cares? Just wait till the research department mass produces it if you really want it.
…
In the research department, Luo Xuan and the head secretary were examining the retractable knife.
“Luo Xuan, can you reproduce it?”
“Piece of cake. This thing isn’t even well made; plus, it’s not encrypted.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you. If you can figure out the blueprints, I’ll pull you over into our department. Of course, your position will be higher.”
Luo Xuan’s eyes lit up. Since his debacle over the mecha arm, he had started to feel that he did not have a future in logistics.
If he could gain the favor of the higher-ups again, he would definitely be able to surpass that blasted Han Xiao!
…
Back at the workshop, Han Xiao had moved into the new building for convenience sake.
The arrangement brought Lu Qian some relief as things were still awkward between the pair.
“Whoosh.”
Hot steam gushed out as Han Xiao, who was wearing a heat-resistant suit, opened the furnace lid. He proceeded to use a pair of iron tongs to pick up a piece of glowing hot metal from within.
For now, there were two options available to Han Xiao for making the Retractable Knives—molding or stamping.
While both methods had their own advantages, the latter allowed for mass production with a higher success rate, so Han Xiao favored it.
The selling point of the Retractable Knife was its concealability. Since practicality was more important than the quality of craftsmanship, Han Xiao did not bother to put much detail into making them.
The metal sheets that he used for stamping were provided by Division 13, so they were top grade. Han Xiao had polished the metal sheet with a chemical spray before putting it into the furnace. After taking it out of the furnace, he set it under the stamping machine. Of course, he still had to carry out a few more steps before the knives were complete.
Each Retractable Knife gave him 100-200 experience, and the level of the blueprint itself had been increased to Lv. 2, giving the final product a slightly higher quality.
When he was done, Han Xiao stepped out of the heat-resistant suit and wiped the sweat off his brow. After examining the newly made knives, he proceeded to work on some workshop orders.
Midway, Han Xiao’s phone rang. He picked up his phone to see that it was Li Ya Lin.
“Something bad has happened! All the agents want to cancel their orders!”
“What happened‽” Han Xiao was shocked by the news.
“The research department has reverse-engineered the Retractable Knife, and they announced that they will proceed with mass production very soon and make it available to everyone!”
Although everyone could see how blatantly underhanded the research department was being, since they were going to be provided with free Retractable Knives, it was only natural for them to want to cancel their orders with Han Xiao.
The Retractable Knife’s profitability had run its course.
Han Xiao sat in deep thought. He had not expected the research department to be so brazen. Although Han Xiao had already known that something like this would happen, he did not expect them to take action so fast.
While giving up the blueprints voluntarily would earn him some faction reputation, he would not be able to earn any experience.
In any case, they were putting a dent in Han Xiao plans to get stronger.
Han Xiao picked up his phone to make a call to Feng Jun.
“I assume you’ve heard?” he asked in a low voice.
Feng Jun sighed.
“The research department is really too much. The higher-ups haven’t even given them permission, and they’ve already leaked that they will mass produce the Retractable Knife.”
Han Xiao frowned.
“Fill me in on the details.”
Feng Jun proceeded to tell Han Xiao about Korat and Luo Xuan.
“Has the research department given an official statement?”
“Not yet.”
Han Xiao’s face darkened. Looks like the research department did not even intend to give him an explanation.
How the research department dared to act was one thing, but the higher-ups definitely understood exactly what was going on. Han Xiao speculated that the reason they had not granted or denied the research department permission yet was to test how he would react. If he let the research department trample over him, it could be the green light for them to stop playing nice with him.
Of course, that was an extreme line of thought.
The top brass definitely won’t side with either faction. As long as I don’t push things too far, they will have to act accordingly and compensate me.
A thought suddenly occurred to Han Xiao. This could be my chance to obtain advancement knowledge!
However, as advancement knowledge was top secret, it would not be so simple to just mention it casually.
A plan began to formulate in Han Xiao’s mind.
Rob me in broad daylight? I’ll teach you all that I’m not that easy to bully!
…
In the Research Department…
“Heh heh. Well done, well done.” The research department’s head secretary was full of praise for Luo Xuan.
Luo Xuan smiled plainly, but in truth he was suppressing his delight.
“The department head thinks highly of you. We’ve already requested all the necessary information and documents from the logistics department. You can already be counted as our staff.”
“What about the… promotion?”
“The department head specifically instructed that you will lead your own team. Your clearance will also be raised. Keep up the good work and there will be nothing to worry about.”
Luo Xuan’s smile widened.
“I heard that Han Xiao is valued highly by the higher-ups. Will there be any problem?” he asked.
“Relax, I have inside information. There is nothing he can do.”
News of the conflict between the research department and Han Xiao spread throughout Division 13 like wildfire. As everyone thought Han Xiao to be an ordinary mechanic, the outcome seemed obvious.
Over the next few days, Han Xiao showed no signs of action, so it became apparent that he had, as expected, decided to swallow it.
Nonetheless, it still remained a mystery as to why the research department would pick on a normal staff member so much.
Li Ya Lin also suffered from the incident due to her involvement with Han Xiao, and while she kept on trying to call Han Xiao to speak to him, the line always failed to get through.
Of course, Han Xiao was not going to let things end like that. While he had not made his move yet, that was because his preparations were not complete.
Han Xiao had previously made about $100,000 from selling the Retractable Knives, $30,000 of which was used to purchase materials for High-explosive Gunpowder.
Over the last few days, he had used another $30,000 of materials to make a huge batch of Retractable Knives—100 in total.
“That should be enough.”
Han Xiao had just finished with the hundredth knife, and he went to look for a crate to store them all in before leaving Division 13.
As the threat of war loomed, guns were heavily regulated in the Six Nations. It was in fact illegal for civilians to possess any, which was why Han Xiao had gotten rid of his guns before entering the city.
Nonetheless, there were illegal arms dealers situated all across the Six Nations. Neutral vendors such as these were implemented in Galaxy as a way for players to purchase equipment and intel as they carried out infiltration and assassination missions in enemy nations.
Naturally, Han Xiao knew exactly where these vendors were located.
Han Xiao was headed to District 8 to look for an arms dealer named Ma Xiu Si. Ma Xiu Si was an operative for the Fabian Company, a global powerhouse in the arms market who sold everything from guns to jets. Under the table, they even did business with the Six Nations themselves and the Revolutionary Army.
…
Han Xiao easily found Ma Xiu Si, who was more than happy to entertain him when Han Xiao opened up the crate of Retractable Knives before him and began to explain their usage.
Ma Xiu Si was experienced in the black market, so he instantly recognized the Retractable Knife’s worth. While conventional melee weapons were not much of a money spinner, the Retractable Knife’s concealability and element of surprise would definitely be favored by many.
Han Xiao expressed his wish to sell the whole crate.
“Can you supply them long-term?” asked Ma Xiu Si.
Han Xiao chuckled.
“Would you be interested in the blueprint?”
Ma Xiu Si’s eyes widened. Blueprints were extremely important items to mechanics. They essentially gave their owners monopoly over their inventions. It was extremely rare that a mechanic would offer to sell one of his blueprints, so Ma Xiu Si was not only shocked but overjoyed.
As he was a veteran salesman, however, he suppressed the excitement boiling within.
“Name your price,” he asked casually.
“There’s a hundred here. 5,000 each, and I’ll sell you the blueprint for a million.”
Ma Xiu Si gasped lightly. ‘5,000 each? A million for the blueprint? Just rob me, will you‽’
“No bargaining.”
Han Xiao was confident that Ma Xiu Si would agree to his terms.
Ma Xiu Si frowned, but after a while of contemplation, he relented.
“Deal!”
Being able to obtain the blueprint was far too lucrative a chance to miss.
As the banks of each of the Six Nations were not connected to one another, dark web banking was the primary method of transaction in the underworld. Not only was it accessible worldwide, it was also extremely secure.
Han Xiao performed fingerprint verification for the account on the spot.
“I look forward to doing more business with you. This is a VIP card.”
Han Xiao took the card from Ma Xiu Si and kept it.
Fostering good relations with these arms dealers would prove useful in the long run as he did not plan to stay in Division 13 forever.
…
Back in Division 13, the research director encountered the intelligence director in the hallway.
“Looks like you guys have chosen to support a good-for-nothing,” mocked the research director. “He caved in so easily to a little bit of pressure. Take my advice—stop playing nice with him.”
For some reason, the intelligence director was not enraged by his words. He simply smiled back.
“Good luck,” he replied plainly as he patted the research director on the shoulder.
The research director was confused. ‘Good luck? What do you mean?’
Suddenly, his phone rang. The division chief was looking for him. He hastily bumbled his way to the chief’s office.
“Chief, you called?”
“Your plans were approved yesterday. The Retractable Knife will be credited to your department.”
The research director was overjoyed to hear the news.
“Thank you for your trust, chief.”
The chief chuckled.
“Don’t be happy so soon.”
The research director furrowed his brows.
“What happened? If it’s about Han Xiao, there won’t be a problem. There’s nothing he can do.”
“Oh, you think so?” questioned the chief.
The research director nodded.
“Good…”
Suddenly, the chief picked up a folder and threw it in the research director’s face.
“To think that you would abuse your power to sell the division’s technology for personal gain! How disappointing.”
What‽
The research director was flustered. He hastily scrambled to pick up the document on the floor, and as he went through it, he began to tremble.
The report stated that the blueprint for the Retractable Knife had been leaked, and that, naturally, the ‘inventor’ of the Retractable Knife would have to take responsibility for it.
“T-t-this is not my fault!” he cried out. “It must be that brat, Han Xiao! He is obviously trying to frame me! Everyone knows that the blueprint belonged to him, please help me clear my name, Chief!”
“The report clearly states that the research department invented the Retractable Knife,” replied the chief coolly. “It is your responsibility.”
The research director felt a chill run down his spine as he suddenly realized what was going on.
The top brass had chosen to back up Han Xiao!
The reason why the verdict on their proposal was delayed for so long was simply that the higher-ups wanted to wait and see what Han Xiao would do.
And Han Xiao had managed to play everyone.
By leaking the blueprint, he was asking the higher ups, ‘Here is the excuse you need. Do you want to help me or not?’
While they had not expected Han Xiao to come up with such a brilliant comeback to frame the research department, they were more than willing to help him out to appease him. After all, they did want to continue having his cooperation.
Originally, Han Xiao’s Retractable Knife would have been exclusive to Division 13, even if it meant that he himself had the monopoly over it, but thanks to the research department’s greed, the Retractable Knife would now appear in the hands of others too.
While Han Xiao’s actions might have been a little bit extreme, the higher-ups were willing to overlook it. The blueprint was rightfully his anyway.
Of course, if it had been a normal agent, they would without a doubt send him to court martial and expel him from Division 13. It was Han Xiao’s unique identity that stopped them from doing so. The intel he possessed was truly far too valuable. In any case, he had not stepped entirely out of line yet.
Furthermore, it was important to display the Division’s fairness to everyone.
At this point, the research director’s face had turned completely pale. He deeply regretted having tried to pick on Han Xiao.
While the ‘crime’ itself was not grave to the point of a death sentence, his career was essentially over.
Han Xiao, you bastard! he screamed inwardly.
…
When news of the research director being charged with selling weapons illegally broke out, all the agents in Division 13 were filled with disbelief.
The fact that he was not immediately sentenced heavily hinted that there was more to the entire incident than met the eye.
It did not take long for the agents to put two and two together and arrive at the unbelievable conclusion that Han Xiao had orchestrated it all.
Previously, they thought that Han Xiao had kept quiet due to caving in, but in retrospect, it was simply the calm before the storm.
“Did he actually frame the research director?”
“The gall of him!”
“But doesn’t that mean that the higher-ups are supporting him‽”
What everyone found hardest to believe was that Han Xiao actually got off scot-free. This caused a lot of speculation regarding his true identity to arise.
And the person happiest to hear the news was none other than Li Ya Lin, who was vindicated from all the odd looks that people had been giving here due to her connection to Han Xiao. The first thing that she did was look for Di Su Su and gloat in front of her. However, Di Su Su was not the least angered by her. Instead, she was more preoccupied with her newly found interest in Han Xiao.
“Who exactly is Lin Lin’s new teammate?”
…
The research director was only given a strict warning for now, and, unable to touch Han Xiao, his men suffered the brunt of his rage. Of course, Luo Xuan was not spared. Instead of his promised promotion, what he earned was a demotion to the position of an ordinary staff member.
“Damn it!” cursed Luo Xuan.
If he had known things would turn out like this, he would have obediently continued on in the logistics department. It was also now too late, as the logistics director was not even willing to grant him an audience.
This is unfair!
Why do they want to protect Han Xiao?
How is he better than me‽
Luo Xuan was blinded with rage.
…
The next day, Han Xiao received word from Feng Jun that the higher-ups wanted to discuss the matter of settlement with him.
Finally, the chance for Han Xiao to negotiate had come. Han Xiao knew that in the future, the hardliners would not carelessly take action against him again, so it was probably the one time that he would be able to acquire advancement knowledge.
Han Xiao arrived at the HQ with his mask on as usual to meet with Feng Jun. Feng Jun led him to the chief’s office where three people waited: the chief himself, the research director, and an old man who was faced against the glass window.
“Gu Hui, Stardragon Strategic Defense Chief,” introduced the chief.
Han Xiao squinted. It was a familiar name, but he could not recall where he had heard it.
“Someone wants to see you,” Gu Hui continued in a low voice.
The old man turned around and smiled at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao’s acting skills immediately kicked in.
“Tall, old man‽”
The tall old man chuckled.
“It must be quite a surprise.”
“Who exactly are you?” asked Han Xiao as he nodded blankly, similar to how he had once acted back in the Germinal Organization.
“All you need to know is that I have some power in Division 13.”
“…”
“Heh. Don’t be so nervous. I’ve already noticed you from back then. You gave me quite a favorable impression.”
Mission accomplished!
As Han Xiao wiped the confusion off his face, the tall old man scrutinized him for a second before slowly saying, “Tell me, how do you want this matter resolved?”
“I just want some compensation,” Han Xiao stated calmly.
“Isn’t the money you earned from selling the blueprint enough compensation?” The research director could not resist shooting his mouth off.
Han Xiao shot a look at him.
“If not for you trying to steal my blueprint, I would have been able to make even more money. And if you had even tried asking nicely, I might have even sold it to the division! But ask yourself – did you?”
The research director could not retort.
“What kind of compensation do you want?” asked Gu Hui.
Han Xiao faked a sigh and pretended to contemplate for a moment before replying, “I don’t want something like this to happen again.”
“That’s for sure.”
In any case, even if Han Xiao only chose to sell his goods privately, he would still only be selling to Division 13’s own agents. While the quantity would not be as much as if they were mass produced, they still only benefited the division. Furthermore… what if more valuable blueprints ended up ‘leaking’?
“And…” continued Han Xiao as he rubbed his chin. “I want to have a look at advanced mechanic knowledge.”
The tall old man furrowed his brows. Was it a coincidence, or had Han Xiao planned to ask for it from the very start?
Advanced mechanic knowledge was top-secret in Stardragon, and only accessible with a level 5 or higher clearance. In Galaxy, the equivalent requirement was an ‘honored’ reputation. Each of the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization possessed different kinds of advanced knowledge, but only the most trusted and deserving would have a chance to obtain them.
Although Han Xiao appeared calm and firm on the outside, he was actually extremely nervous. Such a request would normally be impossible to ask of. Now, it all depended on the tall, old man.
“Why advanced knowledge?”
“Just curious.”
“…”
After five minutes of tense silence, the tall old man made up his mind. As he looked deeply into Han Xiao’s eyes, he slowly spoke, “Fine, I will allow it.”
Han Xiao was instantly overcome with relief and joy, but he suppressed his emotions.
Suddenly, the research director interrupted, “Hold on! Advanced knowledge requires a level 5 clearance. This is against the rules!”
Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.
If this bastard dares to spoil my plans, I’ll beat him into a pulp!
“What do you suggest then?” Gu Hui asked unhappily.
“Rules are rules. Although you, senior, are okay with it, I hardly think that the others will agree.”
The tall old man smirked.
“Are you threatening me?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” answered the research director matter-of-factly.
There were two levels of hierarchy in Division 13. Besides the thirteen section heads, there existed a higher committee comprised of the chief himself and other high-ranking officials who wielded enormous influence in Stardragon.
The tall, old man was none other than one of the higher-ranking members, and he was the leader of the conservatives. Naturally, the hardliners had an equally powerful backer, which was why the research head dared to speak up.
“My word alone will suffice,” declared the tall old man plainly.
The research head gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
“Then, I suggest granting him only half an hour of browsing. He doesn’t even have the proper clearance anyway.”
Gu Hui and the tall old man exchanged looks. This was a fair suggestion. Besides, Han Xiao himself had only asked to ‘take a look’.
“We’ll give you one hour!” declared Gu Hui.
The research head rejoiced secretly. Even an hour would not be enough time to look through a third of the advanced knowledge.
Deep down, however, Han Xiao was laughing.
One hour? Watch me take one minute with my talent points!
He had to bite his lip to stop himself from grinning.
Calm down… calm down…
…
The advanced knowledge was protected with an extremely secure multi-layered encryption. The code to unlocking it was a combined series of over a hundred 48-digit strings that were refreshed constantly.
The contents itself were only able to be browsed by using a special terminal.
Han Xiao was brought by Gu Hui to take an elevator to a secret basement. When the lift doors opened, Han Xiao was greeted by the sight of a brightly lit metallic hallway lined throughout with surveillance cameras on either side. While there were no guards, the corridor was full of metal detectors and red lasers, and there were guns concealed behind the walls. They would activate automatically upon unauthorized entry.
It was a fortress in its own right.
“How much did you guys spend on this corridor?”
“A few billion,” Gu Hui calmly answered.
Han Xiao let out a soft snort.
The terminal was Stardragon’s most advanced computer. The amount of data that it could process in just one second alone could overload a regular computer. It contained all of the nation’s top secrets.
Han Xiao guessed that even if he maxed his ‘Computing’ talent, it would not be enough to hack through the terminal’s firewall.
It took an entire five minutes to walk across the entire stretch of the hallway, and, as they approached the end, a spherical room appeared in Han Xiao’s view. A transparent passageway connected the hallway to the center of the sphere where a screen could be seen. There was also a panel connected with a mouse and a keyboard. This was the interface of the terminal.
As they stepped into the room, Han Xiao noticed that there were actually countless optical fibers and advanced looking computer parts laid inside the glass – the entire room was actually the terminal!
Han Xiao, however, was not impressed.
“Why is the air here so stale? Did you guys forget the ventilation or something?”
Gu Hui’s eye twitched.
He calmed himself down and replied, “That is the interface. The preparations have been made. You will not be able to access any other information apart from the advanced knowledge. For the sake of protocol, I will remind you that we will be watching, and you had better not try anything funny.”
Got it, I won’t make you laugh.
Han Xiao nodded and proceeded to walk to the panel.
The terminal prompted him for a search input, so he typed in “advancement knowledge”, and several results appeared on the screen:
Esper Advanced Knowledge: [DNA – Strengthened Energy Level]
Esper Advanced Knowledge: [DNA – Strengthened Control]
Pugilist Advanced Knowledge: [Shockwave Burst]
Pugilist Advanced Knowledge: [Wave Control]
In Galaxy, talent trees were named slightly different for each class: Machinery Knowledge Tree for Mechanics, Qi Mastery Tree for Pugilists, DNA Tree for Espers, Spell Knowledge Tree for Mages, and Psychic Ability Tree for Psychics.
Pugilists focused on strength and combat, and they practiced the art of qi. Some of their skills included [Energy Burst], which is self-explanatory, and [Wavedash], which allowed instantaneous dodging of attacks.
Although Pugilists across the universe practiced and employed different kinds of teachings and techniques, all of them were centered around the use of qi.
Espers were far more unique, as each of them possessed different kinds of supernatural powers. An Esper’s strength was determined by their DNA growth. Through leveling up their talents, their control over their powers would increase: power, speed, control, etc. For example, Magneto, when he was young, could only exert control over small objects like coins. However, as his powers developed, he became able to move entire stadiums and ultimately even control the very earth’s magnetic field. With sufficient time, an Esper’s potential could be said to be unlimited.
Of course, two Espers with the same superpower might not necessarily use them in the same ways. For example, not all electricity users would be able to emulate each other’s feats and applications of electricity manipulation. To some extent, in Galaxy, each player had to choose to ‘specialize’.
The screen before Han Xiao lit up.
_____________________
Mechanic Advanced Knowledge: Advanced Material Composition
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“This is weaponry knowledge!”
Although it appeared that there was only one piece of advanced knowledge suited for Mechanics available, Han Xiao was happy enough to have it.
Now, no one in Stardragon will be able to stop me!
Han Xiao pressed enter without hesitation. Immediately, columns of texts and complex diagrams flashed across on the screen.
_____________________
Advanced knowledge detected.
[Advanced Material Composition]
Use 2 talent points to learn. Y/N
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“Yes!”
Han Xiao began to grow dizzy as all the knowledge on the screen started to transmit into his brain.
_____________________
Learning in progress, do not cancel.
1%… 12%… 37%…
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Although the entire process only took a few seconds, it felt much longer to Han Xiao.
Suddenly, Han Xiao flung his head back. The ‘upload’ had been completed successfully.
_____________________
Success! You have learnt [Advanced Material Composition], unlocking advanced Weaponry talents!
[Lv. 20 Novice Mechanic Advancement Mission Complete]
You may now choose one of the following three advancements: Cannonmaster, Technician, or Warmachine.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
These were the three paths available to Mechanics, and choosing one was an irreversible decision.
Cannonmasters specialized in long-ranged bombardment and heavy artillery. At higher levels, they possessed frightening firepower. It was commonly known in Galaxy that the key to winning or losing against Cannonmasters lay in range.
If the enemy Cannonmaster is within 100m, don’t hesitate—charge him down!
However, if he is over 1,000m away, it would be wise to proceed with caution.
And if he is 3,000m away… well, that won’t be the end of the world just yet, but any further and good luck, buddy.
Warmachines, on the other hand, employed technologically advanced combat weapons to fight at close range. From bio-armor to mobile suits, there were many ways for Warmachines to quench their thirst for melee combat.
Yet, when compared to the Technician, both of these paths steered away from the true essence of a Mechanic—invention.
Over 80% of blueprints were exclusive to Technicians, so choosing either path would mean forfeiting the ability to create many higher-level gear and machines.
The trade-off was that they were superior to Technicians in combat and, to most, more fun to play. After all, most people considered ‘manufacturing’ classes to be boring. Technicians were always the least popular class, until Version 3.0.
In Galaxy, Han Xiao had mained a Technician, preferring them to the other two paths, so he had already set his mind on the Technician path from the very start.
_____________________
Congratulations! You have succeeded in class advancement.
Han Xiao could feel an invisible, mysterious power wrapping around his body.
You are now a Technician (Lv. 1).
+30 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +3 Intelligence
3 Attribute Points Gained
1 Talent Point Gained
You have completed the first advancement. Endurance stat-boost has increased:
1 Endurance = 15 Max HP
1 Endurance = 18 Stamina
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Although from start to end nothing appeared to have happened in the eyes of Gu Hui and the others, incredible changes had taken place within Han Xiao’s body. At present, the mysterious power enveloping him was not only granting him new power—it was awakening the dormant energy lying within his very cells, causing it to resonate.
Suddenly, the interface lit up.
_____________________
You have gained Energy Affinity: Metal!
You have acquired a new ability: Presence of Mind!
You have learnt Energy Training Technique!
You have learnt Intermediate Mechanic Affinity!
You have learnt Blueprint: Special Platinum Alloy!
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When the process ended, Han Xiao felt as though his body had been entirely remodeled.
He could now see with stunning clarity the tiny specks of dust on the keyboard, and even the previously unnoticeable buzz of the current running throughout the glass sphere room was now clearly audible to him.
“I did it!”
Han Xiao brought up the character information tab.
____________________
Name: Han Xiao
Race: Human (Carbon-based)
Model: NPC (Launch countdown: 138 days, 3 hours & 51 minutes)
Level: 21
Experience: 181,000
Main Class: Lv. 10 Novice Mechanic/ Lv. 1 Apprentice Technician (0/50,000)
Health: 670/670
Stamina: 854/854
Attributes: 31 Strength, 18 Dexterity, 38 Endurance, 32 Intelligence, 1 MYS, 5 Charisma, 1 Luck
Unassigned Stat Point(s): 3
Energy: 160/160 (Lv. 3)
____________________
(NEW) Energy Type: Magnetic – Gives a Bonus to Machinery Affinity
Lv. 1 (10 Energy) – [Strength +1, Dexterity, +1, Endurance +1, Intelligence +1] Max Stamina +20, Damage (Machinery) +1%, Crafting Speed +1%
Lv. 2 (50 Energy) – [Strength +3, Dexterity, +2, Endurance +3, Intelligence +1] Max Stamina +50, Damage (Machinery) +2%, Crafting Speed +2%
Lv. 3 (100 Energy) – [Strength +3, Dexterity, +3, Endurance +5, Intelligence +2] Max Stamina +100, Damage (Machinery) +3%, Crafting Speed +3%
Energy Level: 98-104
Grade: Class E Superhuman
[You have finally taken the first step of transcendence. Don’t get too full of yourself, there is still a long way to go.]
____________________
Specializations: [High Focus], [Lesser Mental Resistance], [Hard Worker]
(NEW) [Presence of Mind] – +5 Intelligence
____________________
Class Abilities:
– Basic Machinery Affinity Lv.5
– Basic Maintenance Lv. 10
– Basic Enhancement Lv. 10
– Basic Refining Lv. 1
– Overload Lv. 1
Blueprint: Sky Swallow Gliders Lv. 1
Blueprint: Prosthetic Limb Lv. 1
Blueprint: Lightweight Mechanical Arm Lv. 1
Blueprint: Rover Lv. 1
Blueprint: High Explosive Lv.3
Blueprint: Retractable Knife Lv. 2
(New!) Intermediate Mechanic Affinity Lv. 1 – +2% Production Quantity – +2% Production Speed
(New!) Strafe Lv. 1:
Cost: 3 Energy, 15 Stamina.
Cooldown: 12s
For two seconds, enables instantaneous movement within a 3-meter radius. Grants 15% bonus firing speed for the duration of the skill. Can only be used when equipped with a gun. (This skill can be activated even if you are on your last bullet.)
(New!) Blueprint: Platinum Alloy
Grade: Green
This material is made with advanced technology. It has high ductility and is suitable for making armor and various machines.
Crafting Requirement: Basic Refining Lv. 5
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Other Abilities:
Basic Combat Lv. 10 – +10% Damage (Barehanded), +2 Strength, + 1 Endurance
Basic Shooting Lv. 8 – +8% Accuracy (Ranged)
Grappling Lv. 5 – +7% Counter (Melee), +10% Damage (Barehanded)
Precise Aim Lv. 1 – +3% Accuracy (Ranged), +2% Critical Rate (Ranged)
Special Ops Combat Lv. 1 – +6% Critical Rate (Melee), +4% Damage (Barehanded)
Stealing Lv. 1
(New!) Energy Training Technique – +10 Energy – 0/80 times (Each use costs 800 experience and 500 stamina)
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Talent Points: 16
Class Talent Tree
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Weaponry
Basic Assembly Lv. 1 (0/1)
Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv. 2 (0/1)
Basic Bionics Lv. 2 (0/1)
Basic Weaponry Knowledge Lv. 1 (0/1)
Basic Material Knowledge Lv. 1 (0/1)
(New!) Advanced Material Composition Lv. 1 (0/2)
[14 Talents Not Learnt]
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Energy
[20 Talents Not Learnt]
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Manipulation
[20 Talents Not Learnt]
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Reputations:
Germinal Organization – Hated (-1000)
Stardragon SDI (Division 13) – Neutral (300/1000) – Clearance Level 1
Legend: 0
180,000 experience—45,000 from the Black Spider mission, and the rest mostly accumulated from Han Xiao’s efforts in tirelessly crafting Retractable Knives and Highly Explosive Gunpowder. Currently, both blueprints were at Lv. 2 and Lv. 3 respectively. As they were cheap and easy to craft, they were much easier to level up in contrast to other blueprints like the Lightweight Mecha Arm, or the Rover.
A month had passed since Han Xiao arrived at the Western Capital. Since then, Han Xiao had earned an overall amount of 200,000 experience, which was equal to a third of what he had earned back in his 6-month stint with the Germinal Organization. Now, with over $1,500,000 in his possession, finances were the least of Han Xiao’s concern.
The first-class advancement was the biggest game changer as it granted the player an energy attribute.
Han Xiao lightly pressed his thumb towards his index finger. As soon as he did so, his index was enveloped by a sort of invisible air. It felt similar to a weak current, and Han Xiao could discern that it was magnetism. Magnetism was one of the attributes that a Mechanic could specialize in. Combat-wise, it was not as powerful as the destructive attributes of fire or lightning. Instead, its main use was in strengthening the Machinery Affinity of a Mechanic. It would eventually allow for automated crafting.
Energy Attributes were not limited to just the natural elements. Instead, they could be thought of more as ‘concepts’ of how each class uses energy. For example, the energy attribute for Psychics is [Spirit]. Furthermore, energy attributes could also be nurtured and changed. For example, a Pugilist who cultivated various techniques would be able to grasp the speed of wind, power of fire, or hardness of iron, etc.
[Abstract Thinking] and [Intermediate Machinery Affinity] were self-explanatory, while [Strafe] was an active defensive skill.
If Han Xiao had chosen the path of Cannonmaster, he would have gained three new skills. However, he only gained one: [Strafe], a defensive skill. Han Xiao was by no means a coward who did not dare to face the enemy head-on, but he did indeed prefer a dual-natured skill like this that could be used both offensively and defensively to other flashy and high-damage ones. Furthermore, gaining unlimited ammo, even if temporary, could prove to be useful.
[Energy Training Technique] was a common skill acquired after the first advancement.
It was a special type of ‘growth’ skill that did not have a level system. Instead, its effects could be improved through repeated usage/practice that expended experience, and each use increased the character’s energy, up until the skill’s set usage limit. The user’s energy attribute played an important part in the training effectiveness.
Most energy-related training techniques utilized such a growth system.
Energy was indeed an integral part of Superhumans. It largely decided a character’s grade and power level. The early levels of energy stages are as follows:
Lv. 1 -10
Lv. 2 – 50
Lv. 3 – 100
Lv. 4 – 200
Lv. 5 – 400
Lv. 6 – 1000
…
Not only did reaching the next energy level give each player bonus stats, there were also extra benefits that could be unlocked upon reaching certain levels.
Lv. 1 was the bare benchmark, and while Hila was only Lv. 30, her energy level had already reached 500 ouna, roughly five times more than Han Xiao’s. One of the reasons for this was the Energy Training Technique system.
Platinum Alloy was a new material-type blueprint acquired through [Advanced Material Composition]. The alloy itself was green in color, and it was well-suited for making armor due to its sturdiness. Its crafting requirement was Lv. 5 Novice Refining.
Of the 180,000 experience at hand, Han Xiao decided to spend 25,000 to reach Lv. 10 Agent. This gave him a number of stats (+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +3 Endurance, +1 Charisma), as well as 1 talent point and 1 assignable stat point.
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Advancement detected! Delete [Civilian] Class?
Y/N
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The [Civilian] class was simply one of the default starting classes for new characters. It functioned as a tutorial class that could be deleted upon the first advancement. The experience that a player put into the [Civilian] class would be refunded upon deletion, unless the unknowing player had maxed it out.
“Delete, I guess,” mumbled Han Xiao to himself. There was nothing to lose from deleting it.
The [Civilian] class subsequently disappeared from the information window, leaving it to reflect only a max level [Agent], as well as Han Xiao’s character level of 21.
Next, Han Xiao inputted another 45,000 experience points to raise [Basic Shooting] to Lv. 10, which gave him 10% Accuracy, +2 Dexterity, and another talent point.
In short, Han Xiao had just spent 70,000 experience points, but he still needed to save 64,000 for the [Energy Training Technique], leaving him with… yup, give me a second…
47,000 more experience points!
“I’ll keep them for now,” muttered Han Xiao, lamenting how quickly the experience points vanished.
Fortunately for him, there was still the High-explosive Gunpowder that he had been stocking up on. It would ensure a steady stream of experience ahead.
…
When the time was up, Gu Hui promptly escorted Han Xiao back upstairs, where Feng Jun had been waiting.
Suddenly, Han Xiao remembered something.
“Oh right. I heard that it was a guy called Korat who stirred up this incident. Help me get word out that I won’t be selling anything to this person.”
Feng Jun grimaced.
“Do you think I’m a messenger or something?”
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Aren’t you?”
Feng Jun opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Fine,” he groaned.
…
“He says he’s blacklisted me?”
Korat laughed coldly, seemingly unfazed.
All along, he had only been concerned with personal gain, and he did not see how Han Xiao could ever pose a threat to him.
…
With the resolution of the incident, Han Xiao returned to the workshop, where three days went by peacefully.
Having just advanced, Han Xiao spent the time adjusting to his newly upgraded body. With his past life’s experience, he quickly got in sync and began to train with the [Energy Training Technique]. Each training expended experience points, as well as stamina. As stamina recovery rate was limited, and Han Xiao had to continue with manufacturing, he could only train up to two times a day.
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You have trained with [Energy Training Technique] once.
Mastery: 81%
Stamina: +3
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Training effectiveness depended on the main stat of one’s class. The main stat for Mechanics was Intelligence, so he devoted four unassigned points into Intelligence, raising its total to 36. Previously, Han Xiao had needed to put quite a few points into Strength and Endurance, but that was only for the purpose of escaping the Germinal facility. From now on, he could focus solely on Intelligence.
The effectiveness of [Energy Training Technique] was divided into three stages:
+1 Stamina for lower than 40% Mastery
+2 Stamina for 40%-80% Mastery
+3 Stamina for 80% and above Mastery
Han Xiao was right on Stage 3.
As Han Xiao had no other outlet to sell the Retractable Knife for now, and a few days had already gone by, he felt that it was about time to release the gunpowder. By now, he had produced thousands of bullets.
He was just about to ring Li Ya Lin up when she beat him to it.
“Leader is out of the hospital. He’s called us up.”
…
Han Xiao found himself the last to arrive at the secret ops team meeting room, where, other than the trio, was another man. The man’s face was extremely square, and he seemed both righteous and stern. He looked extremely reliable and currently had his lips pursed.
“So, you are Han Xiao?”
The team leader’s eyes were filled with both unhappiness and caution as he examined Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was caught off guard by him. Suddenly, Li Yao tugged on his sleeve and muttered to him, “He has the final say in who can join secret ops, but since your case was special, and you had the approval from the higher ups without going through him, he’s a bit—uh—unhappy. But don’t worry. Leader might be strict, but he’s not a bad person.”
That explained things.
Han Xiao was given a second shock when he turned to look at Li Yao. Li Yao’s entire body was wrapped in bandages, and he looked very much like a giant rice dumpling, with only his eyes and mouth revealed. It was an extremely pitiful state.
“Who beat you up?” asked a bewildered Han Xiao.
Suddenly, Li Ya Lin coughed.
Li Yao looked as though he was about to say something but changed his words. “I— I fell down.”
Han Xiao gave him a weird look. His injuries were so serious, if he really fell, he must have done the ‘fall a hundred times if you’re a man’ challenge.
“Let me introduce myself,” interrupted the leader.
“I am the team’s leader, Zhang Wei,” he introduced, shocking Han Xiao a third time.
“How casual is your parents’ naming sense‽ I think only Ye Qiu or Ye Fan could be worse!”
Han Xiao’s response, for some reason, caused Zhang Wei to look confused.
“You know Ye Fan from Hai Xia’s military affairs? Middle—cough—I mean, I worked with him a few times back in the hostel.”
Heavens! There really exists someone with such a godly name? That guy’s rank must be S+!
“Anyway,” continued Zhang Wei sternly. “With your inclusion, our team is back to being a five man cell. Although your position is in the backline, I still have to say this: as your background is a complete mystery, and I don’t trust your ability yet, I will continue to observe you for now. I don’t care if it’s some high-level agent who assigned you here. If you fail to meet my expectations, I will kick you out of the squad.”
Han Xiao’s eyelid twitched.
Trust did indeed take time to be established—Zhang Wei might have been blunt, but he was, without a doubt, simply acting the part of a responsible leader. Naturally, Han Xiao was not offended at all.
However, the chances of him being kicked out were nonexistent—after all, the top brass had decided things.
Zhang Wei himself understood this fact, but, as the leader of a squad, he could not just instantly accept someone whose background was a complete mystery—the higher-ups had not provided him with any information regarding Han Xiao.
Furthermore, in his eyes, Han Xiao was still new, and it remained to be seen if he was truly capable. In their field of work, the slightest mistake could result in the gravest of consequences, so being assigned a new guy all of a sudden was not a laughing matter.
Of course, it was not that Zhang Wei looked down on newbies. However, he believed that any new agent should have to go through two or three years of training before earning the right to even be considered for secret ops.
Who the hell threw this guy to us? Do they think that we’re babysitters‽
They’re taking this far too lightly! Damn you all!
As Zhang Wei continued to examine Han Xiao, he made up his mind to ignore the repercussions and kick Han Xiao to another team if he proved unable to gel with the squad.
Meanwhile, Han Xiao did not know what was going through his mind, but he found that Zhang Wei’s eyes were slowly filling up with animosity.
Suddenly, Li Yao’s laptop flashed, prompting him to turn his neck around with much effort. His expression changed as he yelled, “There’s an urgent mission! They want us to depart now!”
“Details?” asked Zhang Wei sternly.
“Ma Qing Yang’s team was ambushed during their mission to assault a Germinal base. The higher-ups want us to provide assistance immediately. They’ll fill us in on the plane.”
“Assaulting a Germinal base?” wondered Han Xiao. He could guess roughly what had occurred, having previously given Division 13 info on three of their bases.
All three bases were situated within Stardragon territory, which was why Stardragon had been able to immediately mobilize its troops to destroy two of them. The destruction of these two bases had increased Han Xiao’s achievement progress rate to 2.0%. However, the Germinal were no fools and had clearly anticipated that the third base would be attacked as well. They had clearly set up a trap.
Zhang Wei promptly headed for the door. When he passed Han Xiao, he paused for a moment and frowned before instructing, “Li Yao, you will stay behind to provide support. Han Xiao, you are new, so this is a good chance for you. Stay with Li Yao and learn well if you want to become useful.”
Li Yao was about to say something, but he hesitated. Han Xiao smiled and simply replied, “Fine.”
As Zhang Wei did not participate in the Black Spider mission and had only received a flowery description of events from Li Ya Lin; he did not trust in Han Xiao’s ability yet. Han Xiao sighed inwardly. He understood this well.
Han Xiao pondered for a moment before holding Li Ya Lin back to pass her four magazines of High-explosive ammo.
“Consider it a gift from a friend.”
Li Ya Lin’s eyes lit up upon seeing them.
“Is this your new invention?”
Han Xiao chuckled.
“Don’t squander them—they can start quite a fire.”
…
_____________________
You have triggered the E-class mission: [Rescue!]
Mission Description: Provide assistance to the secret-ops team being chased by the enemy. Your role is to assist your teammates in completing this mission.
Mission Requirement: Successfully rescue Ma Qing Yang’s squad.
Mission Rewards: 8,000 experience
Bonus Rewards: None
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8,000 experience only, lamented Han Xiao. Fitting for a backline support I guess.
“Brother Han…” said Li Yao. “Leader isn’t particularly against you or anything like that, so don’t worry about it.”
“I know,” replied Han Xiao casually, which eased Li Yao’s worries.
He then swiftly popped up three laptops and worked away at them to adjust the video and audio feeds. From the first-person footage on the screen, they could see that the trio had already boarded the aircraft.
Beneath HQ was a special railway used to quickly transport agents and staff to a landing site.
On the jet followed another team of twelve secret-ops agents, and on the way, Han Xiao, Li Ya Lin, and Li Yao made small talk, while Zhang Wei and Lambert closed their eyes in rest.
An hour later, the jet arrived at their destination.
It was a cold desert filled with long stretches of dunes, and a bright, scorching sun was hanging in the azure sky, the intense heat of which caused the air to shimmer and the ground to simmer. Upon contact with the sand, the agents’ boots instantly gave off a burnt smell.
“We have arrived,” reported Zhang Wei in a deep voice.
The trio were fully-equipped. Li Ya Lin, still with that yellow hoodie and black bodysuit, had a retractable knife by her waist, and a black bag over her back that contained the Lightweight Mecha Arm; Lambert carried ten modified Retractable Daggers and a huge, large caliber rifle; and Zhang Wei, whose equipment gave even Han Xiao a shock.
It was a powered armor suit!
Zhang Wei’s entire body was covered inside a sturdy, grayish suit of armor that spotted a few scars of battle. The helmet would have fit right in with the Middle Ages, and only had openings for vision, but the arms were modified and fitted two thick-barreled machine guns. The ammo belt was concealed within the amour, but the reload chamber was located near the thighs. On the back of the suit hung a hexagon shield of steel, reminiscent of a tortoise, and overall, the suit made Zhang Wei look like an incomparably heavy, giant clunk of iron that was designed for show.
It spurred Han Xiao’s interest.
This is the prototype for the [Combatant Armored Suit], one of the few suits available back in Version 1.0.
As the Six Nations each possessed different kinds of advanced knowledge, the suits that they engineered differed from one another.
Theseus was the nation that initiated development of the armored suit, and, sometime after the game’s launch, they made the [Combatant Armored Suit], a mini modular mobile suit—the first of its kind on Planet Aquamarine. At present, it was probably still under development, but although what Zhang Wei was wearing was just a prototype, Han Xiao wondered how Division 13 were able to acquire Theseusian technology.
In Galaxy, players who were ‘Exalted’ with Theseus could purchase the [Combatant Armored Suit] from them. They were extremely pricey, and even routine maintenance and repairs cost well over tens of thousands. It was not something that most players could afford.
As a back-line support, Han Xiao’s duty included maintenance of equipment, so Zhang Wei’s armored suit would probably fall into his charge as well.
Without encryption measures in place, Technicians were able to reverse engineer blueprints.
If the Technician already possessed the required knowledge, it would make the process faster, but even without any, it was still possible to reverse engineer a piece of machinery or technology—just that it would take much more time and require astronomically larger amounts of experience. Furthermore, the results would often come out as ‘Incomplete’.
The required knowledge for crafting the [Combatant Armored Suit] was an advanced weaponry knowledge possessed by Theseus.
Han Xiao bit his finger. If he could reverse-engineer the blueprints of the armored suit, then even if incomplete, they would still provide him with a new means of combat and boost his combat power. However, when he thought of how he could better spend the experience on the other more valuable and useful blueprints in his memory, he gave up the idea.
Li Yao spoke into the intercom. “Ma Qing Yang’s squad is about 13km away. There are 15 armored cars and one Black Harrier helicopter in pursuit. The meeting point is set on a hill 3km away. The objective will be to slow down the enemy and link up with the Ma Qing Yang’s squad. Do not engage the enemy excessively. I have already sent them the coordinates. Now, get ready.”
His instructions were clear, as befitting of a back-line supporter, functioning as a third eye to provide precise coordination and tactical advice.
The trio and the field team swiftly arrived at the hill, where they lay in wait for the enemy.
Soon after, the sound of engines began to approach, and on the vast desert plains appeared a single vehicle being chased by over a dozen others. The sound of gunfire was incessant, and behind the fleeing car was a continuous trail of smoke and blasts.
Aboard were none other than Ma Qing Yang’s squad.
“Ready!” ordered Zhang Wei sternly as he closely waited for the Germinal vehicles to come in range. “Fire!”
Suddenly, from behind the hill, a rain of metal dense enough to cover the sky descended upon the surprised Germinal agents. Bullets rang and clattered non-stop as they hit the armored vehicles.
Upon the sudden ambush, the leading Germinal vehicle immediately spun around to avoid direct hits, almost overturning as it skidded.
Zhang Wei’s twin guns roared like fire-spewing dragons as they unleashed an endless stream of large-caliber bullets onto the nearest two all-terrain cars. Within the space of a few seconds, the two cars exploded into balls of flames.
Meanwhile, Lambert was showcasing his skill with the rifle. He remained still as he fired shot after shot of steel core bullets with 100% accuracy to halt the enemy’s advance.
“The reinforcements are here!”
Aboard the fleeing car, Ma Qing Yang and his teammates rejoiced. Almost the entire team had sustained injuries and were lying down.
As they neared the hill, Ma Qing Yang stuck his head out from the window of the driver seat and yelled, “Old Zhang, there’s too many of them! Quickly flee!”
Right at this moment, a strange gale of wind suddenly descended upon the rescue team’s location. The dancing sand began to form the image of a ghostly face. The sight of it was both unnerving and ominous.
“Duck!” bellowed Zhang Wei as he hurriedly dropped to the ground to roll away. As the armored suit was too heavy, he did not have many other choices of movement. Li Ya Lin and Lambert were the quickest to react, and they managed to duck to a side.
As the gale crashed onto the ground, the blast sent a number of field agents flying.
Zhang Wei suddenly felt a sharp pain throughout his mind, and his nose started to bleed. As he looked around, to his horror, the other field agents who had not been able to run away in time were all bleeding profusely from their orifices as they twitched uncontrollably.
“Mental attack!” yelled a shocked Zhang Wei. “The enemy is a superhuman!”
As he looked towards the enemy fleet to find the source of the attack, he noticed the hood of one of the cars open up, and a slender woman in a jet-black leather suit jumped out and started running towards them at an incredible speed. Her headful of red hair floated behind her, making her seem like some kind of red and black flash of lightning.
Hila’s eyes were emotionless. With a wave of a hand, another ghostly face appeared in mid-air in front of Zhang Wei. The wind wailed horrifyingly.
No, that’s not the wind!
That is the screaming of souls!
Necromastery! This was indeed Hila’s ability.
Zhang Wei’s consciousness began to grow blurry, causing him to crumple to the ground. If it were not for his strong physique, he would probably have died on the spot.
Back at Division 13, Han Xiao furrowed his brows. Pushing Li Yao to take command, he barked, “She is the Germinal’s combat commander! Quickly flee!”
Zhang Wei was about to reprimand Han Xiao for snatching command when, to his surprise, he discovered that Li Ya Lin and Lambert were unhesitatingly retreating. It appeared as though they fully trusted in Han Xiao’s judgement!
‘Is the new guy that reliable?’
Suppressing his shock, Zhang Wei gritted his teeth and stood up to activate the thrusters by his legs, allowing him to jump 5 to 6 meters a leap. As he bounded after the pair, he continued to fire cover shots towards Hila to slow her down.
Hila reached the hilltop in no time, and with another wave of her hand, a gray light flashed across the entire area. The remaining field agents instantly collapsed to the ground. There was no apparent injury on their bodies, yet all of them had ceased breathing.
Han Xiao’s expression was extremely grave. He had known all along of Hila’s true strength. It was a thing of fortune that he had not needed to face her during his escape. In Galaxy, her powers were classified as having the exceedingly rare potential of S-Class, surpassing the Heavenly level.
At present, Hila’s power was still but a fraction of what she would eventually become capable of, yet even this bit was still too overwhelming.
“She’s too fast! Li Ya Lin, it’s up to you!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Ya Lin turned around to face the incoming Hila. As she kicked towards her direction, a yellow burst of energy shot out that managed to push Hila back a few steps.
“Pugilist?” Hila squinted at Li Ya Lin as she clasped both hands together, conjuring an even larger ghostly face that smashed towards her.
Maintaining her composure, Li Ya Lin ducked underneath the ghostly face with a slide and managed to avoid a direct hit. As she approached Hila, she whipped out the Retractable Knife by her waist and gave a mighty cleave.
Hila’s eyes widened at the suddenness of her blow, and she did a tumble on the ground to evade.
Seizing the initiative, Li Ya Lin followed up with a series of powerful strikes with her legs: a stamp, a smash, a sweep, and a kick – the string of attacks flowing beautifully like a dancing swallow. Fast enough to create afterimages, but Li Ya Lin was certainly not just about speed. The force of her blows backed her killing intent.
Swallow Style!
On the receiving end, Hila wrapped her arms with a gray aura to strengthen them, allowing her to block each blow with them. The fact that Hila did not seem to be receiving any damage at all only went to show how far apart they were in terms of strength – Li Ya Lin specialized in close combat yet could not overwhelm her.
The exchange lasted for only a few seconds, but anything could have happened in that short span of time.
“Use the mecha arm! It’ll let you help Lambert get a chance to snipe her!”
Biting her lip, Li Ya Lin quickly inserted her left arm into the bag and pulled it out with the Lightweight Mechanical Arm equipped. With a powerful strike combining her own power with that of the mecha arm, she finally managed to break through Hila’s defenses by blowing her arms away, leaving her chest exposed.
The mecha arm followed through into her flesh!
A direct hit!
Hila’s face flashed red momentarily, and with a low harrumph brought her palms together and rubbed them slowly, and as soon as she did so, the gray aura wrapping her arms began to revolve faster and faster. Next, she threw down both arms – palms facing the ground – and, from where she stood, powerful winds began to arise, assaulting the entire surrounding!
Li Ya Lin hastily retreated backwards, but even so, her mind was still struck by the mental attack, causing her soul to feel like it was being torn apart. The pain was indescribable, and two streams of blood trickled down from Li Ya Lin’s nose as her vision seemed to turn upside-down, causing her to nearly lose her balance and fall over.
As Hila examined the familiar visage of the Lightweight Mecha Arm, she yelled in rage and shock, “How are you related to Zero‽”
‘Zero? Who?’ Li Ya Lin was bewildered.
Right at this moment, Lambert saw his opportunity and fired a shot! Hila’s expression changed at the sound of the sniper rifle, and she immediately lunged sideways to dodge while enveloping her entire body with her gray aura. The large caliber sniper rifle bullet hit her on the shoulder, sending her spinning backwards in the air – as though hit by a train at full speed.
“Zhang Wei, quickly take Li Ya Lin and run!”
Zhang Wei did not take offense at being directly called by name. It was with Han Xiao’s direction that Li Ya Lin and Lambert had managed to injure the scary woman, and he now had some trust in Han Xiao’s judgement. He hurriedly lifted Li Ya Lin in his hands and turned around to leap towards Ma Qing Yang’s vehicle.
As they retreated, the remainder of the Germinal fleet arrived at the foot of the hill, and they began to open fire. Sparks flew as the bullets deflected off Zhang Wei’s armored suit, only leaving dents and marks. Zhang Wei did not even bother to take a look behind him. All that was going through his head was that the armored suit was truly his lucky charm this day. In the past, he had always had grievances over it being too heavy, but now, it was proving to be extremely reliable.
“Get in the car!” yelled an anxious Ma Qing Yang as he hurriedly slowed down for them.
The trio managed to board the vehicle, but it was a close shave. The concentrated fire was nearly enough to penetrate it.
Now that they were in the clear, Zhang Wei finally had time to assess the enemy’s status: their fleet was not fast enough to catch up with them, and that powerful superhuman had not gotten up yet. As long as they made it to the aircraft, everything would be fine.
“We’re safe now!”
Zhang Wei let out a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, Han Xiao had bad news for him.
“Look out above.”
Above?
Zhang Wei gave a start.
Right, they still have a helicopter!
The Black Harrier finally made its appearance and began to shoot down at their car.
“We have to take that out somehow!” assessed Zhang Wei immediately. “If not, our own aircraft will be in danger. Lambert, it’s up to you and your sniper rifle!”
Lambert shook his head plainly.
“I’m all out of armor-piercing shells. Standard bullets won’t do against the Black Harrier’s thick armor. Even if I had some left, it would take more than 7 shots.”
“Are we really going to die here?”
Despair was written all over Ma Qing Yan’s face. They were only a kilometer away from their escape plan’s extraction point, but it did not seem like they would make it.
Suddenly, Han Xiao spoke, “Did you forget my present?”
Li Ya Lin gave a start and hurriedly took out the four magazines. One of them was filled with rifle bullets.
“What does this do?”
“See for yourself.”
Lambert quickly took the magazine from Li Ya Lin and loaded his sniper rifle.
As he readied to fire the shot, everyone watched on in anticipation.
This single bullet was their final hope.
In this critical moment, time seemed to slow down for all of them.
As soon as Lambert pulled the trigger, a brass shell flew out from the chamber, and the crimson bullet was ignited as it accelerated out of the barrel spinning. Whirling, it landed directly on the helicopter’s bullet-proof glass.
Suddenly, the crimson bullet opened up like a blooming flower to expose its explosive contents to the air.
“Kaboom!”
The entire helicopter was instantly engulfed in a giant ball of flames. On closer inspection, the fire was actually burning off on the very armor itself – as though it had actually been ignited!
The helicopter began to spin out on control mid-air. The pilot – in his panic – decided to abandon ship.
On board the car, everyone was completely stunned by what they had just witnessed. Slowly, their attention turned towards the magazines that were full of the magic ammo.
Even reinforced armor was ignited!
What the hell is this ammo‽
“Who got their hands on such good treasure?” asked a stupefied Ma Qing Yang.
Li Ya Lin’s eyes began to shine. “This stuff is good!”
She immediately loaded up her handgun with one of the magazines and fired a few shots. The pursuing enemy vehicles similarly went up in balls of flames, and even the missed shots were setting the ground ablaze.
As the vehicles’ armor heated up, their interiors soon turned into furnaces, and the heat was even causing the engine and other key parts to overheat, putting a halt to their pursuit.
As the gang’s car charged into the aircraft hangar, the pilot who had been anxiously observing the situation immediately took flight, and they were soon gone with the wind.
Back on the ground, Hila’s face was pale. Where she had been shot at on her shoulder was only a shallow wound. She was using her gray aura to heal it up. As she grudgingly watched the aircraft leave, she made a call to the boss and said through gritted teeth, “We’ve found Zero’s trail!”
[Rescue!] completed. You have earned 8000 experience points.
+100 Reputation (Stardragon SDI)
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“Bro Xiao, you’re the best!” Li Yao’s eyes glowed with admiration.
“Heh, you only just realized?” replied Han Xiao with a hint of smugness.
Zhang Wei, realizing that he had misjudged Han Xiao, apologized, “Sorry for doubting your ability before. Today, we only made it out alive thanks to your guidance and your equipment. Welcome to the team.”
A late welcome was better than none.
Han Xiao chuckled.
“No need to apologize over such trivial matters – I’m a gracious man.”
Zhang Wei felt a shiver down his spine. Han Xiao’s words sounded odd to him.
“Oh right,” continued Han Xiao, “who made your armored suit?”
“Oh, this is just a prototype of the [Combatant Powered Armor]. It was among the spoils of war during the battle with Theseus a few years back. Presently, it’s the only functional one we have. They tried to reverse engineer it, but as progress was too slow and maintenance proved troublesome as well, it was handed to me.”
The [Combatant Armored Suit]’s crafting prerequisite was the advanced weaponry talent [Large-scale Remodeling], which was also required to craft many other power suits, machine frames, and other larger combat machinery. If Theseus had only just created the prototype, then Stardragon would definitely be much further behind.
Han Xiao saw his chance.
“You can leave the maintenance to me.”
“Sure!” rejoiced Zhang Wei. He now trusted Han Xiao’s ability.
“Is this special bullet a new invention of yours?” interrupted Li Ya Lin excitedly.
Han Xiao proceeded to fully explain the use of the High-explosive Gunpowder.
Regular incendiary ammunition required a flammable target to work effectively, but the High-explosive Gunpowder contained a special chemical that could activate upon simply coming into contact with the air and ‘light up’ anything that it came into contact with. It’s temperature and power were comparable to a Molotov, but what made it scary was that this power could be harnessed within bullets! Everyone could see how this was a game-changer.
“Are you selling this?” asked Ma Qing Yang animatedly.
“Of course – 50 a bullet.”
Now that they had proved effective, it was a good time to release them.
“I want 200!” replied Ma Qing Yang immediately. “20 handgun bullets, 150 submachine gun bullets, and 30 sniper rifle bullets.”
“Okay,” answered Han Xiao. “You can collect them in a day.”
“You can start to collect orders,” he instructed Li Ya Lin privately. “Like before, I’ll give you a 20% discount.”
Li Ya Lin’s lips curled into a grin.
…
News of how the mission unfolded spread like wildfire in Division 13. Naturally, the incendiary bullets became the talk of the town.
“Han Xiao’s new product?”
“I heard that that’s what saved their lives!”
The Retractable Knife incident had already garnered Han Xiao a lot of attention. Upon Ma Qing Yang’s order of the bullets becoming public knowledge, many agents came forward to inquire about them. As a way of repaying Han Xiao’s team for rescuing them, Ma Qing Yang held a live demonstration in the practice field.
Everyone was stunned by the power of the incendiary bullets, and the first thing they did after the demonstration was look for Li Ya Lin to place orders. Everything was going according to Han Xiao’s plan.
It was a revolutionary invention, and this time, the top brass knew they had to make sure that things would not end up like the previous fiasco.
They even brought the Research Director in for a warning before he even did anything.
The division offered Han Xiao numerous terms to provide both field-ops and special-ops with the new bullets, and he agreed to sell them at a slightly lower price of $20,000 for 500 bullets.
In just the first day alone, Han Xiao’s stockpile of a few thousand bullets was sold out, earning him $200,000. Coupled with the $1,500,000 that he had earned from the underground network, his savings were not small.
After the class advancement, Han Xiao’s production speed was raised considerably, and he focused solely on producing the gunpowder. As a show of support, Division 13 decided to provide him with cartridges and shells, which greatly sped up the process. Each batch yielded around 300 bullets, and Han Xiao was able to produce over 10 such batches a day. Crafting a bullet gave Han Xiao 5 to 10 experience points, so he was able to earn up to 30,000 experience in just a single day.
It was probably the fastest experience growth ever by a Mechanic of his level.
…
“Not selling to me?”
Korat was fuming. Initially, he had thought that a simple apology would resolve the grudge between him and Han Xiao – after all, money was money. However, Li Ya Lin actually shut the door tight on him.
“Han Xiao said that you’re on his blacklist, and he instructed me not to take either your money nor your apology.”
The other agents who had initially thought of reporting the Retractable Knife had Korat to thank for taking the initiative back then. Or else, they would be in the same predicament as him now.
When Korat offered to buy the bullets from his colleagues at a higher price, he found out that none of them were willing to. Even when he set his price at 200 a bullet, no one agreed – not even his closest colleagues.
He was clearly being ostracized, but he could not understand why – until one of his old friends told him, “Selling to you would offend Han Xiao. No one would want to risk being blacklisted by him, seeing as to how he probably will come up with more good stuff. Who would help you at their own expense?”
His words served a wake-up call to Korat. To think that it was the complete opposite back then – for money, he chose to trample over Han Xiao.
Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets now.
…
Meanwhile, in a workroom, Luo Xuan opened up a box before him to reveal 20 incendiary bullets. He had gotten someone to help him acquire them.
Han Xiao had only blacklisted Korat and his team, not Luo Xuan. In Han Xiao’s eyes, Luo Xuan had simply been doing his job as part of the research department in trying to reverse engineer his blueprints. At the very least, he did not seem as vile to Han Xiao as Korat did. Now that the research department was being kept under watch, there was no need for Han Xiao to worry about them.
Moreover, Luo Xuan was also just support staff like him.
However, this inexplicably caused Luo Xuan to become resentful of Han Xiao.
“Damn you, Han Xiao! Do you look down on me so much that you ignore me‽”
What he did not realize was that Han Xiao did not look down on him – instead, Han Xiao had never even seen him before.
To avoid offending Han Xiao, the research director lay down an order preventing anyone from researching Han Xiao’s bullets, but Luo Xuan naturally did not care, and he still thought of himself as superior to Han Xiao, and that he could easily reproduce the bullets – like with the Retractable Knife.
“If I succeed, the higher-ups will definitely value me even more! I cannot afford to fail!” The more Luo Xuan thought about it, the more perfect his plan seemed to himself.
Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Luo Xuan began to work at opening the bullet up. What he needed to do was examine the properties of the incendiary agent inside.
Clank!
Luo Xuan managed to extract the bullet case.
The next step would be to open it up and extract the contents with a special suction tube to prevent friction.
Carefully, he opened the bullet case.
“Success! Now I will just have to analyze-”
Suddenly, a blazing light filled up his entire vision.
Ring…!
The shrill of the fire alarm rang through the hallways as the fire spread. Thick, black smoke filled up the entire research department as the research staff headed for safety.
The sprinklers quickly put a stop to the spreading fire, but many documents were ruined, and sparks were flying out of some computers and machines. The walls and ceiling were filled with black burn marks.
“What could have caused the fire?” wondered the heartbroken research director aloud as he looked at the ruins.
Security soon arrived to begin inspection.
“The fire started from the workshop!”
Luo Xuan – his entire body soaking wet, and his entire face black – was supported out by the guards. All his hair had been burnt off, including his eyebrows, and he looked just like a soy egg – or rather, a century egg.
Being able to react quickly, in addition to having a fire extinguisher nearby, saved him from further disfigurement.
He had not expected the incendiary agent to be gaseous. It combusted the very second it came into contact with the atmosphere.
Luo Xuan had clearly overestimated himself.
“I’ve lost…” he grudgingly admitted.
“What have you done‽” yelled the research director.
One of the security guards opened his hand to reveal a few bullet cases. Although they were blackened, they were clearly crimson before.
“This is the bullet case of the High-explosive Gunpowder. Your man was trying to analyze it.”
The research director was instantly livid. Speechless, he could only point a finger at Luo Xuan in his rage.
‘Are my orders something to be taken lightly of‽
‘When the higher-ups investigate, this will all fall onto me again!
‘You bastards!’
Gu Hui also arrived at the scene. His face darkened upon seeing the wreckage.
“Explain yourself.”
The research director yanked Luo Xuan before him and said through gritted teeth, “He did this all by himself!”
Gu Hui looked at Luo Xuan plainly.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Luo Xuan lowered his head. He had thought that he would succeed and earn merit, but instead, he had now ended up disobeying orders on top of causing damages to the headquarters. This was probably the end of his career.
“You will go back to logistics,” stated Gu Hui coldly before turning around to leave.
Luo Xuan shuddered. Before, he had left the logistics department on bad terms. A return did not bode well for him.
True enough, when he arrived at the logistics department, his past colleagues all ignored him when they saw him. Even the logistics director, who had had high hopes for him in the past, was unwilling to see him. He only sent a secretary to inform Luo Xuan of his new position in a small team.
If only he had not been so narrow-minded and full of himself, he would not have lost his path and ended up like this.
Although he deeply regretted his actions now, it was too late.
“I was immature…” lamented a bitter Luo Xuan.
…
Han Xiao was shocked to hear of what Luo Xuan had done from Feng Jun – not even he, the creator himself, would dare to mess around and open up a completed incendiary bullet.
‘That guy’s got some balls.’
However, the matter was inconsequential to him. All along, Luo Xuan had just been a name in the back of his mind.
Soon after, Zhang Wei’s armored suit was delivered to his workroom. Upon observation, it was a truly crude prototype.
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Combatant Armored Suit (Prototype)
Type: Modular Mini-Power Suit
Grade: White
Stats: 682/1400 Durability, 35 Defense
Power Level: 86
Energy Level: 250/250
Prerequisite(s): 42 Strength, 48 Endurance
Bonus Stats: -10 Dexterity
Height: 1.95m
Weight: 370kg
Control Method: Manual (Full)
Energy Source: Electricity
Combat Consumption Rate: 5 energy/min
Core Power: 125/130
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Frame Module:
Spring-piston Absorber (reduces load by 65%)
Power: 20
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Right Arm Module: Large Caliber Tri-barreled Machine Gun
Damage: 105-125
Firing Rate: 5 shots/second (per barrel)
Maximum Firing Rate: 8 shots/second for 5 seconds (per barrel)
Magazine Capacity: 30 (+120 in the ammo belt)
Power Level: 75
Power: 35
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Left Arm Module: Large Caliber Tri-barreled Machine Gun
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Right Wrist Module: Knife
Damage: 12-15
Power Level: 9
Power: 5
_____________________
Leg Modules: Spring Boosters
+15 Speed
Consumes 1 energy/minute when active.
Power: 30
_____________________
Attachment: Infrared Vision
Power: N/A
Attachment: Six-tipped Shield (reduces incoming damage by 12%)
Power: N/A
_____________________
Tooltip: This abomination is a disgrace to all armored suits in the world!
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Han Xiao had to agree. It was indeed an ugly piece of work – it looked like someone had just decided to weld a few sheets of metal together.
Low power aside, it did not even run on an integrated circuit! No wonder Zhang Wei always fired volleys instead of precise shots – there was no aiming system in place! An armored suit with an integrated circuit would be able to receive and transmit crucial information to its user during a fight.
Also, the only automated part of the suit was its legs! Other than the legs, the entire suit’s framework had to be operated manually, which explained why Zhang Wei had not used the shield – he wasn’t able to at all!
“Come on, even though it’s a prototype, at least show it some love, you assholes!”
As Han Xiao examined the suit with crossed arms, numerous ideas began to pop up. However, it was still too soon to rush upgrades. Some of the tweaks he wanted to make required knowledge that he did not currently possess. Hence, after performing just some simple maintenance, Han Xiao got Feng Jun to help him return it to Zhang Wei.
Currently, Han Xiao’s primary concern was regarding the three successfully destroyed Germinal bases, and what information he should disclose to Stardragon next.
The three captured bases were indeed the only ones located within Stardragon. If Stardragon wanted to continue its assault on the Germinal Organization, they would have to take the fight to a foreign nation. While relations among the Six Nations were truly not that amicable, no one really wanted to continue fighting since a lot of resources had already been depleted during the transition to the new era. Each nation was still counting their losses.
Hence, Stardragon would have to seek the cooperation of the other nations, and that would be complicated to accomplish. Han Xiao himself would also have to be directly involved as he was the key source of information.
The question was whether the higher-ups would let Han Xiao leave the Western Capital.
Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Feng Jun, who said gravely, “Han Xiao, Germinal operatives are on the move. They seem to know that you are with us and are trying to track you down.”
“I know.”
Han Xiao had expected this. He had instructed Li Ya Lin to use the mecha arm while knowing that Hila would recognize it.
“Rest assured. There will be men keeping watch around you 24/7.”
The Western Capital was Division 13’s territory. Even if the Germinal Organization were to find out Han Xiao’s exact location, they would probably not be able to touch him – not easily, at least.
Still, as there were several superhuman assassins amongst their ranks, Han Xiao knew that he could not afford to let his guard down.
‘Looks like I should prepare some defensive measures.’
“Help me draw two Berserk Eagle handguns from the armory.”
The Berserk Eagle was a close-range, large-caliber handgun. It had an effective range of 30m, where its power was comparable to that of a sniper rifle.
It would work wonders with Han Xiao’s [Strafe].
However, Han Xiao would need more.
Over the past three days, Han Xiao had gained 100,000 experience points from crafting gunpowder. He decided to spend 40,000 to raise [Basic Refining] to Lv. 5, fulfilling the requirements for crafting the [Platinum Alloy].
“It’s time for upgrades.”
…
A few days ago, upon learning of the appearance of the mecha arm in the hands of a Stardragon agent, the boss came to the conclusion that it must have been Zero who leaked information on their three bases to Stardragon.
“Is he a psychic?”
The boss found it hard to explain how Zero could have accessed top secret information. In fact, he had not once suspected Zero. Instead, he had mistakenly assumed that there was a traitor amongst his ranks. As a result, he had even wrongly killed one commander.
His mind flashed back to a month ago, where Zero had declared his intention to destroy them.
The boss clenched his fist.
“I may have underestimated you, but you are still a nobody – I don’t believe that you possess more intel.
“Pass down my order: recruit some wanderers to investigate Zero’s trail in Stardragon. The Germinal Organization will reward those who find him!
“If found, send Rosa to finish him off.”
Rosa, like Hila, was a Germinal commander. She was an assassin.
Each commander had their own specialty, but no one knew exactly how many commanders there were – not even most Germinal agents themselves.
The boss gazed into the distance.
‘Did you think that gaining Stardragon’s protection would keep you safe?
‘Naive!’
The Platinum Alloy was an alloy composed from a few rare ores. Han Xiao had to spend quite a sum of money to purchase enough of them.
After making the alloy, Han Xiao used it to craft a Retractable Knife and another Lightweight Mecha Arm. Both had above average stats – as expected – and the Retractable Knife was even of a higher grade.
_____________________
Retractable Platinum Knife
Grade: Green
Base Stats: 24-28 Damage, 355/355 Durability
Bonus Stats: +3 Dexterity
Length: 0.77m
Weight: 8.7kg
Additional Effects:
Retractable – This knife’s blade can be retracted.
Durable – The platinum alloy in this knife makes it less susceptible to wear and tear.
Note: This knife can even be used as a shield.
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The following day, Feng Jun came over to deliver the two Berserk Eagles. The Berserk Eagle had a slight longer barrel than the average handgun, and it was much more destructive at close range. Upon testing, they proved capable of blowing a chunk out of a test dummy’s head. The recoil was also extremely powerful, but Han Xiao possessed enough strength to tame the beasts.
They would serve as his protection against assassinations alongside the Platinum Retractable Knife. Han Xiao also altered his clothes to conceal several magazines – two magazines of incendiary ammo and four regular ones. For regular ammo, Han Xiao chose to use steel core bullets as their penetrative power suited the Berserk Eagle well.
Han Xiao brought up the information tab to check his remaining experience points. He currently had close to 200,000.
In Version 1.0 Galaxy, it was thought for a while that investing experience points into skills instead of leveling was optimal.
The reasoning for this was that, since the death cost was low around Lv. 20 to 30, it was an optimal level range to grind PVP. Unfortunately, it had all been someone’s ploy.
When the system congratulatory message popped up to celebrate the first Lv. 60 player in Version 1.0, the entire server was first stunned, then outraged. It was none other than the same guy who had advocated the theory of self-capping one’s level.
Han Xiao decided to spend 180,000 experience points to level up three times.
_____________________
[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +1 Intelligence, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.
[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +1 Intelligence, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.
[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +1 Intelligence, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.
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Besides these newly acquired stats, Han Xiao had also gained 30 Energy from regular use of the [Energy Training Technique] over the past few days, so his Energy was now Lv. 4 at a total of 280.
_____________________
Lv. 4 Energy (200):
+3 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +5 Endurance, +4 Intelligence, + 150 Max Stamina, +4% Crafting Speed, +4% Machinery Power
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In total, Han Xiao gained +10 Strength, +10 Dexterity, +14 Endurance, +8 Intelligence, +320 Max Stamina, +10% Crafting Speed, and +10% Machinery Power from Energy bonuses, which made up nearly a third of his total stats.
Initially, Han Xiao had invested quite a number of points into Strength and Endurance in order to ensure his survival during his escape from the Germinal laboratory, but now, as he could focus solely on Intelligence, which was all that a Technician needed, he immediately spent all 9 unassigned stat points on Intelligence, reaching a total of 58 points.
Now Lv. 24, and also a Lv. 4 Novice Technician, Han Xiao’s combat power was at 160 ona.
“At this rate I should be able to remain much stronger than the first batch of players for a while…”
Suddenly, a notification sound played.
When Han Xiao opened up the notification, he received a huge shock.
_____________________
Beta testing has been scheduled
Retrieving Information…
Retrieval Complete
Beta Test Period: 12 Days
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“Beta testing‽
“I completely forgot about that!”
Han Xiao vaguely remembered that the beta test had been a two-day event. As time was accelerated by six times in Galaxy, that translated to exactly 12 days.
The beta test period was extremely short, and only had 30,000 slots. Most of them were taken up by big corporations and gaming organizations, leaving only a fraction to be distributed through a lottery system. Han Xiao was not lucky enough to win a slot.
From his memory, the beta test was held only a week before official launch, translating to about over a month inside the game. Yet, on the system information interface the countdown still displayed 130 days!
“Could it be that the in-game clock runs differently when service is down? That must be it! Each version update takes two or three days to go live, but between updates years could have passed by in-game. It makes sense!”
Han Xiao rubbed his chin with his fingers and realized that a beard was growing. He had been in Galaxy for over half a year. He suddenly remembered a controversial version update from his past life – ‘The Chosen Ones’. This version update was unlike any other. Other updates typically came with world-changing events and incidents, but this one had completely lacked a theme. No one could make sense of the version’s title, nor its contents.
Suddenly, the interface lit up, giving Han Xiao a start.
_____________________
NPC functions unlocked!
Discussion board unlocked!
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“NPC functions? What’s this?”
As it did not come with any further information, it seemed that Han Xiao would have to figure it out on his own. In any case, it was likely to do with the ways that NPCs interacted with players, such as handing out quests, buying and selling goods, and imparting skills.
In the beta test, the 30,000 players were distributed across over a dozen planets. Han Xiao was not too concerned over this, as one or two thousand players per planet would not really have much of an impact. Official release would be when all hell broke loose.
Nonetheless, interacting with some of them would be a good opportunity to learn more about his NPC functions.
The discussion board, on the other hand, was something that Han Xiao was already familiar with. It was an internal forum that players frequented a lot – especially while waiting to revive.
“To think that we would meet again. It’s probably only unlocked now due to the time being synced up.”
The button for the discussion board was located on a corner of the interface. Upon opening it up, Han Xiao was greeted by an empty forum. The account name on the top right of the window indicated ‘Guest’, and the registration button was grayed out.
Han Xiao clicked it out of curiosity.
_____________________
Attempting to Connect to the Dive-capsule…
No Player Detected
Registration Failed
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It took a few moments for Han Xiao to understand why – accounts for the discussion board could only be created with the unique ID of the user’s dive-capsule. This rule was implemented as a measure against trolls.
“Well, I can’t create a forum account, but at least I can access the forum for reading!”
There were a million questions on Han Xiao’s mind regarding the state of his existence. Perhaps, this forum would be able to give him the answers if he watched out for his own username.
“Interacting with the beta testers will be a good start.”
…
Character Name: Frenzied Sword
Regular Settings Selected
Character Creation Complete
Race: Human (Yellow)
Based on your preferences, you have been matched to Planet Aquamarine
Starting Zone: Big Horn Village (24.152, 182.644)
Spawning… Please wait…
Big Horn Village was one of several starting zones on Plant Aquamarine.
As Frenzied Sword’s consciousness slowly adjusted, he found himself standing atop a loess field. The warmth of the sun felt just like it was real and so too did the earthly smell of the soil. When he looked down to see his two arms, he was shocked by how realistic they looked and felt.
It was a small field, and Frenzied Sword noticed that there were hundreds of other players around him; they, too, were curiously examining their ‘bodies’. Each player’s name was displayed on the top of his head.
Following the mini-guide shown during character creation, Frenzied Sword opened up the character information window. It displayed that he was Lv. 1 and also showed the default starting equipment that he was equipped with: a shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of shoes. They did not come with any stat bonuses.
“Damn it, I can’t strip!”
A fellow player nearby was causing a commotion. He appeared to be trying to remove his pants unsuccessfully.
‘What the hell are you even trying to do that for?’
The alarmed Frenzied Sword decided that moving away would be a good idea.
Frenzied Sword was a professional gamer, albeit not so well known. Aspiring professional gamer would be more accurate. He had only recently joined the scene, so he was, by all counts, a newcomer. He had been keeping a close eye on Galaxy ever since learning of its promising e-sports prospects, so when the beta test was announced, he immediately asked his association for a slot.
As the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. Frenzied Sword was determined to succeed in this new game.
Conversation broke out amongst the crowd.
“This is so realistic!”
“What should we do now?”
“Any hints?”
Suddenly, a white-bearded, fearsome looking white elderly man appeared before the crowd and bellowed, “All of you outsiders! If you want to eat, then find yourself a job! Loafers are not welcome in our village! The crops in our farms need picking, and the shops to the south need workers! As long as you work hard, you will have food to eat!”
Beside the players’ health bars were two other bars for hunger and thirst. Upon reaching 0, the player would gain a [Hungry] or [Thirsty] debuff that would cause their health to drop.
Frenzied Sword ‘examined’ the old man.
_____________________
Based on your level, you acquired the following information:
Xander – Big Horn Mountain Village Chief
Level: ?
Stats: ?
[I am your village chief now.]
Danger Level: Middle
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Players had an ‘examine’ function that allowed them to learn an NPC’s name and information. However, the amount of information obtained differed based on their level difference.
“The weapons store sells guns, bullets, and other weapons, the marketplace is where people sell food and water, and the amphitheater is where you will find mounts to rent. If you wish to leave, there is a train station several kilometers north of here. If you wish to learn a craft, the blacksmith’s or the tailor’s are good choices…”
Xander’s explanation filled in the new players on their situation. There were only a few sub-classes and one combat class – [Novice Hunter] – available in this village, and they cost money to learn.
Frenzied Sword opened up the map to find it mostly shrouded in fog. Before he explored the planet, he would have to first earn money.
“Is it possible to take on hunting quests straight away?”
Frenzied Sword recognized the man, SliceYouUp, as the guild leader of the guild ‘Kill-all’. His IGN was telling of his personality.
Upon hearing his question, Xander burst out into laughter.
“You weaklings think that you stand a chance against wild beasts? See those mountains over there? If you are not afraid to die then by all means try, but it looks to me like none of you are even strong enough to even take on a Silver Hyena.”
The players looked towards where the old man pointed to see a range of forested mountains in the distance. Some of the mountains stood so tall that the clouds seemed to encircle them like huge, coiling pythons, creating an extremely scenic view that stole the breaths of the players. The graphics were incredibly life-like. Galaxy was clearly ahead of the competition.
Refusing to believe the old man, SliceYouUp took his party to purchase some basic equipment with the starting money of $100 and headed for the mountains.
It did not take long for them to return.
SliceYouUp, in particular, was shaken up quite badly. The first beast that he had encountered was a gorilla larger than an adult man. As soon as he raised his dagger, the gorilla threw its excrement at him, the force of which blew up his head. And it only got better. He respawned in the middle of a stampede.
‘Why the hell would that freaking monkey know how to throw its excrement‽ Must everything be so realistic‽’
For some reason, the foul smell still lingered around even after respawning. The developers were definitely trolling when they decided to add in this smell.
“WTF, aren’t those monsters too strong?”
“They didn’t even stand a chance!”
“He only managed to do 1 damage!!”
“Damn it, I dropped the knife I just bought!”
The amount of experience lost upon death depended on the character level. The respawn time also increased with each death. For the first death, respawning only took 10 seconds, but it would take a minute for the second, five for the third, and half an hour for the fourth, increasing up to a whopping six days.
Death was very costly in the Galaxy. Each character could also only die up to 10 times every day (6 days in-game). Reaching this limit would result in a character lock until the next day. It was an anti-addiction system that proved to be more effective than the ‘exhaustion system’ of certain mobile games.
The Kill-all party’s sad state immediately deterred the other players from thinking of hunting monsters. They quickly dispersed to find work to do.
As Xander watched over the buzz, he stroked his beard with a smile.
“The reward is so low! I only got $50!”
“Leveling is so slow! It took me half an hour of quests just to earn enough experience to level up!”
“Everything feels so real!”
“I hit myself to test, and blood actually came out! Amazing!”
“Something is wrong with you dude.”
The start was not as easy as the players had expected; everyone was at least put on a level playing field. Furthermore, there was an extremely high degree of freedom for them to choose what they wanted to do. As the players went about their quests, many started to find themselves enjoying the game. Quests were tiring yet felt so fulfilling.
‘Today is a blessed day!’
…
“Are you a pro gamer, too?”
Frenzied Sword recognized the trio walking towards him. They were also famous pros: Twinkle Fried Rice, a genius lauded for his mechanical skills, Sleepy Winter, a super veteran of e-sports, and Rainy Kim, a female idol gamer with tens of millions of fans.
In the face of these big gods of the gaming world, Frenzied Sword felt as though he had shrunk a few feet.
“Is something the matter?”
Sleepy Winter laughed, replying, “I was wondering – did you notice that the map sold in this town costs $3000?”
There were three groups of beta testers. The first group were casual gamers who won their spots from the lottery system, while the second group were professional gamers or prolific personalities for whom a certain number of spots were reserved for. As for the third group of beta testers, they bought their accounts from resellers.
The casual gamer would only be interested in checking out the game, but the latter two shared the same reason for playing the beta: to get a head start.
“This beta test will only last for twelve days in terms of game time. It’s quite obvious that doing the beginner quests here is a waste of time, but you should have noticed that we are not forced to do them at all. What we should do is to take advantage of our head start and start exploring this world! We can be the first to discover all of this planet’s secrets and treasures.”
Frenzied Sword nodded slowly.
As time was indeed limited, to dawdle around in a beginner zone did seem like a waste of precious time. Questing here would certainly give them a level advantage over the newer players, but that would be all.
In contrast, exploring seemed like a more promising – and definitely more fun – option!
“But why would you tell me all this?” he asked.
Sleepy Winter laughed.
“Those big guilds will definitely realize this soon enough. The problem is that they have the advantage in numbers, so they will easily be able to buy the map. What do you say to joining our party? It will definitely make things easier.”
Frenzied Sword accepted the invitation without hesitation.
“How are we splitting the cost?” asked Twinkle Fried Rice.
“Since I suggested it, I’ll contribute more,” replied Sleepy Winter.
“I don’t like to owe people, so I’ll contribute a thousand,” added Rainy Kim coldly. “My part’s settled.”
She immediately turned around and left to earn money from quests.
Sleepy Winter rubbed his nose bitterly.
‘We’ve known each other for a few years already, why won’t you give me a chance…’
…
With the money they earned from questing, the four of them were able to procure the map the following day. Obtaining it cleared some of the fog on their maps, and it also provided basic information on the planet’s current situation. They learnt of the Six Nations, the Germinal Organization, and the Revolutionary Army, amongst other factions.
“According to this, the two biggest powers are the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization. The Six Nations seem to have quite a number of training schools and academies. It’ll probably be easier to learn a main class there. Let’s see… seems like Stardragon isn’t a bad choice.”
Big Horn Mountain was situated in Stardragon, and the public train station was not too far away.
Sleepy Winter nodded.
“We don’t have much time. It’ll take about 3 days for us to reach the capital.”
Frenzied Sword groaned inwardly. He was starting to regret having joined the party. However, he knew that it was too late for him to chicken out.
…
The journey could not be skipped, so the party had to sit through the entire 3 days. There were some quests available on the train, but overall, it was not a pleasant trip at all. They did, however, have the forums to stifle their boredom. On the forums, players were posting about their experiences on the different starting zones.
It provided them with much amusement – except for Frenzied Sword, who could not stop worrying about the passing time.
After three days, the train arrived at the Western Capital.
Upon arriving at the great metal fences, each of them received a system message, alerting them of a new explored location.
“So, discovering places gives experience too, huh?”
“This is amazing,” gasped Twinkle Fried Rice as he looked around.
Everything was extremely realistic – down to the way that people were casting him strange looks.
The group proceeded to the security checkpoint where they were scanned for weapons.
After passing the check, the guard gave them each a temporary ID card, and they received a system message notifying them that they had unlocked reputation with Stardragon.
_____________________
Stardragon
Reputation: 0
Current Relationship: Neutral (Temporary Citizen)
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“Shall we continue as a group or go our own ways?” asked Sleepy Winter.
“I’ll follow you,” replied Twinkle Fried Rice immediately with a grin. The two of them were from the same gaming club.
Rainy Kim also decided to join them as some company was better than none.
“No bullying me,” she said flatly.
Sleepy Winter laughed. Unintentional or not, this girl said the cutest things. They exchanged a few more lines before Sleepy Winter finally turned to Frenzied Sword and asked, “What about you?”
Frenzied Sword was furious at being so blatantly overlooked, but he understood that there was no point in forcing himself to tag along.
“No- no need.” He waved his hand and stammered, “I prefer playing alone.”
“Alright then, good luck!”
As Frenzied Sword watched the trio of gods depart, he mumbled to himself, “Sooner or later, I’ll become popular too!”
The Western Capital was obviously a first-class city. Here, there would definitely be plenty of opportunities for him to surpass them and become number one!
Renewed with ambition, Frenzied Sword began to head off in another direction.
Suddenly, he noticed a masked man watching him.
Something about the way the man was looking at him seemed odd. As Frenzied Sword felt a chill run down his spine, he instinctively used the examine function.
_____________________
Name: Han Xiao (?)
Level: ?
Stats: ?
???
Danger Level: Fatal
“Fatal danger‽”
Frenzied Sword gulped. Even the armored security guard just now only had a ‘high’ danger level. This was his most dangerous encounter yet. Who exactly was this guy whose information was full of question marks‽
“Shouldn’t it be safe in the city? Will today be the first time that I die?”
Suddenly, the man spoke.
“Examining someone you just met? That’s not very polite.”
Frenzied Sword gave a start.
According to the official information, an NPC would know if it had been examined if it was over 30 levels higher than the player using the function.
Han Xiao chuckled to himself. He had simply predicted Frenzied Sword’s course of action.
After learning of the beta test, Han Xiao had taken note of all the nearby starting zones on his map. The closest one was none other than Big Horn Mountain Village. It was only three days away, but Han Xiao did not want to leave the Western Capital as Germinal was actively looking for him.
While keeping track of the influx of posts on the forums, Han Xiao came across a thread created by a player called Sleepy Winter. It was a post about the benefits of exploration.
Han Xiao knew who Sleepy Winter was – a legendary pro gamer who was quite active in public forums. He liked to discuss strategies and create guides. He was a good man, handsome (beside the point), and naturally had a huge fan base. In the Chinese server, he had ranked consistently amongst the top 30. Han Xiao himself had only ever peaked at 47th, and during a period of time, he even fell out of the top 100. That lesson that he had learnt then was to stay away from girls (if you want to succeed).
Once, he had shared his thoughts regarding this with the 28-year-old owner of the convenience store below his apartment building who he was on friendly terms with. The bachelor had laughed him off.
“Cool story bro,” he said, “but I’d rather have a girl.”
To which Han Xiao had replied, “But which girl would have you?”
That was the day that Han Xiao lost his special discount at that store.
The rankings were not based purely on combat. In Galaxy, there were all kinds of competitions apart from fighting – from treasure hunts to monster killing, and even races! As Han Xiao had taken on a number of revenge assignments from other players, his combat ability was quite polished. Unfortunately, he had lacked in other areas – such as trash talking. He never forgot to practice it though.
After reading the thread, Han Xiao had guessed that there would probably be a few players who would make it to the Western Capital. As such, over the past few days, he had spent some time keeping an eye out for any at the city entrance. He was able to spot the party of four easily as their names were – to Han Xiao’s surprise – clearly displayed over their heads. Furthermore, three of their names were those of famous people.
Han Xiao was not sure if the reason he could see their names was that he, too, had an interface.
Nevertheless, it was a good thing. Just like how players could see the names of NPCs, Han Xiao could recognize them on sight.
The reason that he had decided to make direct contact with a player was to test out his NPC functions.
“Brave adventurer, do you have time to help me?”
A standard line for a quest-giver.
Frenzied Sword’s eyes widened.
‘To think that I’d get the chance to interact with a high-level NPC this soon! This place is the best!’
He replied, as calmly as he could, “I am willing to help.”
“I need a loaf of bread. Can you find one?”
A confirmation window popped up as soon as Han Xiao asked the question.
_____________________
Do you wish to issue a quest to Frenzied Sword?
Y/N
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‘It really works!
‘Hold on, why are there automated prompts for an NPC function? Maybe I can automate my own actions too?’
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. Now was not the time to worry about those questions.
“Yes.”
A window appeared, along with some messages.
_____________________
Please set the requirements and rewards for the mission. The amount of experience that you can hand out is limited based on your level, rank, influence, and myth.
Note: You can choose to give objects that you possess ownership of as rewards: money, items, experience, skills, etc.
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The window was split into two sections. On the left side was a drop-down menu that allowed Han Xiao to select the quest type. There were a ton of quest types to choose from.
On the right side was for inputting the rewards. There were two lines: “Maximum Reward”, and “Daily Reward Limit”.
The Maximum Reward was currently set to 11,600 experience points. It also seemed to be provided by the system, meaning that Han Xiao would not have need to fork any out of his own pocket.
Daily Reward Limit referred to the amount of experience reward that Han Xiao could issue out in a day. Currently, it was fixed at five times the Maximum Reward (5 x 11600 = 58,000).
_____________________
Maximum Reward: 11600 exp
Level: 24 (7200 exp)
Rank: E (300 exp)
Faction(s):
Germinal – Hated (1000 exp)
Division 13 – Neutral (400 exp)
Myth Level: 0
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As Han Xiao tested the settings out, he discovered a limitation – if the current Maximum Reward did not meet the minimum amount required for a quest, he would not be able to issue it – a Rank A quest such as destroying the Germinal Organization would require a Rank A reward.
Han Xiao’s maximum reward of 11,600 meant that he could only issue E-rank quests. D-rank quests required a reward of at least 30,000 exp. The reward criteria also seemed to differ among the different quest types. No further messages popped up to explain this, so it seemed like Han Xiao would have to figure it out on his own through trial and error.
Han Xiao tried to issue himself a quest, but it failed.
“If only I could have some of that sweet experience…”
Although he now had the ability to hand out experience like water, he himself was only earning about 20,000 to 30,000 exp a day. Of course, there was no way that he would help someone else.
“Seems like I could use this to my advantage though…” Han Xiao’s eyes began to twinkle. It was possible to use this function to manipulate players into doing his bidding. After all, players would do any quest if the reward was high enough.
Han Xiao suddenly had an epiphany. “I have to increase my maximum reward!”
In most games, it was the key, high-level NPCs who gave the hardest missions and the highest rewards. The quest function’s system made perfect sense.
Han Xiao issued a regular mission to Frenzied Sword.
Frenzied Sword stared at the mission window with his mouth agape.
‘What kind of high level NPC would ask for a loaf of bread and reward only $1‽’
“Hold on… he could just be testing me!”
Frenzied Sword recalled that in some of the games he had played before, there were indeed quests like this.
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed to him, so Frenzied Sword whipped out all seven of the bread loaves he had in his possession and put them into Han Xiao’s hands.
“This is all the bread I have,” he added sincerely.
Han Xiao was stunned.
‘What’s going on? Are gamers these days so excessive with doing quests?’
Nonetheless, a completion dialogue popped up when Han Xiao received the bread.
There were too many quest types to test out, so Han Xiao decided to try out the other NPC functions.
There was an icon in the shape of a person beside Frenzied Sword’s name above his head. When Han Xiao focused on it, an RPG-style meter bar popped out. The bar was half red, half green, and with a needle at the center.
[Do you want to adjust Favorability with Frenzied Sword?]
“I can even do this‽” Han Xiao was a bit scared to try. What if changing this also adjusted his thoughts?
“If I set favorability to maximum, will I… turn gay on the spot?
“No no no no no – I can’t risk that.”
Han Xiao decided to test it by moving the needle slightly left to reduce favorability by five. He heaved a sigh of relief when nothing else seemed to change.
“This function isn’t very useful…”
_____________________
Your favorability with Han Xiao has dropped by 5.
Current status: Stranger
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‘What the-‽ Why would my favorability go down after quest completion?
‘What the hell?’
As Han Xiao was wondering if he could perform transactions with players, he began to laugh shadily.
“Hey kid, not bad. I only sell my goods to people I like, and I like you.”
Frenzied Sword’s jaw dropped.
‘My favorability dropped, but he still says that he likes me‽’
_____________________
Do you want to open up a shop to Frenzied Sword?
Y/N
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‘Confirm.’
A shop window immediately popped up. The window was divided into two sections. The left section was titled ‘Item Shop’, and there was a system hint saying that it was possible for Han Xiao to put up items on display even if they were not currently on his person. The right section was titled ‘Skill Shop’, where Han Xiao could put his own skills up for sale. Han Xiao fiddled around with the settings.
_____________________
Please set a price. You may select money, experience, or items.
You may also set buying requirements such as favorability, level, skills, class, etc.
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So far, Han Xiao had been dealing in Aquamarine’s international currency—the Aquamarine Dollar. The ‘Inar’ was the standard universal currency. Han Xiao discovered to his surprise that the shop function allowed him to set the item price in any currency that he had ever come into contact with.
An idea suddenly came to Han Xiao. ‘I can set favorability requirements to manipulate—I mean—attract players to keep coming back for quests!’
Han Xiao was reminded of how he had spent long hours grinding out high difficulty quests just to achieve exalted status with the Alliance of Light—all for the sake of a battleship.
Now, however, the tables had turned.
‘This interface is the best!’
A shop interface popped up in front of Frenzied Sword. As he scanned through the items, his eyes began to widen in disbelief.
“Godly equips!” he blurted.
“[Retractable Knife], [Incendiary Bullets], [73-Wasp], [Jackson Assault Rifle], [Bayonet Rifle]…”
Frenzied Sword was shaking uncontrollably. To him, all of these were ‘godly equips’ that would allow him to surpass any other player!
However, his expression changed when he looked at their price tags. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him.
Even the cheapest of them, the [Incendiary Bullets], cost a hundred dollars each, while the [Lightweight Mecha Arm] required 10 favorability!
‘This is daylight robbery! And how am I supposed to gain favorability with this NPC when completing his quests reduces it instead‽
‘No wonder this NPC’s danger level is so high. It’s definitely still too early to interact with him.’
But Frenzied Sword only knew true pain when he took a look at the Skill Shop.
[Basic Combat], [Basic Shooting], [Submission]… the sight of these skills caused Frenzied Sword to start drooling… until he saw their prices.
There was also a [Mechanic Class Change Tome], and an array of Mechanic skills, but none of them were as eye-catching as the [Energy Training Technique]!
“Godly skill!”
Han Xiao shook his head upon seeing Frenzied Sword’s reaction.
“You aren’t a Technician, so you are unable to learn it.”
By now, Han Xiao had already been solidified as a Secret NPC in Frenzied Sword’s mind.
‘If I can make him my teacher, I will definitely become rank 1 in no time!
‘But… I really wanted to be a Pugilist…’
That much was obvious from his in-game name.
‘Damn it! This had better be worth it!’
_____________________
Are you sure you want to become a Mechanic?
Y/N
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“Yes!”
…
_____________________
[Basic Weaponry] learnt. You have gained 500 exp, $100.
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Buying a skill was like paying for lessons, and Han Xiao’s skill level would remain unchanged.
Of course, the skills that Han Xiao had chosen to put on display were the more common and easily obtainable ones—not that any player would know at this point.
…
Frenzied Sword’s reaction to [Energy Training Technique] confirmed this. He obviously did not know that the skill was automatically given to all characters after the first advancement at Lv. 20.
It wasn’t that Han Xiao was trying to scam him, though. On the contrary, he had purposely set its cost at a whopping 10,000 exp and $3,000 just to make the shop look ‘nicer’. He had also placed a requirement of 10 favorability on it.
“Oh right!” Han Xiao quickly reverted Frenzied Sword’s favorability back to 0, which caused him to immediately have the wrong idea.
‘I must buy more things from him in order to increase favorability!’
Suddenly, the NPC began to walk away.
“Where can I find you‽” yelled a flustered Frenzied Sword after him.
Han Xiao thought for a moment before handing him a piece of paper with the workshop’s address on it.
As Frenzied Sword watched him leave, he began to grow excited.
‘This is my chance!
‘With those skills and equips, I will definitely be able to climb to the top!’
Suddenly, his expression froze.
‘I cannot let anyone find this Secret NPC!’
…
To a city as big as the Western Capital, a few beta testers were truly insignificant. For now, Han Xiao did not have any interest in them. The only reason he had come into contact with one was to test the NPC functions, and they certainly did not disappoint. Han Xiao was already thinking up ways to use them for scamming players.
‘Frenzied Sword…’
As Han Xiao thought back to the player from before, scenes from another lifetime began to play out in his mind.
In his previous life, Frenzied Sword had been part of the first batch of professional ‘Galaxy’ players. As a Pugilist, he had taken the first competitive season by storm and won one of twenty-four spots to represent China internationally. This honor alone had cemented his status as a legend.
Unfortunately, this future Pugilist legend was now a Mechanic.
Han Xiao did not know exactly how Frenzied Sword’s fortunes would play out in this timeline, but he did know one thing for sure: there would be no Frenzied Sword representing China in the near future.
The only reason Han Xiao dared to choose the Mechanic class was that he knew it would eventually become the strongest class. However, this was something that no other player could know. In fact, the class seemed so bad from the start that in Han Xiao’s past life, numerous gamers, including pros, who chose the Mechanic class would give up their characters and restart in another class.
‘I feel like I scammed him big time or something…’
Han Xiao shook his head.
‘Scam? Nah. He made the decision himself. On the contrary, if he can endure a few patches then he’ll have me to thank… yeah…’
From enlisting in the Stardragon Army to joining underworld societies, there was no lack of work opportunities for players in the Western Capital. Even just by walking on the streets and interacting with NPCs, there were plenty of quests waiting to be triggered. From the money that they earned from these common quests such as “Find the Missing Purse”, “Rescue the Cat Stuck on the Tree”, and other collection missions, it became clear to Sleepy Winter that exploring had been the right thing to do.
Of course, as the Western Capital was a high-level zone, there were many places that the trio found inaccessible at their current level. Rainy Kim had been rejected at the gates of the Western Capital Academy while Twinkle Fried Rice had been held at gunpoint when he’d tried to enter District 1, almost giving away his first death.
The day after, the trio enlisted in the Stardragon Army, thereby gaining their first combat class: [Recruit]. After a couple of training quests, their Faction changed from [Stardragon] to [Stardragon Army], and they earned the rank of [Private].
Out of goodwill, Sleepy Winter messaged Frenzied Sword to let him know about being able to join the army, but Frenzied Sword only replied briefly in acknowledgement. For some reason, he seemed uninterested.
What Sleepy Winter did not know was that Frenzied Sword was preoccupied with trying to win Han Xiao’s favor.
In order to test out the limitations of the quest function, Han Xiao entertained Frenzied Sword and issued him with all sorts of strange quests, such as [Kick Ten People in the Ass], [Strip a Patrolling Officer of His Shorts], [Remain in a Ballerina Pose for Five Minutes], and many more.
From these tests, Han Xiao learned that as long as the maximum reward was able to match the quest’s difficulty, he would be able to choose any type of quest scenario that he wanted.
Meanwhile, things were a bit different on the receiving end. Frenzied Sword, who found himself only being assigned crude and twisted quests, gradually began to develop a sense of fear toward Han Xiao.
Nonetheless, he religiously completed all of the quests as the experience that Han Xiao rewarded him with was several times more than the standard reward. That alone was enough for him to ignore his own morals.
The quests allowed him to level up rapidly, and he used the earnings themself to learn more basic skills from Han Xiao.
The beta test might have been unexpected for Han Xiao, but overall, it did not do much to disrupt his plans. The beta players were simply too scattered and few in number to have much influence on their respective starting planets. Twelve days was not enough time for them to level up significantly.
It would take longer for a breeze to develop into a storm.
In the long haul, however, the influx of players would be like a gold mine to Han Xiao.
Helping to strengthen Frenzied Sword was only the first step. Soon, his progress would definitely catch the attention of the other players and his own association. His association would certainly capitalize on it and release information on this ‘secret NPC’ in order to gain popularity. That was when the money and experience would start pouring in for Han Xiao. Frenzied Sword might have thought he was hogging Han Xiao to himself, but he was actually dancing in the palm of his hand.
…
[Official Launch Countdown: 126 Days 11 Hours 32 Minutes]
Aside from crafting [Incendiary Bullets], Han Xiao spent most of his free time browsing the forums.
Although it was usually buzzing with discussion and players would frequent it while their characters were dead or had set up shop, there were only beta players posting now.
“The women on Aquamarine are so beautiful!”
“Urgently looking for party members to fight the Sand Bandits. Location: Fallen Dragon Valley, Planet Longtune. Coordinates are…”
“A shot of Planet Brighton’s magical floating city.”
“I somehow transformed myself into some tentacled monster. How do I change back‽”
“Damn it, teach me how!”
…
Most of the threads were posted to request help or share information. Some parties also used the forums as a means to record and share their progress.
There were over a dozen beginner planets of various civilizations available in the beta—magical civilizations, scientific civilizations, and religious civilizations, to name a few. The societal structure of each planet also varied.
The most popular planet seemed to be Planet Winterfrost, which was ruled by the void demon race. The planet also served as an outpost for the Destruction Army, whose aim was to ‘destroy all civilizations’. In Han Xiao’s past life, they were an enemy who had given him quite a headache.
As Han Xiao refreshed the forum page, a new thread caught his attention.
“First B-class quest!”
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He recalled that the first B-class mission had only appeared after the official launch. How could someone have unlocked such a high class mission during the beta test?
Curious, he entered the thread to see that it was already erupting with discussion.
“Who are you trying to fool? I haven’t even seen a D-class quest yet.”
“Are you dumb? He posted pictures as proof!”
“They must be fake! Why is there only a quest name but no quest information?”
“Nice try, clown. Who would want to share their quest information with you.”
“It must be super hard. I’m still at the beginner zone. Does anyone know how to get out?”
“The poster is the official account of the Throne of Gods guild. They’re legit. It should be true.”
“Does anyone know which planet this is?”
“All of you are noobs.”
“Sorry, my dog ran over my keyboard.”
…
Han Xiao chuckled. In his nostalgia, he continued reading through all the banter before finally checking out the contents of the original post. There was only a cropped screenshot of a quest name.
_____________________
B-class Quest: [Investigate Zero]
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Han Xiao scrolled up to check the poster’s name.
‘Throne of Gods?’
The Throne of Gods was a prestigious guild that boasted a line-up of renowned gamers. They were so big that they even had their own line of goods.
In his previous life, Han Xiao had once taken up an assignment to strip their leader and take pictures of him in various embarrassing poses. He had then posted them on the forums with the title: “Shocking! Why would the leader of the Throne of Gods…” and charged a fee for viewing. While Han Xiao had earned his money, he had also ended up being chased around by the entire guild for an entire month.
‘Ah, I miss player killing…’ Han Xiao sighed as he turned around to look at Frenzied Sword, causing him to freeze up.
Han Xiao shook his head.
If things went as they had previously, the Throne of Gods would join the Germinal faction to become the biggest player guild on their side. It was already looking likely.
Germinal must be hellbent on getting him this time, for even beta players to be able to acquire the mission to look for him.
For the average player, it would be impossible to evade the notice of Division 13 while trying to locate Han Xiao by themselves. Normally, it would take a large amount of people to even have a chance of succeeding. However, the Throne of Gods did not seem to lack manpower.
As he considered the situation, Han Xiao finally decided on which Germinal base to act upon next.
…
The Throne of Gods guild had 15 players in the beta test. It was a team of core members led by both the leader and the vice-leader. Before the beta test started, they had already decided to list science as a preference.
Their reasoning was simple—since the world of Galaxy had a ‘galactic’ setting, science would definitely be a core driving force of the game. As such, they were all able to start together on Aquamarine and had also quickly purchased a map to begin exploring.
The leader, Jupiter, was the one who decided to join the Germinal Organization. Their starting zone had also been close to a Germinal base.
Jupiter thought that the Germinal Organization was probably the strongest faction on the planet as they able to stand strong against all of the nations on their own. Choosing them had nothing to do with favoring their ideology or anything like that. After all, their only priority was to get stronger.
And reality did not betray their expectations. After joining Germinal, they were brought to the Dark Crow Valley Base where they underwent tough training to become low level grunts.
The biggest gain that they received there, however, was none other than the B-class quest, [Investigate Zero].
The only information provided by the quest was that the target, Zero, was currently residing within Stardragon.
At present, the 15 members were having a top-secret meeting to discuss how they would complete the quest.
“This is our first B-class quest,” said Jupiter in a low voice. “As there doesn’t seem to be fighting involved, with our level, we have a good chance of succeeding. The rewards are extremely good. With them, we will definitely be able to become the number one guild!”
“All we know is that Zero is in the country, but Stardragon is just too big,” added Poseidon, a core member of the guild. “The beta test period is too short, so I think that we should only aim to complete the quest after official launch. Now, we should just do some preliminary investigation.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“The quest information only tells us that Zero is an enemy of the Germinal Organization. If we manage to kill him, will there be a bonus reward?”
“Nice thinking, as expected of our leader.”
“But that would most likely be A-class difficulty,” pointed out Poseidon.
“There’s no impossible quest in a game. We just have to find the way,” answered Jupiter matter-of-factly. “The official launch is one week after the end of this beta test. During this period of time, we will also have to discuss the matter with the rest of the guild.”
“In any case,” added Shiva, the vice-leader, “with the backing of our gaming organization, we are the ones with the highest chance of completing this quest.”
“That is true,” agreed Jupiter.
“It would be faster if we made use of the other players,” suggested Poseidon.
Jupiter’s eyes lit up.
“Good idea. Let’s release Zero’s face and put up a reward for any valuable leads.”
Rich guilds had their way of doing things.
‘The Throne of Gods sure has deep pockets! If only I could find Zero…’
The reward on Zero’s wanted poster was extremely alluring, but Frenzied Sword knew that as he was operating alone, it would be like trying to search for a needle in a haystack.
While it might have been a pity, it did not bother him too much. Frenzied Sword’s eyes filled up with fire as he took another look at Han Xiao.
‘As long as I latch onto this guy, I will level up faster than anyone!’
Initially, performing all the strange quests that Han Xiao gave him did give him a sense of aversion. However, he gradually discovered that they not were that bad after all—at the very least, they were interesting to do. Compared to hunting monsters, running around to carry out these ‘errands’ was much simpler. Of course, this came at the expense of his morality.
One day, he realized that his mind was becoming more open, and he had an epiphany: ‘shame is but an obstacle to human evolution!’
‘Me, a pervert? No no no, I have simply transcended! I have found the way!’
“Does that guy like you or something?” asked a bemused Lu Qian as she pointed at Frenzied Sword. He was staring at Han Xiao dreamily from the entrance of the workshop.
“…”
“He seems pretty sincere. Why don’t you give him a chance?” she teased, giggling.
It was the first time that she had spoken normally to Han Xiao since the misunderstanding.
Han Xiao rolled his eyes and reached out to tickle her, causing her to yell out and dodge, startled. Hugging her sides with crossed arms, Lu Qian watched Han Xiao closely with puppy eyes in anticipation of his next attack.
Her grandfather’s attempts at playing matchmaker had initially caused her much headache. However, she soon discovered that there was no cause for concern as Han Xiao was not particularly interested in her. To be more specific, he did not even seem to be interested in women at all! Although this eased her worries, it also raised other concerns.
A woman’s heart is unfathomable. Pay her attention and she might become wary of you, but neglecting her won’t do either.
Unfortunately, one’s looks also play an important factor. If you are good looking enough, you won’t have to worry about it.
Lu Qian’s casual attire was revealing a tantalizing view of her front, but it did nothing to stir Han Xiao’s heart. Having been working for up to 15 hours almost every day recently, crafting had become the only thing that he could think about.
Sometimes, he even found himself designing guns and weapons in his dreams! And the scary part was that once, when he woke up, he realized that the designs were all practical! This served as a wake-up call to Han Xiao, and he would think back to fond times with Mei Mei, Mei Mei, Mei Mei, and a dozen or so more ex-girlfriends to regain his senses. (These names all sound the same, but they are different characters in Chinese)
A man may die, but he must go down with his bird.
Han Xiao ignored Frenzied Sword. By his calculations, the beta test would end in a day. The only reason Han Xiao had chosen to make contact with a player was to test the NPC functions.
Suddenly, the interface lit up.
_____________________
You have triggered the sudden quest: [Assassination]!
Quest Hint: The assassin is closing in!
Completion Requirement: Survive the encounter.
Quest Reward: Unknown
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Han Xiao’s face stiffened.
The attack could happen at any moment!
“Damn it! Old Lu is not home now!”
For the quest to have triggered despite Feng Jun and his men keeping watch in the neighborhood meant that the enemy definitely had some kind of special ability to invade without getting detected! There was a high chance that it was a superhuman!
Han Xiao immediately dashed into his room to retrieve his equipment. It was vital to avoid dragging Old Lu and Lu Qian into the mix as it could jeopardize his plans to unlock the hidden scenario that he had come here for all along.
Facing his attacker head-on was also more of his style.
Frenzied Sword chased after Han Xiao.
As they ran, Han Xiao began to feel like someone was watching him.
The temperature of the air suddenly began to drop, causing Frenzied Sword to rub his arms in fear. Even he could feel the murderous intent in the air.
As they walked down an alley, Han Xiao’s sense of danger began to escalate from a tingle into an alarm.
Darkness was already creeping upon the unknowing pair. Before they realized it, they were transported into a world devoid of sight and sound. Strangely, however, this pitch-black darkness made Han Xiao feel extremely safe and comfortable, as though he were back in his mother’s womb. All that remained was an overwhelming allure to fall into eternal slumber.
An illusion!
Han Xiao forced his eyes open.
_____________________
You are under the attack of an illusion. As your Intelligence is higher than 50, you are able to resist its effects.
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The darkness around Han Xiao began to shatter as the effects of the illusion faded.
As Han Xiao regained his senses, he discovered that there was a man standing five meters away with a gun pointed directly at him. The assassin was wearing a victorious smirk.
Click.
He pulled the trigger.
Han Xiao’s eyes widened.
‘How am I supposed to dodge a shot at point blank range‽’
People often say that time slows down in the face of danger. What happened next was on a whole new level.
In the face of imminent death, the world around Han Xiao suddenly began to slow down. The expression of panic on Han Xiao’s face was replaced by a look of absolute coolness as his mind cast aside all unnecessary thoughts and emotions in order to process the situation.
‘It’s not over yet!’
The flow of time resumed.
In the very instant that the bullet left the barrel, Han Xiao activated [Strafe], causing his entire body to seemingly fade and reappear.
[Strafe]’s effect allowed the user to move anywhere within a three-meter radius, but it was not exactly ‘instant’. While any movement using [Strafe] would seem extremely fast, moving a shorter distance would be even faster. Han Xiao was able to dodge the fatal shot by moving just 2 inches.
The bullet grazed past the side of his face; all it caused was a searing sensation.
The assassin’s expression changed.
‘How could he have dodged my sure-kill shot‽’
With his illusory powers, Norsa had successfully carried out over a hundred assassinations for the Germinal Organization. So far, it had not mattered whether his targets also had superpowers. However, according to the intel given to him, Zero should at most be at the level of an elite agent! How could someone who relied on machinery to fight be able to break free of his illusion‽
The intel was completely off the mark!
As Han Xiao dodged, he whipped out both Berserk Eagles from his waist and activated [Overload] as he fired a volley of deafening shots. The recoil from the shots was so powerful that it caused his hands to shake.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
All of the shots found their mark on Norsa’s chest.
A perfect counterattack. Han Xiao’s skillful usage of the Strafe might not have seemed difficult, but it would not have been possible to pull off without the wealth of combat experience that he possessed.
Norsa began to stagger backwards. He had used energy to protect his body—otherwise he would have been shredded to bits. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he immediately summoned whatever energy he had left to back up and flee.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and gave pursuit as he loaded a gun up with [Incendiary Ammo] to fire a shot in the direction of Norsa’s escape.
The ensuing sea of fire forced Norsa to stop in his tracks. Gritting his teeth, he turned around to face Han Xiao.
Norsa’s eyes began to glow with a mysterious seven-colored aura.
_____________________
You are under the attack of an illusion. As your Intelligence is higher than 50, you are able to resist its effects.
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Bang!
Han Xiao unhesitatingly fired a single, precise shot that drilled a hole through the assassin’s throat.
Norsa clutched his neck in horror.
‘My illusory powers have never failed me! Why is he unaffected‽’
Han Xiao strode forward to smack Norsa onto the ground with both guns. He then pressed them against his chest, pinning him to the ground.
Bang!
The sound of the shot was dull.
As the incendiary bullet penetrated Norsa’s body, his internal organs were immediately set ablaze. He began to flail his limbs wildly—but only for a moment.
_____________________
You have killed the Germinal Organization Executor, Norsa (Lv. 25 Superhuman), earning 7,500 exp.
You have completed the sudden quest, [Assassination]. You have been rewarded with a Character Summoning Card.
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Han Xiao steadied his breath. Blood had stained his mask and was dripping down his face onto the floor.
It was silent, apart from the crackle of the flames.
Norsa’s death freed Frenzied Sword from the illusion. His jaw dropped upon noticing the aftermath of the battle.
‘What the hell just happened here‽’
Feng Jun arrived late to the party with his team of fully-equipped field agents. When he saw the blood on Han Xiao’s mask, his first reaction was to feel Han Xiao’s chin for any wounds.
“Are you hurt?”
“Are you blind?” snapped Han Xiao, pointing to the graze on his cheek.
“That’s good…” Feng Jun heaved a sigh of relief before looking at Han Xiao apologetically. They had failed in their duty to keep him safe.
“It’s not your fault,” consoled Han Xiao.
“This man is the Germinal Organization’s executor,” he explained, pointing toward Norsa’s corpse. “He’s an assassin who has never failed.”
“Norsa Connor‽”
Norsa was widely feared even among the Six Nations. Once, he had gunned down a high-ranking Stardragon official in broad daylight despite tight security.
Upon confirming the identity of the corpse, Feng Jun’s shock turned into amazement.
“Hold on, he came to assassinate you… but you killed him instead‽ Are you really that strong‽”
“You only realized that now?”
Han Xiao glared at him as he checked the interface for the quest reward.
_____________________
Character Summoning Card: You are able to use this character’s ability once.
Character: Norsa Connor
Ability: Illusory Power (E) – Only targets with more than 50 Intelligence can resist this ability.
Usage Count: 0/1
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Character Summoning Cards were quite uncommon in Galaxy. They only dropped from special quests, and their function was to allow the player to use the ability of the NPC character stated on the card. In Galaxy, people farmed and sold these for money, but it was only the rich players, who could afford to indiscriminately use them, who bought them. Although not Han Xiao’s style, it was always better to have more tools at one’s disposal.
Fortunately, Han Xiao had assigned all his stat points to Intelligence beforehand, otherwise things would have played out very differently.
‘Germinal Organization, thanks for the gift!’
_____________________
Do you wish to accept your reward now?
Y/N
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‘Yes.’
It was a ‘use’ item that could be stored within the interface, allowing Han Xiao to pull it out whenever he needed it.
Meanwhile, Frenzied Sword was still trying to comprehend the situation. When he used the examine function to learn that these mysterious men in black were aligned with the ‘Stardragon Strategic Defense Initiative’, he couldn’t help but look toward Han Xiao in wonderment.
“You know this guy?” Feng Jun asked Han Xiao curiously as he pointed at Frenzied Sword.
“Just ignore him.”
As Han Xiao wiped the blood of his face with a handkerchief that Feng Jun passed to him, he frowned.
“If Norsa has found me, then it means the Germinal Organization must know exactly where I am.”
“Not necessarily,” replied Feng Jun. “The intelligence department has the network locked down. Any mention of you is blocked from being transmitted out.”
Han Xiao’s spirits immediately lifted.
“Are you sure?”
Feng Jun nodded.
“But… Norsa definitely wasn’t operating alone. He must have passed the intel on to Germinal spies hiding within the capital. It’ll probably be a matter of time before they relay the information.”
Han Xiao abruptly started to run out of the alley.
“Hey, where are you going?” called out Feng Jun hastily. “I still have to take you back to HQ for debriefing!”
“No time to explain! Quickly request for permission to seal all of the city’s exits!”
It was possible that Norsa had learned of his whereabouts from the spies in the city, and that he had come straight for him right after. In that case, it was not too late to take action!
Han Xiao knew exactly who the head honcho of the spy network was. The reason he had not taken action against him so far was that the Germinal would simply send a replacement to take over. On the contrary, leaving him alive had its advantages.
Norsa’s death would confirm Han Xiao’s presence in the Western Capital, but if he could stop the intel from getting out, the Germinal would not be able to pinpoint his location.
Of course, all of this was simply guesswork; it was possible that a spy had already left the city to deliver the intel. Nevertheless, it was worth a shot.
“Li Ya Lin, tell the others to meet up with me at District 8. These are the coordinates… Remember to drive a car!”
“Of all places, the slums‽ I was expecting at least a fancy restaurant!”
“There’s no time, just do as I asked!”
After hanging up, Han Xiao smashed the window of the nearest car by the roadside and jumped in.
The owner was making a phone call right beside his car when the sudden sound of shattering glass gave him a fright. He immediately ran over to the driver side and grabbed Han Xiao by the collar.
“You! Get out now!”
The next second, he found himself yanked halfway into the car with his head pinned against the steering wheel, causing the car horn to bellow noisily.
“Nice timing!”
Han Xiao immediately began to search the poor car owner’s body for the car keys. Upon finding them, he ungraciously shoved him out of the window and sped off into the distance.
As the car owner sat dazed on the floor with a big bruise on his face, he wondered aloud, “Damn, since when were car thieves this brazen?”
…
As Han Xiao weaved through traffic at high speed, he soon noticed the wail of a police siren.
“The car in front, stop right now!” yelled the traffic police officer on his motorbike.
Han Xiao tossed the car owner’s driving license out of the window and yelled back, “Deduct as many points as you like!”
The officer ended up tailing Han Xiao all the way to District 8, where Han Xiao quickly got off and began to stride off in big steps. The persistent police officer ran up to him to block his path.
“You! Stop right now!”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes in exasperation. With a quick chop that the police officer could never have seen coming, he knocked him out cold.
Through a series of twisting alleys—in the process, disposing of three muggers—Han Xiao soon arrived at a small, dilapidated church building. It was now used as a means of shelter by some homeless people.
In the warring period of the old era, religion had served as a means of mental support for many. At one point, this church in particular had managed to amass millions of believers.
However, the ‘savior’ that they believed in never appeared, so eventually, people stopped believing.
There were a number of vagrants in the building, but when Han Xiao could not see the one that he was looking for, he abruptly grabbed the nearest one up and questioned, “Have you seen a tall, bearded man with the tattoo of a red wolf on the back of his hand?”
The vagrant shivered at the sight of the blood covering Han Xiao.
“You mean Lu Gao En?” he answered meekly. “We call him ‘Tongueless’ because he never seems to speak. I think he went somewhere in the afternoon.”
Afternoon?
Even regular citizens needed to go through lengthy checks at one of the three guard post in order to leave the Western Capital. As it was currently only 2PM, there was still a chance for Han Xiao to stop him.
He could not count on Division 13 to pass a restriction order. Even if they were willing to, it would take some time for them to come to the decision. By then, Lu Gao En would most likely have left the capital.
Han Xiao furrowed his brows. Which of the three exits was Lu Gao En at? Time was ticking.
Lu Gao En left less than two hours ago, meaning that he must have received Norsa’s intel just then.
Since Norsa had come directly to assassinate him, he must have tasked Lu Gao En with reporting the information back to their organization. Lu Gao En would definitely not have expected Han Xiao to know of him, so he would not see a need to deliver the intel with haste. Under such circumstances, the city pass that he would use would most likely be the one nearest to him—the Northwest Pass.
However, it was still possible that he would choose to use either of the further passes.
There was no way to tell.
“Ay, Han Xiao, we’re here. What did you call us here for?”
Li Ya Lin, Zhang Wei, and Lambert arrived. They had managed to come on time thanks to Li Ya Lin’s ride, a yellow convertible sports car.
“An emergency mission. One of Germinal’s spies here acquired some important information. There’s a chance that he hasn’t left the city yet, but he could be at any of the three passes.”
Li Ya Lin wiped the playful smile off her face upon hearing the severity of the situation.
“Do you have a picture of him?” she asked.
Han Xiao picked up some scraps of newspaper around him and began to draw out a rough image of Lu Gao En from his faded memory. He then yanked the homeless guy from earlier on up and barked, “Look at this, does it look like Lu Gao En?”
“The eyes should be lower… his nose is a little crooked… hair is shorter…”
With the man’s help, Han Xiao was able to produce sketches of Lu Gao En with a 70 or 80 percent resemblance. He then passed them to the trio and instructed, “Let’s split up and get the security officers to keep an eye out for this person. Li Ya Lin and I will take her car to the furthest city entrance, while each of you will go to the other two.”
Zhang Wei’s face twitched as Han Xiao gave them the orders. ‘Am I still the leader of this team?’
Nonetheless, he let it slide as it was an emergency.
As they set off, Han Xiao immediately hopped into the driver’s seat of Li Ya Lin’s car.
“Hey, it’s my car!” grumbled Li Ya Lin immediately. “I’ll drive.”
“You drive too slow.”
“You don’t trust the driving skills of a top agent‽” Li Ya Lin was so outraged that her eyebrows were almost contorted upside-down. Unfortunately, she knew that there was no time to argue, so she grudgingly got into the passenger’s seat.
“Tighten your seatbelt,” reminded Han Xiao.
Li Ya Lin rolled her eyes at him, replying, “You must be joking. I’m a pugilist; I’ll be fine no matter how fast you go.”
“Suit yourself,” replied Han Xiao with a plain nod as he stamped on the accelerator.
…
Half an hour later, a yellow sports car appeared at the South Entrance. Spinning almost full-circle, the car left four sizzling, black tire marks on the road as it came to an abrupt stop.
“Bleargh—”
“Hey, hey, I thought you were a pugilist?”
“You… don’t talk to me n— bleeaarrgh—”
Li Ya Lin puked non-stop as she leaned on the car door.
“Half an hour, and 27 car accidents… or was it 28? My head’s spinning so much that I can’t even count.
“Who taught you to drive?”
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Does driving have to be taught?”
“D-doesn’t it?”
“The first driver didn’t have anyone to teach him, did he?”
Li Ya Lin gaped in the face of Han Xiao’s perfect logic. She was about to shoot back at him when, suddenly, the urge to vomit kicked in again, causing her to throw her head back to the side.
“Really? I only drove a little fast, that’s all.”
“A little fast? I doubt the word ‘brake’ even exists in your vocabulary!”
“Fine, fine, let’s stop wasting time.”
As Li Ya Lin tried to get back on her feet, she lost balance and almost tripped into her own pile of vomit. Fortunately, Han Xiao was able to provide support in time. Shaking his head, he began to drag her along with him toward the sentry post.
As they neared the post, the stationed troop yelled out, “Stop! Show your ID!”
As Han Xiao reached into his pockets to take out his ID card, his expression froze as he realized that he had forgotten to bring them along. Without asking, he directly reached into Li Ya Lin’s pockets to find hers.
Top pockets… none.
Bottom pockets… none.
“Where’s your pass?” he asked.
As Li Ya Lin still seemed too dizzy to think straight, Han Xiao continued feeling around that dynamite body of hers for it.
‘I— I’m being taken advantage of‽’
“Ah! I found it,” rejoiced Han Xiao. He then held the pass up toward the guard, who had been gulping at the show.
“Oh, you guys are agents. Come on in.”
As Han Xiao took a few steps forward, he discovered that Li Ya Lin was still rooted to the spot, giving him a deathly stare.
“What’s wrong? Hurry up.”
Li Ya Lin took a deep breath to compose herself.
“Give me my ID back,” she said stiffly.
“Why so fussy?” replied Han Xiao impatiently. He then casually walked back toward her and slotted the pass back into her rear pocket.
Li Ya Lin’s eyes widened.
‘I— I’m being taken advantage of again‽’
Han Xiao then strode toward the sentry post to give the military officer in charge of security the sketch of Lu Gao En.
“Please wait a moment as the system performs a footage scan.”
Li Ya Lin entered the sentry post still biting her lips. The way that Han Xiao had felt her up did not seem to contain any ill-intentions at all. As such, she was having a hard time even getting angry at him. She was just very unhappy, for some reason, and she continued glaring at him.
…
Lu Gao En worked for an intelligence organization known as Storm Eye, one of the many sub-groups that were secretly under the wing of the Germinal Organization.
In most cities, Storm Eye had one ‘head contact’ in charge of relaying information back to the Germinal Organization, as well as a few covert agents who gathered intel and only reported back to the head contact.
One of Lu Gao En’s agents had reported seeing someone matching Zero’s description in District 7. While at first unclear of Han Xiao’s location, Lu Gao En had discovered, after repeated investigations, that there was an area in District 7 that seemed to be cordoned off and watched closely by Division 13. It was most likely where Zero was hiding.
Upon finding out that transmissions leaving the city were being blocked, he realized that Division 13 must have gotten wind of him somehow. Hence, he decided to go offline and take his computer apart in order to prevent being traced before heading toward the city entrance to leave.
At present, Lu Gao En was blended in with a crowd of people approaching one of the city’s entrances.
‘Norsa must have completed the assassination by now.’
Suddenly, the great metal-fenced gate before him closed up.
“What happened?”
“Why are we being stopped?”
“We have orders to temporarily seal the exits,” announced a soldier, starting a commotion among the crowd.
‘Why would they close the gates‽’ Lu Gao En was shocked. ‘Did Norsa fail?’
Still, as he had been extremely careful for the past two to three years, he was not worried of being discovered.
“He’s the one!”
The sudden shout from behind caused Lu Gao En to turn around. There was a bunch of troops walking menacingly in his direction. They were obviously after him.
‘Impossible!’
Lu Gao En immediately looked around him to find an escape path, but it was too late. Not only was he surrounded by the crowd, there were simply way too many troops in the vicinity. As despair filled him, he allowed a soldier to pin him onto the ground without resistance.
As Han Xiao appeared at the scene, he sighed a breath of relief.
“We made it in time.”
“You really did!” Li Ya Lin was amazed.
“How did you guys know it was me?” asked Lu Gao En as he raised his head to look up at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao looked back at him plainly. In Galaxy, Lu Gao En was the primary contact for all Germinal-allied players in the Western Capital.
As Lu Gao En resigned to his fate, he decided to activate the poison sac stored in his tooth. He would rather die than divulge any information regarding the organization that he had dedicated his whole life to.
Suddenly, Han Xiao pulled out his handgun to fire a shot at Lu Gao En’s head, sending a trail of blood and brain matter spurting out.
_____________________
You have killed Lu Gao En (Lv.12), gaining 3,500 experience.
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Han Xiao raised his gun up to blow off the smoke from its barrel.
‘If you want to die, at least give me the experience.’
“Why did you kill him?”
Li Ya Lin was stunned by Han Xiao’s sudden action. Division 13 could obviously have extracted a lot of vital information from him.
“There’s poison stored in his teeth, his nails, and he even has some needles concealed in his clothes. We wouldn’t have been able to stop him from killing himself.”
Han Xiao shook his head.
In any case, Lu Gao En’s death was truly insignificant to him; he already possessed all the information that he needed. Nonetheless, things were getting a bit dicey.
‘Looks like I’d better speed things up,’ he thought.
In Black Raven Valley Base, the Throne of Gods guild had gathered together for a meeting in-game.
Things had not gone according to plan. As the other beta testers were all preoccupied with leveling up, their call for information had gone unanswered. Just as Jupiter was fuming over what to do, someone shouted, “Leader! The quest hint changed!”
Jupiter gave a start. Upon checking the quest tab, he discovered that the quest location had actually been updated. It now stated that Zero was inside the Western Capital.
“The mission was updated‽”
Jupiter scratched his head. However, while he was confused, he was not upset. It was the 12th and last day of the beta test, and they had barely made any progress thus far.
“We’ll send members to search the Western Capital after the official launch.”
Once the game launched, the guild would be able to make full use of its advantage in numbers. With so many members, there was no way that they would not be able to find him.
Jupiter clenched his fists.
“This B-class quest is ours for the taking!”
This was their chance to take a step ahead of their rivals.
…
In Germinal’s headquarters, a report was being read out to the boss.
“Commander Rosa was last heard from in the Western Capital. Another man also disappeared along with him: Lu Gao En, our head contact in Storm Eye. Li Ruo has said that he will find a replacement for him immediately…”
“It’s Zero,” said the boss abruptly. “He silenced Rosa and Lu Gao En in order to keep his exact location a secret. Humph, so you are in the Western Capital. Stardragon’s Division 13 must be keeping him under their protection!”
Rosa was the ace assassin of the Germinal Organization, while even Lu Gao En had given the boss a favorable impression. It was a huge loss.
That blasted Zero!
The boss was furious.
‘Zero… did you think that you would be safe as long as you found protection?’
While he had at first belittled Han Xiao, over time, he had come to recognize the threat that he posed.
According to the analysis of the security footage from the Valkyrie Laboratory, Zero had never displayed any unusual behavior. Where he had gotten hold on their intel from remained a complete mystery.
“Order Storm Eye to pinpoint Zero’s location. I don’t care if he’s hiding within Division 13’s HQ, find him no matter what it takes!”
The boss’ voice was filled with murderous intent.
As there was no way to know exactly what other vital information Zero possessed, getting rid of him before he caused further damage was the only option.
“Get five commanders and two hundred Night Owls ready to take action as soon as he is found. I will permit the use of guided missiles.
“Zero, you’re dead meat!”
…
‘The beta test is ending.’
00:00:00:30
Frenzied Sword sighed as he watched the countdown timer. If only he could have just a bit more time to train.
Of course, he was overall still quite happy with the progress that he had made. Han Xiao’s quests might have been very unseemly, but they sure did give a ton of experience. Furthermore, all the equipment that he had purchased from him helped to boost his combat power significantly.
Although the skill set of the Mechanic class revolved largely around crafting, which he disliked, seeing Han Xiao’s strength had given Frenzied Sword all the affirmation that he needed.
‘I, too, will gradually become that strong!
‘There will be a spot among the pros for me!’
…
_____________________
Beta Test Concluded. Countdown to Game’s Launch: 122 Days, 1 Hour, 23 Mins.
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Han Xiao shook his head upon discovering that the discussion board button had been grayed out.
‘Looks like I was right, the amount of time between version changes in the real-world is not synced with my current time.’
“Why are you shaking your head?” asked Gu Hui suddenly. “I wonder what other information you possess.”
Han Xiao was currently inside a conference room back at Division 13’s headquarters. There were three big shots seated in front of him: Gu Hui, the Division Director, as well as the two heads of the Intelligence Department and the Secret Ops department.
Division 13 had known all along that Han Xiao must possess some degree of combat ability, but he had completely exceeded their wildest imaginations. Yet, what was more perplexing was the degree of ease at which he had been able to single out Lu Gao En.
Lu Gao En had been operating from within the city for over two years without ever leaving a trace. Division 13 had attempted to look for him many times, but they had all ended up in failure. The fact that Han Xiao could so easily locate him served as solid proof that he knew way more than even they themselves.
And so, this meeting had begun. Simply put, Gu Hui wanted to learn more of Han Xiao’s intel.
Breaking out of his daze, Han Xiao stroked his chin as he evaded the question. “My location is now exposed. Germinal might not know exactly where I live, but they will definitely send even more killers into the city.”
Gu Hui furrowed his brows. Although unsatisfied with Han Xiao’s reply, he followed Han Xiao’s lead.
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“There’s no more need for hide-and-seek. I want to participate in the next operation.”
“It’s too dangerous!” protested a livid Gu Hui. “If you show yourself, that will only give them the chance to take action.”
Han Xiao faked a cough.
“Can we talk alone?”
The two department heads exchanged exasperated glances. ‘Do we seem that untrustworthy?’
Han Xiao glanced at his surroundings before whispering, “I can change my appearance.”
Gu Hui was visibly shocked.
“You have superpowers‽”
Han Xiao shook his head.
“I can create a gadget that allows me to alter my looks, so there’s no way that they will be able to find me.”
‘A skin mask? Not a bad idea,’ thought Gu Hui. However, Han Xiao sounded as though he meant something more advanced than a simple skin mask that Division 13 already employed.
“Even if you use a mask, it’s still too risky. You will have to take it off eventually.”
The corner of Han Xiao’s lips curled up.
“My mask is more convenient than that.”
“Alright, then show it to me before I approve.”
There were two reasons behind why Han Xiao wanted in on the action. The first was, of course, for the experience. The second was that he did not want to remain cooped up inside the Western Capital. This was the only way that he would be able to participate in more incidents.
Ever since the assassination attempt, Han Xiao had been spending a lot of time thinking about his next move.
The Black Raven Valley Base was situated near the border of Hesla, one of the Six Nations. It was a major base on a completely different scale from the three sites that Division 13 had taken action on previously. Not only were the security and defenses extremely tight, the commander of the base was a superhuman! He was known as the Sword Phantom, Pan Kuang, a Pugilist close to reaching D-level.
Near Black Raven Valley was a gathering spot for many wanderers known as Black Raven Village Town. It was a beginner starting zone.
Han Xiao planned to destroy Black Raven Valley Base as it would prevent a substantial number of new players from joining the Germinal Organization simply because of the base’s proximity. This idea had occurred to him upon discovering the Throne of God’s post, after which he had given it some proper thought and became fond of it.
It was not only an act of revenge toward the Germinal boss, but it was also a preemptive strike that would have unseen but deadly impacts.
Han Xiao grinned with glee at the prospect.
“Near Hesla’s border?” Gu Hui slammed the desk. “We will need to get in touch with them before making a decision.”
“I await your decision,” declared Han Xiao as he took his leave.
Feng Jun was waiting for him outside with a gloomy face.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the assassin immediately? Because of that, I had to endure a yelling from my superior.”
“Why would I inform you? It’s not like you could have helped,” teased Han Xiao, causing Feng Jun to become enraged.
“We might be buddies, but I’ll still get angry if you insult me!”
Han Xiao smirked.
“Perhaps I should have a talk with the director over how my location got exposed…”
“Oh you—hahahaha—you little devil. I was just kidding.”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes.
Under Feng Jun’s subservient escort, Han Xiao left the headquarters to return to the workshop.
Altering his appearance was an idea that he had thought up a long time ago. He had known all along that the Germinal would resort to drastic measures against him once his location was discovered.
As it was more likely than not that the operation would be passed, Han Xiao also needed to prepare new equipment. The mecha arm and the retractable knife would not allow him to keep up with the level of the opponents they were about to face. It would also be nice if his current team was able to participate in the operation.
Thinking about his team reminded Han Xiao of the need to upgrade Zhang Wei’s power suit.
The cost of the upgrade would not come cheap.
As Han Xiao stroked his eyebrows, he searched through his memories for blueprints suitable for this mission.
“Looks like it’s time to learn a bunch more stuff.”
Suddenly, someone knocked the door. It was Old Lu, with a chicken leg in one hand and beer in the other.
“Little brat, what are you doing here?”
“I want to borrow a few mechanic knowledge books,” replied Han Xiao as he turned his attention back to the bookshelf, expecting Old Lu to chase him out.
To his surprise, he instead said, “The key is in the drawer. Just remember to return it when you’re done.”
Han Xiao’s jaw almost dropped.
“You actually agree‽”
Since when had they been on such good terms‽
Old Man Lu put down the chicken leg in his mouth and snorted. “Treat it as a show of thanks.”
‘Thanks?’ Han Xiao frowned.
“Are you still trying to promote your granddaughter to me?”
Old Lu’s face immediately stiffened. ‘What’s so bad about my granddaughter that’s stopping you from falling for her‽’
But that wasn’t why he wanted to thank Han Xiao. Instead, it was because the tall old man had told him that back then, Han Xiao had lured the assassin away from the workshop in order to prevent Lu Qian from getting involved. This alone had changed Old Lu’s impression of Han Xiao considerably.
“Not bad, kid,” praised Old Lu with a satisfied smile. He gave Han Xiao a pat on the shoulder before leaving him to his own devices.
As he left, Han Xiao noticed an oily handprint on his shoulder.
“That old imp.”
He proceeded to unlock the cabinet with the key in the drawer, picked out seven books, and headed back to his room.
Back in his room, Han Xiao took a deep breath as he prepared to ‘learn’ all of them at once.
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Do you wish to spend one talent point to learn the Energy Talent, [Basic Energy Theory]?
… Energy Talent, [Basic Biochemistry]?
… Energy Talent, [Basic Optics]?
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“Yes!”
Large streams of information began to fill up Han Xiao’s mind, causing him to feel like his head was about to explode. After a short period of recovery, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and continued with the other books.
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… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Electromagnetism]?
… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Mechanics]?
… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Quantum Electronics]?
… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Spatial Sense]?
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Seven sets of basic knowledge!
However, the process did not stop there. Han Xiao decided to level up these new talents.
_____________________
[Basic Energy Theory] has been raised to Lv. 3!
[Basic Electromagnetism] has been raised to Lv. 2!
[Basic Digital Electronics] has been raised to Lv. 2!
[Basic Mechanics] has been raised to Lv. 2!
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As well as some previously learned talents!
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[Basic Weaponry] has been raised to Lv. 3!
[Basic Material Composition] has been raised to Lv. 3!
[Basic Assembly] has been raised to Lv. 2!
[Advanced Material Synthesis] has been raised to Lv. 2!
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Just like that, Han Xiao spent 20 of his 21 talent points.
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You have learned a new technique: [Novice Programming]
You have learned a new technique: [Energy – Magnetism Strengthening]
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[Novice Programming] was unlocked from learning [Basic Digital Electronics]. Like Basic Assembly or Basic Enhancement, it was an integral technique for a Technician, necessary for the making of both chip sets and system interfaces.
[Energy – Magnetism Strengthening], on the other hand, was a passive ability that unlocked upon learning an Energy Manipulation talent. It did have a prerequisite, which was, of course, for the player to possess affinity with magnetism. On top of strengthening the user’s control of magnetism, it also gave a boost to machinery crafting speeds and machinery damage output, 3% per level.
Han Xiao was currently sitting on 38,000 experience, accumulated from mass producing incendiary bullets. His daily experience gain was about two to three thousand. As for money, that was the least of Han Xiao’s concerns; he had earned a whopping $3,600,000 thus far.
“It’s time to try and get the disguise blueprint!”
Before he started, Han Xiao invested a few thousand experience to raise [Basic Programming] to level 3.
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Proceed with fusing of [Lv. 1 Basic Biochemistry], [Lv. 1 Optics], [Lv. 3 Material Composition], and [Lv. 2 Digital Electronics]? (20,000 experience will be consumed)
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Talent combination, also known as talent fusing, was not only limited to the fusing of two talents. However, the cost for adding additional talents was extremely high; adding a third would only cost 5,000 experience, but the cost of subsequent ones increased exponentially. A fourth one would cost 40,000 experience.
Generally, lower leveled Mechanics would perform talent fusion with only two talents because fusing more was not guaranteed to give better results.
However, some blueprints, like the one that Han Xiao was aiming for now, could be crafted easily with the correct talents.
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Fusion successful! Congratulations on inventing [Smart Optical Mask]!
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The Smart Optical Mask made its first appearance in Version 3.0, when players had just stumbled upon multiple-talent fusing. Not only did it require the leveling of four talents across all three talent trees, it also required [Intermediate Machinery Affinity], 55 Intelligence, Lv. 3 [Basic Programming], and last but not least, for the player to be a Technician.
Nevertheless, the Smart Optical Mask’s usefulness befitted the effort needed to obtain it.
Han Xiao passed a list of items to Feng Jun.
“Oh my god! BOK-recombiner, Farer IV Solvent, and 12 microchips‽ Do you know how expensive these things are?”
“I’m paying,” replied Han Xiao plainly, instantly reminding Feng Jun that they were not on the same pay scale.
One hour later, he arrived at Han Xiao’s workshop with three briefcases in hand.
The first briefcase contained three ten-centimeter-long transparent tubes that were filled with an opaque white, sticky fluid. This was the BOK-recombiner.
The second briefcase contained a small vial of pale blue solution. This was the Farer IV Solvent.
These two materials could only be made within an equipped laboratory and were extremely valuable. These two tiny vials had cost Han Xiao $120,000.
The third briefcase contained the 12 microchips. Each one was only about the size of a fingernail, and they were extremely thin. Upon closer observation, one would find that they were jam packed with circuit lines. They were commonly used for small and complex gadgets, and the set of 12 cost $60,000.
Han Xiao immediately began working on the mask.
He started by opening holes on the thin plastic mask for his eyes, nose, and mouth. Then, he carved out 12 small holes on various locations of the mask for embedding the microchips in.
Before putting the microchips in, Han Xiao uploaded the data from a scan of his own face to his computer. Using a library of over thousands of faces, he then spent two to three hours linking them up to a simple facial recognition and projection program on his computer.
When he was done, Han Xiao retrieved some laboratory apparatus and began to work at mixing the BOK-Recombiner and the Farer IV Solvent together. After some time, he managed to produce a composite material that was neither white nor blue like its constituents, but instead, the color of flesh.
This was the key material for making the Smart Meta-Optical Mask. Not only did it possess some of the useful properties of the BOK-recombiner and the Farer IV Solvent, it had, most importantly, good conductivity.
Han Xiao proceeded to embed the microchips beneath the mask before pouring the flesh-colored mixture over it. After a few more finishing touches, he left it to set within a special freezer.
A short while later, Han Xiao opened the freezer and reached in to retrieve the mask. Apart from where the microchips were located, the mask was extremely smooth. On its thin surface, Han Xiao had installed an advanced crystal display that, upon being pressed, caused a spectrum of colors to appear on the spot.
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You have crafted [Smart Meta-Optical Mask], gaining 5,000 exp!
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[Smart Meta-Optical Mask] – Face Equipment
Allows the user to change the appearance of his face when worn, concealing his identity. Charge 5 minutes for 10 hours of usage.
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This mask had cost a whopping close to $200,000 to make.
Han Xiao picked up the mask and walked over to the mirror to test it out. A cool sensation enveloped his face when he put it on, and he pressed gently onto the micro-chip on the cheek area to activate it. The appearance of his face immediately transformed, and it continued to change into a different face with each press.
This was by no means an ordinary mask of disguise! It was a godly piece of equipment that allowed the user to change his appearance at will!
The [Smart Meta-Optical Mask] would only ‘transform’ into the faces of humans, as Han Xiao had only fed the program data of human faces. Apart from randomly changing, it was also able to store up to three different faces for the user to access and could revert back to the last three faces used. It also had an additional function that allowed it to scan a target’s face and transform to it with a 70-80% accuracy.
After playing with the mask a bit more, Han Xiao removed it and headed back to headquarters to look for Gu Hui.
“You’ve created your mask?” asked Gu Hui.
Han Xiao smiled and put the mask on.
As Han Xiao did not intend to reveal the mask’s transformation capabilities just yet, he had prepared it to display the face of an ordinary-looking young man beforehand.
To Gu Hui, it simply looked like an extremely realistic mask. However, while Division 13 could already make such masks, none of them were as realistic as Han Xiao’s. Furthermore, not only did it seem to be extremely portable, it was clearly very easy to wear.
“Interested in selling the blueprints to us?”
Han Xiao faked a burst of laughter.
“It’s just a simple mask, why would I need a blueprint to make it? You guys can make them too, right?”
‘That’s true,’ thought Gu Hui to himself.
Inwardly, Han Xiao let out a breath of relief upon seeing Gu Hui give up the idea.
‘I managed to fool him!’
“Then,” continued Han Xiao, “can I join the operation?”
Gu Hui thought for a moment before nodding.
“The Hesla Intelligence Service has decided to join us for this operation. You will come along with your team.”
Han Xiao had known that Hesla would agree to taking action. It was the Germinal Organization, after all.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Han Xiao asked, “When do we depart?”
“There’s no rush. It will take some time to arrange our forces, plus, we will both have to work on a proper strategy first. It’ll most likely be half a month before deployment.”
‘Half a month,’ thought Han Xiao. ‘That will be enough time for me to finish up my equipment.’
…
Back in his workshop, Han Xiao wrote his goals down on paper.
One, to obtain even more rare blueprints.
Two, to purchase a vehicle for his team. As a logistics personnel, a vehicle equipped with all the maintenance and crafting tools he needed would be invaluable.
Three, to upgrade the [Fighter Suit].
“Ah, so much to do. One at a time, I guess.”
Han Xiao shook his head.
The most important thing was still to raise his own combat ability. There were a few ways to do this.
The first and most important way, in Han Xiao’s opinion, would be to improve his defensive capabilities. After all, survival was key.
The second was to enhance his long-ranged offensive capabilities. For this, Han Xiao planned to enhance his Berserk Eagles.
While Han Xiao did prefer fighting from a distance, close-combat ability was still important on the battlefield, so he also planned to upgrade the Mecha Arm.
As for mobility, the Swallow Gliders that had been collecting dust in his inventory were finally going to see use. As the terrain around the Black Raven Valley Base was extremely rough, they might end up proving invaluable to have.
Han Xiao also decided to prepare a little something in the event that the battle did not go their way, a little something explosive.
After giving it quick thought, Han Xiao scribbled down another list of materials for Feng Jun to help him procure. The total cost of the items on the list cost around another $300,000.
Feng Jun found himself growing more and more exasperated at Han Xiao, but fortunately for him, the higher-ups had known before that Han Xiao would be a pain to deal with, so they had given him a raise. For the sake of his $25,000 monthly wage, plus insurance, he relented to act as Han Xiao’s errand boy.
Feng Jun sighed as he looked up to the sky dramatically.
‘With great power comes great responsibility, I guess.’
Feng Jun immediately got the items delivered to Han Xiao, prompting Han Xiao to sarcastically praise him for being an exemplary worker. He joked that he would shower him with a pennant, among other rewards, causing Feng Jun to roll his eyes. After teasing him, Han Xiao returned to his workroom to begin work on his equipment.
Having leveled up both [Basic Weaponry] and [Basic Mechanical Engineering], the effectiveness of Han Xiao’s enhancement was now much higher than before. He took out the two Berserk Eagles and began to perform modifications on them, upgrading them with better materials and spare parts.
‘My days of poverty are long gone; I’m a rich man now!’
With Han Xiao’s proficiency in modifications, the process was completed in no time.
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Berserk Eagle (Enhanced)
Grade: Uncommon
Base Stats:
Damage: 74-87
Fire Rate: 1.5/s
Magazine Capacity: 8
Range: 50m
Power Output: 45
Prerequisite(s): Lv. 3 Precise Shot
Stat Bonus: +2 Dexterity
Length: 0.21m
Weight: 1.9kg
Additional Effect: Backfire – The recoil of this gun is extremely powerful, requiring 30 Strength to overcome.
Additional Effect: High Impact – When attacking, 10% chance to deal bonus 15 damage if the target is within effective range.
Additional Effect: Dual-shot – This gun has been modified with the capability to fire up to 2 bullets per shot (20% damage penalty).
Tooltip: Come on, we all know what gun this is based on. Desert— cough.
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With Han Xiao’s current skill levels, there was a 30-40% chance of upgrading a common equipment to uncommon when performing enhancement. Although Han Xiao was now the proud owner of two uncommon guns, they came with the prerequisite of Lv. 3 Precise Shot. Even though this prerequisite did not prevent Han Xiao from wielding them, it would cause their effectiveness to be greatly diminished.
Shaking his head in exasperation, Han Xiao inputted some experience to raise Precise Shot to Lv. 3, which gave him an additional 3% Accuracy and 4% Critical Chance.
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As you have achieved Lv. 8 in Basic Shooting and Lv. 3 in Precise Shot, you may learn one of the following three advanced skills:
Sniping
Gunfighting
Suppression
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For the first time, Han Xiao found himself in a dilemma over which skill to pick.
Although shooting skills were essential to Cannon Masters, they were also important for Technicians. The three abilities displayed before Han Xiao clearly represented different styles of combat.
As the Berserk Eagle was made for close-combat, Gunfighting would make for a logical choice. However, Han Xiao also needed to think further ahead.
At end game, Technicians were strongest at long-ranged combat, so they rarely had use for risky, close-combat skills. Suppression would aid in sieging or holding forts, but it would only be effective with a partner to provide tactical support. In contrast to these two skills, Sniping was far better suited for solo action.
Han Xiao scratched his head as he thought about it.
‘I’ll have to work alone sooner or later anyway, plus it’s better for me to keep myself far from danger, unlike a player who doesn’t have to worry about his life. For me, sniping is the best option!’
In Han Xiao’s previous life, the dazzling and breathtaking style of Gunfighting was a popular choice among players, and even professional Cannon Masters would learn it just for the cool factor.
However, as a pragmatist, Han Xiao could hardly give two hoots.
‘Who cares about looking good during combat! It’s not like I’m doing this to see the stream chat praise me.’
At this thought, the Great Technician Han finally made his decision.
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You have learned an advanced skill:
Sniping (Lv. 1)
+4% Fatal Shot
+5% Shooting Range
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Han Xiao nodded in satisfaction. Done!
Next, Han Xiao crafted the Swallow Gliders, earning 1,500 experience in the process. He also modified them to give them the ‘retractability’ of the Retractable Knife. Indeed, the good thing about being able to actually learn knowledge in this life was that Han Xiao could implement concepts and technology from his blueprints into other inventions.
With the added retractability, they could now be worn on the back like a parachute before deployment. Once activated, the two 1.2m long ‘wings’ would extend out to allow the user to freely glide in the air.
After the gliders, Han Xiao proceeded to work on his close combat gear. The Mecha Arm actually formed a set with the Mecha Leg, and their blueprints were obtainable through the same combination of talents. They were also necessary parts for creating an Exoframe. However, that would require advanced knowledge, and Han Xiao did not even have the necessary skills to craft a proper Mecha Leg yet. At best, he would be able to craft one that could travel long distances, but it would lack the mechanisms that allowed for nimble movements.
Han Xiao planned to upgrade the Mecha Arm by making it lighter and smaller. While making it smaller would cause it to lose some power, Han Xiao had something in mind to compensate for it.
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Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 2 Basic Assembly + Lv. 2 Basic Mechanics)
This fusion will cost you 15,000 experience.
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Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Air Motor]!
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“Wow, first try!”
Han Xiao rejoiced. This particular combination of talent could yield quite a number of different blueprints, and he had not expected to obtain it using so little experience.
The Air Motor converted compressed air into vibrational kinetic energy that, when harnessed as a weapon, could essentially bypass the armor of normal armor to cause direct damage.
Han Xiao spent a good half a day working on the Mecha Arm. He refitted it to slim it down but also lengthened it to cover the entire arm. He also reinforced its casing with platinum to cover up its internal mechanics, giving it a huge durability boost.
When he was done, the Mecha Arm looked vastly different from its crude form from before – it was now a shiny, silver metallic arm.
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Lightweight Mecha Arm (Left) – Motor-enhanced
Grade: Average (White)
Base Stats:
– Damage: 30-48
– Defense: 10-13
– Power Level: 33
– Durability: 470/470
Prerequisite(s): 24 Strength
Bonus Stats: -2 Attack Speed
Length: 0.87m
Weight: 5.2kg
Additional Bonus: +7 Strength
Additional Effect: Vibration – Every 15 seconds, your attacks inflict an additional 23-45 direct damage onto the target. (Ignores Defense)
Additional Effect: Increased Durability
Tooltip: Realistic looking.
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Although it was only an average ranked piece of equipment, Han Xiao’s modifications had given it three useful additional effects.
So far, all the upgrades that Han Xiao had given his gear were nothing too fancy, but now, he was about to craft something special, something specialized for a Technician!
Han Xiao took a deep breath.
“Amitabha… God, please let me get that blueprint in one try. This fusion is just too expensive…”
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Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 2 Advanced Material Composition + Lv. 2 Basic Magnetism + Lv. 2 Basic Assembly)
This fusion will cost you 70,000 experience.
The amount of experience required for fusing higher-leveled talents did not simply increase linearly.
An advanced talent or knowledge cost 50,000 more experience to fuse than a basic one. Moreover, fusing a basic talent with an advanced talent also caused the base cost of the basic talent itself to increase, rising from 5,000 to 10,000. If even higher leveled talents were to be used, the fusion costs would skyrocket further.
“Confirm!”
Han Xiao stared at the fusion window with bated breath.
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Fusion success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Magnetism Armor]!
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Han Xiao jumped up with joy.
This was the blueprint that he had been aiming to get, and it was actually something that a player at Han Xiao’s current level should not be able to possess. Indeed, it was a high-level piece of armor! This would help to guarantee his safety!
Of the $300,000 that Han Xiao had spent on upgrade materials, $250,000 alone went into the making this armor.
As it was an advanced blueprint, it was much more complex to craft than a basic one, so even Han Xiao, who possessed the required knowledge to craft it, needed to spend an entire hour just to fully understand the blueprint’s contents. After learning it, Han Xiao lifted his head to reveal a bitter smile; by his estimations, it would take at least three days of non-stop work to craft it.
He quickly got started.
…
Three days later, the doors to Han Xiao’s workroom opened. Out came a tired Han Xiao with listless eyes and dark bags under his eyes. He looked as though he were in a daze, as if he didn’t even know who, or even where, he was. In fact, looking at him, one might wonder if he had just woken up from a beating.
Han Xiao received a call as soon as he turned on his phone. It was Li Ya Lin, and she did not sound pleased at all.
“Han Xiao, why were you unreachable for the past few days? You have dozens of overdue orders! You’d better not take the cash and run away when I’m putting my own reputation on the line for your business! Also, don’t forget that you promised to make a set of specially tailored equipment! Oh, right, we’ve been given a mission! We have to leave for Hesla in ten days. Leader is furious that you didn’t show up for the meeting yesterday, so you’d better keep that in mind…”
Han Xiao could barely open his eyes. Ignoring her as she rambled on, he climbed into his bed and curled up under his blanket to fall asleep instantly.
“Hey, hey, hey— why are you not saying anything? Urgh, don’t think I’ve forgotten how you took advantage of me the other day…”
…
‘What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
‘Open your eyes?’
When Han Xiao finally woke up, the first thing he did was to make his way to the toilet in his dreamlike stupor. After washing his hands, he stretched, yawned, and proceeded to brush his teeth.
Afterwards, with eyes still half-closed, Han Xiao went over to the kitchen in the main workshop where he pushed Lu Qian off her seat at the dining table with his butt and helped himself to the remainder of her breakfast, all the while ignoring her feeble protests.
When he was done, he simply cast her an unapologetic glance before strolling out as though nothing had happened.
“Ah, such carefreeness reminds me of when I was young,” reminisced Old Lu aloud as he stroked his head.
“Ahhhhh! I want to change the keys…”
“Perhaps this is love,” remarked Old Lu with a profound look on his face.
“It is not!” Lu Qian yelled out in exasperation.
…
Back in his workroom, Han Xiao opened up a small box. Inside were the fruits of his labor, what appeared to be numerous thin scales of metal. They looked black, but on closer observation, they were actually an extremely deep shade of blue. Although they resembled nothing like ‘armor’, these tiny pieces of metal were, without a doubt, the Magnetic Armor—well, unassembled, and still quite incomplete, to be exact.
Han Xiao took a deep breath before placing his hand an inch above the case. He then began to summon the energy of magnetism within his body toward his arm.
What happened next was quite a sight to behold.
The metal scales began vibrating in response to Han Xiao’s magnetism, and in the next second, they actually started flying toward his palm as though they were being sucked in! Upon coming into contact with Han Xiao’s skin, they seemed to come alive and began dancing up and around his arm energetically, as though they were live fish.
“Form,” commanded Han Xiao, and the metallic scales instantly spread along his arm to form a thin, scale-patterned sleeve of armor. It was perfectly smooth and uniform.
The armor appeared to be skin-tight, but as it was controlled by magnetism, there was actually a gap of a few millimeters, allowing its user complete freedom of movement.
Han Xiao drew his Platinum Retractable Knife out and viciously slashed upon the sleeve. It produced a crisp ring, but there were no sparks, and the armor was completely undamaged.
“Good defense!” exclaimed a jubilant Han Xiao.
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Magnetism Armor (Incomplete)
Type: Armor (Bulletproof)
Grade: Uncommon (Green)
Base Stats:
– Defense: 75
– Durability: 1600/1600
Requirement(s): Magnetism-affinity Energy, Intermediate Machinery Affinity
Ability: Can be controlled by magnetism to move across the user’s body and transform into armor. Costs 10 energy/min to maintain shape.
Additional Effect: High Resistance – This armor is capable of withstanding high temperatures and is not easily penetrated or damaged.
Additional Effect: Magnetic Repulsion – Damage inflicted on the user is partially negated (reduces damage by 20-30 points).
Additional Effect: Unique Magnetic Field – When worn, envelopes the user in a magnetic field that attracts electricity.
Tooltip: A friendly reminder – don’t use this on a rainy day.
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In Galaxy, equipment that required energy to use was known as Superhuman Equipment.
The material used to make the metallic scales of the Magnetism Armor was an exceedingly rare, naturally-occurring metal. Not even Division 13 possessed much of it in their inventory, and $250,000 was only enough for Han Xiao to make a partial version that could at best cover his entire back.
Nevertheless, although the theory behind the Magnetic Armor was simple, crafting it was an entirely different matter. Even if Han Xiao did possess enough resources, he would still not be able to craft the complete version, not with his current level of expertise in both knowledge and skill.
In spite of that, crafting the incomplete version earned Han Xiao 40,000 experience, even more than when he had crafted Rover 1.
Han Xiao proceeded to test his control over the armor.
While such high-level Superhuman Equipment would usually take a low-level player quite some time to get used to, Han Xiao, with his years of experience, was able to quickly get the hang of it.
With this armor, Han Xiao now felt much safer than before.
It was both inconspicuous and highly portable, and Han Xiao thought of it as a trump card. He planned to keep the armor a secret from everyone, including his allies. After all, who could say for sure that today’s friend wouldn’t become tomorrow’s enemy?
Now that he had addressed the issues of mobility, defense, as well as both melee and ranged combat, all that was left for Han Xiao to do was to prepare some art.
As Han Xiao was already quite satisfied with the bombs provided by Division 13, he only planned to make some simple modifications, nothing too fancy.
Sixty black, glossy, round-shaped objects lay neatly within the two cases before Han Xiao. These were the ‘Highly Explosive Delay-action Shrapnel Bombs’, known as time bombs for short, that he had purchased from Division 13, and their unnecessarily long name, if anything, was telling of their destructive capabilities.
“Each bomb costs $800, so sixty of them amount to $48,000. Hmm, yep… this calculation should be right.”
Although the bombs were ready-to-use, Han Xiao decided to perform some modifications on them. With [Basic Mechanical Engineering], he made them flight-capable by installing mini-propellers on them, along with power supplies. This greatly improved their range of attack.
The only downside to this modification was that it made them look… rather comical. They now almost seemed like the kind of gadget that a certain likable, blue, robotic cat (A Doraemon reference) would pull out from his pouch.
With the additions of the enhanced Facial Simulator, Desert Eagle, Lightweight Mechanical Arm, Foldable Machete, Sky Swallow Gliders, Magnetically-controlled Armor, and last but not least, these flight-capable bombs to his arsenal, Han Xiao had finally finished with all his upgrades. Although Division 13 would definitely still provide them with more equipment, at Han Xiao’s current level, his gear could be said to be semi-godly already. He was currently—without a doubt—the strongest person in his level range.
“This equipment will suffice.”
Han Xiao crossed out ‘Personal Upgrades’ on his to-do list. The next line read ‘Transport Vehicles’.
Creating an entire vehicle from scratch would take too much time, so it was better for Han Xiao to directly purchase one from Division 13 and then perform modifications on it.
Quality-wise, Division 13 would definitely not disappoint. After spending some time looking at the available options, Han Xiao decided that a detachable cargo truck would best suit their needs. It would act as a mobile warehouse and a workshop—a logistics vehicle for the team.
Han Xiao could buy the truck with either money or exchange reputation points for it, which was essentially requesting that Division 13 give him the truck.
Currently, he had a whopping $2.8m to spare. Already, the money-spending ability of the Mechanic class was starting to shine through. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Han Xiao’s prior experience that helped him in accumulating money.
Without happily spending all their money and getting used to living paycheck to paycheck, one could never become an excellent Mechanic.
Nonetheless, he decided to pay with reputation points; that’s what they were meant for, after all. In comparison, paying with money would set him back an unnecessary $800,000. Han Xiao rang Feng Jun up.
…
“Give me the vehicle. How long will it take for you to deliver it to my place?”
“I will need to pick it up from the military factory. About two hours.”
Feng Jun’s punctuality was proven time and again; exactly two hours later, Feng Jun arrived at Han Xiao’s doorstep in the very truck.
A problem immediately presented itself: the truck was too big to enter the garage.
Han Xiao and Feng Jun stared at each other, dumbfounded. They had carefully accounted for every single detail except for this issue.
“What now?”
“How about you guys expand the garage for me?”
“Come on, do you think that Engineering Department staff have that much free time to spare?”
As Han Xiao rubbed his chin, his eyes suddenly lit up.
“Didn’t you bring in an undercover squad to watch over this district? Where are they now?”
“Be more rational jackass! Don’t you think we are grabbing too much attention!”
Han Xiao looked away from Feng Jun and began to size up the military truck. It was 4 meters tall, 3.5 meters wide, and attached with an 11 meters long container that extended beyond the width of the front of the truck itself.
“What attention-grabbing? I don’t think so.” Han Xiao was not at all flustered when bullshitting.
“Only the blind would not see such a huge truck!” Feng Jun basically spouted saliva all over Han Xiao’s face.
“What is with the saliva-spitting when you speak?” Han Xiao grabbed Feng Jun’s sleeve, wiped his face, and said with a look of disdain, “Not that I am criticizing you, but the volume of saliva that came out of your mouth is huge.”
Old Man Lu walked out at this moment and exclaimed, “What a huge truck.”
“Why don’t we just demolish the whole garage?” Han Xiao’s eyes glittered.
“Get lost,” Old Man Lu scolded sulkily. He then rubbed the bald area on his head and pondered for a moment before he dug out a key from his pocket and threw it to Han Xiao.
“I have a garage a few blocks away. I will lend it to you.”
Han Xiao was utterly shocked. “So generous! Old Man Lu, are you on wrong medicine today?”
“Get lost!” Old Man Lu was swearing again. He then pushed them away as they were blocking his way, and he walked out for a leisurely stroll.
…
Han Xiao drove the truck and arrived at the garage ten minutes later.
“Bleurgh—”
“Hello. Do you really have to do that?’
Feng Jun’s face was as pale as a sheet as he leaned out the car window. He waved his hands hysterically while he continued vomiting.
Han Xiao could not understand what Feng Jun was trying to convey. Does he mean that he will not sit in my car every again, or is he saying that I don’t have to care how he feels?
Han Xiao shook his head and threw the unimportant question to the back of his head. After he sent the nauseated Feng Jun away, he began modifying the heavy military truck.
He checked every inch of the truck and found no hidden cameras or bugs.
Products made by the military factory were of excellent quality. The truck was equipped with numerous parts, including ten cylinders and turbochargers, which enhanced its horsepower. It could move at a top-speed of 135km/hr. The truck had five heavy-duty, slip-free tires on each side. The cargo compartment was large, and it could contain quite a few pieces of equipment. Han Xiao wanted to modify it into a small workshop, so he needed to move the workshop equipment up.
The base plate of the truck was modified for multi-terrain use, with parts like spring suspension and air damping suspension, which allowed the truck to move smoothly on bad terrain. The truck was also equipped with an anti-sliding gadget, which would prevent small vehicles from sliding under the truck. The movie scenes of protagonists driving sportscar under the villain’s car to fight would never happen with this truck. Hold on… why am I naturally picturing myself as the villain?
The driving cabin was not at all small—it could easily fit six people. It was equipped with a ten-gear gearshift, so there was a suitable gear for any type of movement.
Han Xiao checked the air bags. There were eight of them. As long as the passenger did not fly out of the vehicle upon collision, they would definitely not be injured. Plus, this passenger could enjoy the pleasure of being squashed in between a big ‘chest’.
Speaking of car collisions, the front of the truck was not strengthened with a front bumper. Han Xiao needed to add it himself. He then looked at the truck windows—they were bullet-proof. Division 13 did not cut corners.
Overall, the truck was up to standard; it did not need any major modification. Han Xiao decided to add a few nitro-boost cylinders to the truck for additional thrust. The thought of having a nitro boost for the truck already excited Han Xiao greatly. His truck could be the ultimate king of the road.
Han Xiao started modifying the truck.
The inside of the cargo compartment was made into a small-scale workshop. Han Xiao also strengthened the base plate and the front bumper—the thick and heavy armor looked rather sturdy. Four nitro-boost cylinders were installed in the truck for additional thrust during crucial moments. Furthermore, Han Xiao bought spare tires, and he installed a radar with an antenna for receiving radio signals and sending wi-fi signals.
With these numerous upgrades, Han Xiao spent more than 10,000 dollars. He could not help but shake his head. Upgrades sure were costly.
Gazing upon the black truck before him, he rubbed his chin as the idea of giving it a name suddenly occurred to him.
Han Xiao decided to go with the simplest and most obvious one.
“Big Black!”
Hmm, not a bad name at all.
chickenpau Editor: Millman97
“Oh my god, Xiao Han, you bought a heavy truck‽”
The four teammates were invited to the garage, and Li Ya Lin and Lin Ya’s faces were soon filled with surprise and excitement. They climbed all over the heavy truck. As Lambert was particularly interested in the engine, he opened the car hood to admire it.
“Thank you,” said Zhang Wei solemnly to Xiao Han.
A logistical vehicle was a very luxurious item for a team like them. Zhang Wei felt embarrassed that Xiao Han had bought it with his own money.
Xiao Han laughed it off. “Hehe. Just treat it as my way of helping impoverished teammates.”
Zhang Wei’s mouth started twitching as he was lost for words. Although Xiao Han was saying the truth, it was still agitating for Zhang Wei.
“I wracked my brain to come up with a name for this truck.”
Zhang Wei listened expectantly.
Xiao Han cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, “Big Black.”
Zhang Wei’s body jerked upon hearing the ridiculous name. He gave an unwilling half-smile. “Nice… what a nice name.”
“Oh. You think so too? This name is very catchy and concise. I am quite proud of myself for coming up with this name,” Xiao Han said in a satisfied tone.
“I’m glad you are happy with the name.”
“Wow. The driving space is huge.” Li Ya Lin was having a lot of fun when she suddenly thought of something. “who is going to drive the car?”
“This is my truck. Obviously, I will be driving it,” Xiao Han said.
Immediately, Li Ya Lin’s face paled, and her body started trembling. “Can… can I not travel in the car?”
Zhang Wei frowned and reprimanded her. “Xiao Han spent so much money to let us enjoy some comfort and convenience. How can you reject this?”
Li Ya Lin’s face was now as pale as a sheet. She felt that nothing was more horrifying than this.
“You guys will regret this,” she mumbled.
Regret? Zhang Wei was puzzled. Is Xiao Han a terrible driver?
Then it’s nothing serious. How bad can his driving be? Everyone here is a well-trained agent in excellent physical condition. Nobody gets dizzy on roller-coasters. There’s nothing to fear about this, Zhang Wei thought to himself.
“Oh yeah. Our boss told us that we will be moving out in four days,” Lin Yao said suddenly.
Xiao Han’s eyes lit up. He had spent about ten days giving the truck an overhaul. He still wanted to install heavy firepower on truck. He had already mastered the knowledge required, but there was simply not enough time. He thought for a while and said to Zhang Wei, “Bring the Combatant Armored Suit to me. I will help you improve it.”
Zhang Wei’s eyes lit up. He had confidence in Xiao Han’s mechanic skills.
Li Ya Lin overheard their conversation. She jumped at Xiao Han and nudged his shoulder. “What about me! What about me! You promised to customize some equipment for me!”
“You have to wait till I have some inspiration.”
As a Pugilist, you should focus on using your fists to punch people. Why are you always eyeing my mechanic equipment? Xiao Han pushed the noisy Lin Ya Lin aside.
The original Combatant Armored Suit was brought out right away by a staff member from the logistics department. Just like the armor exhibited in museums, it was propped up with a plastic skeleton and stored in a human-height metal box.
“Since time is running out, I will have to focus on the most essential modification. Firstly, I will increase the energy capacity. Then, work on the structure will begin to reduce the weight and upgrade the skeleton of the mechanical parts. This will help to improve your overall movement.”
“That will be great!” Zhang Wei’s face brightened with happiness. The suit was extremely heavy for him. After every use, his whole body would ache badly, worse than after running ten kilometers.
“Next, I will modify the sensing system. I will fit a simple chip onto the suit to survey the situation outside, and I will personally donate a firepower control system, which will give your long-range weapons an auto-aiming ability.
“Lastly, if time permits, I will also add a simple close-combat weapon.”
“Sounds great!” Zhang Wei was exhilarated.
But suddenly, Xiao Han changed his tone. “And, of course, all of these things are chargeable. The total cost will be $360,000.”
“How… how much‽”
Zhang Wei stared him, his mouth agape in disbelief. His total saving had not even reached a million dollars.
“Do you think this is too pricey?” Xiao Han narrowed his eyes at Zhang Wei.
“Are your parents still alive?”
“Why are you asking about them? They have already passed on.” Zhang Wei was startled by the strange question.
“Do you have any siblings?”
“No. I’m their only child.”
“Do you have a wife or a girlfriend?”
“N…No. I’m all alone.”
Xiao Han shook his head with a perplexed expression. “Then what’s the point in saving so much money?”
The comment shot right to his heart!
“Fine. Fine… Stop talking. I will pay!” Zhang Wei gripped his chest in pain. He felt like his heart was being stomped on by a thousand rhinos.
…
Like an unscrupulous business man, Xiao Han received the payment from Zhang Wei’s trembling hand before he commenced the modification of the suit.
[Basic Energy Theory] Lv. 3 had given Xiao Han the ability to strengthen energy mechanics. However, he didn’t want to give Zhang Wei’s suit a mighty modification, so there was no need for a new energy blueprint. Good stuff had to be kept for personal use.
To build in a weight-bearing mechanical skeleton and a sensing chip, one could actually use blueprints. These two were rather common.
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 1 Basic Spatial Sensing + Lv. 1 Basic Virtual Electrical Engineering)
This fusion will cost you 10,000 EXP.
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 2 Basic Dynamics Principle + Lv. 4 Basic Mechanical Engineering)
This fusion will cost you 10,000 EXP.
_____________________
Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Low Level Smart Chip]!
_____________________
Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System]!
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These two were common mechanical blueprints, so most Mechanics would have them. Xiao Han achieved fusion success on his first try without any hiccups.
[Low Level Smart Chip] was also sold on the market. However, by unlocking the blueprint, Xiao Han could tweak it by writing his own code. The words ‘low level’ indicated that there would be more advance versions of it, such as highly intelligent Al for large robots or even intelligent system control for huge space vehicles and war machines.
On the other hand, [K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System] was one of the basic models of inner mechanical skeletal systems.
The outer mechanical skeletal systems were worn directly on the body, while the inner type fitted the whole body seamlessly, hidden inside of the external armor. It retained the same functions as the external skeletal system but provided extra mechanical power. The inner skeletal system was a must for making a Mechanical Armored Suit. Needless to say, the more advanced versions were applied to small, medium, large, and extremely large armored suits.
Xiao Han removed the exterior of the combat suit, exposing the intricate parts in the interior. Xiao Han observed for a moment before he began his work.
First, he increased the energy capacity, then he added in the skeletal system and the smart chip, and lastly, he purchased some imaging devices, cameras, and infrared sensor for the sensing equipment.
On dawn of the fourth day, he finally finished upgrading the Combatant Armored Suit.
Despite the same old, black, and heavy primitive suit exterior, the inside of the suit had been changed tremendously. It finally resembled a powerful and advance mechanical armored suit.
But time constraints did not allow Xiao Han to add a close-combat weapon. Xiao Han was not bothered by it. Not delivering the promised product after payment was not new to him; he had already delayed the delivery of a High-Explosive Gunpowder for more than half a month.
Xiao Han yawned and looked at his interface.
[Combatant Armored Suit: Deriving progress 2%]
Retro-derivation of equipment was one of the methods for Mechanics to obtain blueprints. The requirements were very stringent because the progress would usually halt when they could not fulfil the pre-set conditions. Sometimes, just as the progress reached 30%, it would sometimes ask for Intelligence to reach XX before it could continue the derivation. Furthermore, even when the progress reached 100%, a huge amount of EXP would have to be consumed in order to officially master the blueprint.
The core of the [Combatant Armored Suit] was part of the Advanced Mechanic Knowledge [Heavy Machine Modification]. When the progress bar reached 50%, it looked like this knowledge would be required. Since the blueprint for the suit was not essential for Xiao Han, he was not bothered with that.
It was move-out day. The team of four gathered in the garage. Lin Yao looked at the computer screen and said suddenly, “The department has gathered. The gathering point is the East Sentry Post.”
“Okay. Let’s board the truck!” Zhang Wei said solemnly.
As soon as he gave the instruction, Li Ya Lin moved rapidly onto the driver’s seat and stared at Xiao Han anxiously. “Can… Can I drive the truck?”
Xiao Han rubbed his eyes. He had been burning the mid-night oil for the past few days, so he was sleepy beyond measure. Thus, he did not insist on driving. He told her to drive steadily before moving to the back of the truck. He used a few backpacks as blanket and lay on the floor to sleep.
Li Ya Lin sighed in relief at once. She felt as if she had just escaped death narrowly. She didn’t even have the energy to point out the irony in Xiao Han’s words “drive steadily.”
Upon seeing that Xiao Han wanted a good sleep, the rest all sat in the driving space to avoid disturbing him.
…
West Capital, East Sentry Post, Military Train Station.
The superiors highly valued this attack on the base at Dark Crow Valley. Division 13 sent three covert ops teams to take part in this large-scale mission.
The first was Zhang Wei’s team, and the other was Ma Qing Yang’s team, the one that saved Zhang Wei’s team.
The last team was Covert Ops’ ace team, led by the team leader, Di Su Su.
The two ops teams were waiting at the train station, accompanied by an officer from the Staff Department. His role was to give advice and supervise the operations in order to keep the agents in check.
There were instances in the past where every team had a strong-opinionated elite agent, resulting in many differing opinions that led to poor teamwork and caused many hiccups to their missions. To counter this problem, Division 13 had modified their mission procedure: when there were multiple teams working together, a staff officer would be the overall brain of the mission.
Officers from the Staff department learned how to command on various battle situations all year round. Before the mission, they would study each and every agent from the respective teams to better evaluate mission plans. Although the agents all believed that the staff officers only knew how to write mission report and take responsibility, they had to obey orders from the superior. As long as the staff officer didn’t control them too much, everyone would be at peace with him.
“Why is Zhang Wei still not here? He’s very late.”
Ma Qing Yang looked at the Sun and took a puff on his cigarette. He was quite good friends with Zhang Wei, and their teammates had friendly relationships, too.
Di Su Su and her team waited on the other side. She was playing with a coin in her hand. The coin, reflecting beams of sunlight, was turning and moving rapidly under her agile hand. She was eager and excited to meet Li Ya Lin because it meant that she would get to bully and tease her again. Plus, she was quite intrigued by her new teammate, Xiao Han.
The leading staff officer, Qi Bai Jia, rubbed his good-looking brows. His eyes were irritated by the flickering reflections of sunlight from the coin. He had no choice but to turn his face toward the other side.
A loud engine sound travelled from afar. Everyone could hear the huge horsepower of the incoming vehicle. They felt the floor shaking as the vehicle got closer. Qi Bai Jia looked up at the source of the sound and saw a gigantic and ferocious military truck approaching.
Ma Qing Yang flicked his cigarette butt off and crushed it with his heel.
Di Su Su clenched her fingers tight, gripping the coin in her palm.
Qi Bai Jia adjusted his collar.
“They are here.”
chickenpau Editor: Millman97
Big Black slowly came to halt. Zhang Wei and his team alighted from the front of the vehicle.
Qi Bai Jia saluted and introduced himself. “I am Qi Bai Jia, the staff officer who will be leading this mission.”
“Greetings. Happy to be working with you.” Zhang Wei nodded. Then he turned his head and smiled at Ma Qing Yang heartily while giving Ma Qing Yang a big hug.
On the other side, Lin Yao’s eyes glittered upon seeing Di Su Su, his gaze tightly locked onto her. He waved his arm shyly. “Hello, Su Su Jie.”
“Little Lin Lin.” Di Su Su just ignored Lin Yao and walked past him toward Li Ya Lin while he was still mesmerized by her. She pinched Li Ya Lin’s cheeks. “Tsk tsk. You have grown prettier since the last time I saw you.”
“Screw off. We are not that close.” Li Ya Lin frowned and shoved Di Su Su’s annoying hand away.
Di Su Su was not bothered by it. She scanned around and asked curiously, “Where is your Mechanic? Where is he hiding?”
Li Ya Lin crossed her arms in front of her chest. She gave a cold look and refused to answer.
Zhang Wei answered, “He’s a little tired, so he is still sleeping on the truck.”
“This truck is….?”
Zhang Wei stood upright and said with a face full of pride, “Our logistical support vehicle.”
Jealousy filled Ma Qing Yang and Di Su Su’s teams. They gave their team leaders a bitter look.
“We want our own logistical support vehicle, too.”
Qi Bai Jia clapped his hand. “Okay. Time is running out. Let’s move out.”
A military-use train was parked at the station. Instead of transporting the items using airplanes or regular cars, forty well-trained field personnel are loading boxes of firearms and ammunition onto the train.
Since the major expressways were destroyed, the Six Nations had focused on the development of railway to connect various destinations. Military-use trains ran designated military railways, which made them faster than civilian trains. Three days was all that was required for the train to reach its destination.
The first five carriages comprised of the driving cabin, two bedrooms, the restaurant, and firearm storage respectively. The last few carriages were open air – specially made for carrying other vehicles. Li Ya Lin drove Big Black up onto the carriage. The field personnel locked it in place tightly and covered the truck with a dust-sheet.
Once everyone had boarded the train, it moved off. The train radiated under the fierce sunlight and drove into the dangerous and treacherous forested fields.
….
Han Xiao woke up soon after he felt the vibration of the train.
The ceiling of the carriage was installed with lamps that illuminated the room under a soft white light. The carriage was filled with lifeless, ice-cold machines and mechanical weapons, but they actually gave him a sense of security.
Han Xiao rubbed his eyes forcefully before he got his full concentration back. He opened the carriage door only to realize that he was on a high-speed train that was already on the move. The wild wind gushed toward his face, blowing his messy hair all around. The floor was vibrating non-stop and the riotous sound of the train movement rushed into his ears. The train moved smoothly along the rail toward their destination.
A galaxy of stars illuminated the dark sky.
Mountains could be seen on the distant horizon.
Have I slept for the entire day?
For a while, Han Xiao was slightly startled. He then put on his Facial Simulator and adjusted his face to that of a regular man from his memory. After which, he placed a mask over the Facial Simulator. He had always been this careful. Afterwards, he followed the trail of light and entered the carriage from the front.
The sound from the wind disappeared the moment he entered the carriage; noisy chatter filled his ears instead. He felt as if he had just transmigrated from the stone age to a modern civilization.
As soon as Han Xiao walked in, everyone stopped talking. Every pair of eyes was fixated on Han Xiao. They scanned him with curiosity.
Di Su Su was the first person to stand up. She moved her beautiful waist and moved seductively toward Han Xiao.
“So, you are Han Xiao?” she asked curiously.
“I think you’ve got the wrong person,” Han Xiao replied nonchalantly. Han Xiao knew that he would lose a lot of face if he answered all the questions directed at him truthfully.
Everyone’s face stiffened. What a blatant lie! Everyone was here in the cabin. Who else could he be‽
Li Ya Lin was instantly delighted as she saw the scheming Di Su Su getting rejected. She waved at Han Xiao. “Xiao Ge, come here and sit.”
Han Xiao nodded and moved beside Zhang Wei and the others. Li Ya Lin whispered to Han Xiao, “Great job! You just embarrassed that scheming Di Su Su.”
“Scheming?” Han Xiao was surprised by her description.
“That’s right. Di Su Su is a scheming, cunning, and sly snake!” Li Ya Lin said with a mouth full of detest.
Han Xiao squinted. “Are you describing yourself?”
Lin Yao could not agree more. However, he dared not add anything for fear being beaten up by Li Ya Lin. He secretly looked at Han Xiao with respect. That’s my Xiao Ge—full of balls—a courageous man who never filters his words.
When Di Su Su saw Li Ya Lin and Han Xiao’s intimate gestures, her face turned black. Traces of angered flashed in her eyes.
On the other side, Ma Qing Yang extended his hand and smiled. “Hey, brother. Nice to meet you. I’m Ma Qing Yang.”
Han Xiao shook his hand as he held back the enraged Lin Ya Lin, unflustered. “Technically, we never met.”
Ma Qing Yang was dumbfounded. He surveyed around Han Xiao’s mask, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “Oh. You are right.”
Qi Bai Jia clapped his hand. “Since everyone is here, I will now explain the details of this mission. Field personnel please take your leave.”
Field personnel knew that this was the rule, so they left this carriage without hesitation. The place immediately quieted, as only the three covert ops teams and Qi Bai Jia were left inside.
“This is a joint mission between Hesla’s Intelligence Department and us. Hesla’s troops are stationed at the border, and they could move out at any moment. Our job here is to infiltrate the enemy base to gather information about their defenses so that we can provide the troops with intelligence support.
“Hesla has sent us a map of the Dark Crow Valley. This place is easy to hold but hard to attack, and with deep forests, we will not be able to locate the coordinates of the base with our satellites. We have zero information about their troop number and location. We can only attack from land.”
Everyone was very serious when it came to their mission. Di Su Su scratched her forehead and frowned. “This sounds like a heavily-guarded best. Is it possible for Hesla’s troops to storm the base on the ground?”
“They refused.” Qi Bai Jia shook his head.
Everyone understood the reason; as long as Hesla could take down the enemy with two thirds of their effort, they would never deploy their full strength. Furthermore, when there was too little information about enemy’s power and location, Hesla would not allow its troops to go in prematurely for fear of suffering too many casualties. The Covert Ops department would be brought in to do the dirty work like such an infiltration.
Li Ya Lin grumbled, “Then where is the infiltrating point?”
Qi Bai Jia pointed at a spot on the map. “On the west side of the valley, there is a large town called Crow’s Forest. The fact that they have the courage to build a town near a base of the Germinal Organization suggests that the two parties are colluding. Therefore, there must be a few scouts from the valley base stationed in the town. This is our opportunity to obtain crucial intelligence.
“And according to intelligence from the higher ups, there are three noteworthy enemies from the Dark Crow Valley base.”
Qi Bai Jia gave out a folder of information sheets to everyone. As everyone was reading through the sheets, he summarized the gist of the information. “Pan Kuang—head of the base, 35 years-old, Asian, E+ Pugilist—is one of the Germinal Organization’s executive officers. His weapon is a blade, nicknamed Blade-soul. His last recorded feat was three years ago, when he defeated twelve Theseus agents at the border alone. Four of them were superhumans.”
The page showed an emotionless man. He looked like any ordinary man but gave off an extremely fierce vibe.
“Ji Jie, deputy head, male, 29 years-old, mixed Asian and Caucasian, limited information. We only know that he seems to be a relative of the leader of the Wind Eye Organization, Ji Nuo.
“Dormund, captain of the security force, 43, from Raylen. He specializes in different firearms, and he is an extremely elite special agent. He used to lead a whole Night Owl squad.”
Doubt filled Ma Qing Yang’s face. “I thought we did not have much information regarding the internal situation of the base? Where did all this detailed information come from?”
Everyone was wondering the same thing.
Qi Bai Jia shook his head. “Not sure. The higher ups said it was classified.”
Everybody stopped their questioning.
Han Xiao pricked up his ears slightly. The source of this intel is sitting right beside you guys.
Qi Bai Jia added more pointers for everyone to take note. Suddenly, his tone changed. “For this combined exercise, Hesla will be sending teams of agents from the intelligence department. They will move with us when we meet at the rendezvous point.”
Zhang Wei’s expression became unnatural, and he questioned, “Agents from two countries working on this mission together?”
Qi Bai Jia was feeling embarrassed and coughed. “Yes.”
That was just courting trouble!
Hesla was unsatisfied with the intel from Stardragon. Also, they didn’t want to expend much of their own force, so they requested that Division 13 deploy manpower for this mission.
The agents looked at one another with unease. The relationship between the two countries were rather stale. The agents even seemed hostile toward one another. It seemed like the mission would turn out to be a flop.
None of this intel was useful for Han Xiao. He yawned and looked out of the window. He squinted after he caught sight of something. He immediately interrupted the discussion and shouted, “We are under attack by beasts!”
Everyone was stunned and could not react. The train vibrated violently, causing the agent to almost fall. At the same time, there was a loud and horrible cry from the field personnel in the back carriage.
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
The train rocked violently. The shaking came from the last carriage of the train. The Covert Ops agents, who were trying hard to maintain their footings, peeked out of the windows, and the sight in front of them was shocking.
Under the cover of darkness, a gargantuan black worm was coiled up around the last carriage. The worm’s body spanned over tens of meters, and it had a glossy, black exoskeleton that was composed of chitin, reflecting the moonlight.
The creature looked hideous. The head of the worm housed its gigantic mouth, with sharp teeth that continued way down into its throat. The worm was chewing on the metallic exterior of the train carriage, perforating the carriage’s exterior. An unfortunate agent ended up in the worm’s mouth, and in a brief moment, the screaming ended as the victim turned into minced meat.
Xiao Han felt a cold shiver. The bold ideas he previously had vanished instantly.
“It is the Dark Earthly Worm!” One could see the fear on Qi Bai Jia’s face.
Xiao Han drew his Berserk Eagle out from the holster and fired a shot at the worm. He tensed up the moment the stats of the worm flashed on the screen before his eyes.
_____________________
The Dark Earthly Worm
Level: 48
(Infant stage) Lv. 10, (Adolescent stage) Lv. 10, (Adult stage) Lv. 10, (Mating stage) lv10, (???) Lv. 8
Age: 71 years old
Stats: Strength 80, Dexterity ?, Endurance ?, Intelligence?, MYSTERY 1, LUCK 2
Energy: 0
Energy rank: ?
HP: ?
Abilities:
– Thick chitin exoskeleton: DEF +20
– Dark: +15% darkness attributes
– Large body: HP +1000, reduction of shock by 20%)
– Metal-chewing: additional 25% damage to metallic elements
– Rare blood of the Earthly Dragon: HP +2000, +10% defense against supernatural elements
– ???, ???, ??? …
Skills:
– Kill by Strangling Lv. 7
– Slither Lv. 10
– Rotating incisors Lv. 6
– Acid-spit Lv. 5
– ???, ???, ??? …
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Xiao Han felt it was really unfair that even the monster had more luck than him.
“Fire!”
The agents fired their pistols. The gunshots were deafening. However, the bullets merely grazed the thick exoskeleton of the worm, causing almost no harm to it.
The wilderness of Aquamarine was especially dangerous. All sorts of ghastly creatures roamed in it. There were many cases from the past where these creatures brutally slaughtered towns and cities. Humans had to rely on their collective intelligence and wisdom to counter these creatures in order to stay at the top of the food-chain.
The Dark Earthly Worm had a long lifespan. Its length increased proportionately with its age. Under normal circumstances, it peacefully resided in darkness with little activity. However, it would be awakened by violent vibrations in the ground.
It became clear to the folks that the worm had been woken up by the noise of the passing train.
To prevent encounters with wild creatures, every rail line had maintenance personnel who would inspect the infrastructure and survey the traffic, which also included surveying the underground for signs of life. If the worm had come before the last survey, it meant that the personnel in charge had slacked and failed to inspect the ground thoroughly.
The agents, who were considered prey by the worm, reacted to the situation with shock by firing their pistols. However, the smaller bullets form the pistol dealt almost zero damage to the worm, whose defense points were way above one hundred.
All the explosives and Gatling guns were in the store carriage. However, the agents were unable to obtain these weapons. Their access to the store carriage was blocked by the worm. The situation was not optimistic for the agents.
Amidst the chaos, a strong gust of wind buffeted the carriage. Random items fell out and started drifting in the wind. The train tilted at an angle of fifteen degrees as sparks flew out from the base of the train screeching against the track. The carriage looked as if it would be flipped by the massive body of the worm at any moment.
“Move aside!” Li Ya Lin shouted as she leapt forward with the foldable machete in her hand. She channeled the flames of yellow energy and hacked hard into the worm’s exoskeleton. A crack was heard, and a distinct cut appeared on the worm’s body.
It was useful!
Pugilists could channel their internal energy to deal astonishing damage. In this case, the punches and kicks had immense power and worked effectively.
After a quick glance, Di Su Su also went forward. With the foldable machete in her hand, channeling the flames of green energy, she hacked hard and fast, like streaks of lightning. A small piece of exoskeleton fell off the worm, and a faint glow of green could be seen.
The worm showed no signs of apprehension. It had its thick flesh and armor for protection and was, therefore, especially calm. It subsequently shrank its body to give the carriage a harder squeeze.
The monsters on Aquamarine were ferocious, and many had stacked abilities that made them especially hardy. The worm was evidently a wild BOSS level creature, and without the firepower of the modern military, it would be difficult to slaughter the monster. The worm was a creature that required at least fifty players of the same level to defeat. However, there were some instances where the monster was defeated by solo players.
In two gulps, another two agents were swallowed by the worm. The flesh of humans tasted much better than that of the sandworms underground. The Dark Earthly Worm ground its teeth as if it had enjoyed the meal.
The agents were shivering, and the brutality of the predator caused many to almost collapse to the ground. At that instant, it seemed like humans had lost their intelligence and had been reduced to prey waiting for their fateful moments to arrive.
“Use fire, the worm is afraid of fire!” Di Su Su yelled.
The worm had poor eyesight and was especially sensitive to heat and sparkles of ember, which had a similar effect on the worm to flashbangs on humans.
The agents realized that if the situation remained stagnant for much longer, the train would be destroyed. The only solution was to use flames to push the worm back. Zhang Wei immediately took out the magazine housing the High-Explosive ammunition.
Bang!
Instantly, the impregnable exoskeleton of the worm started burning. The worm lost its composure and started wriggling violently. The flames and the temperature made it especially uncomfortable. It became as agitated as a restless baboon.
Xiao Han stood there steadily like a nail in a plank. The increasing magnitude of the jolts made him worry about the carriage flipping. Almost all of Division 13’s agents had purchased the High-Explosive rounds, so he was confident that they could handle the situation effectively without him getting involved.
The fire started growing on the worm, and in less than a moment’s time, the worm could no longer withstand the glaring ember. It gave a shriek and loosened its grip on the carriage. Following that, it tunneled into the ground. In a matter of seconds, it was deep in the ground, leaving only piles of dirt.
The agents that managed to escape the wrath of the monster were still feeling shocked and fearful. They collapsed onto the ground.
“We are saved!”
“We are not dead yet, not dead yet…”
“Mama, I miss you!”
Although the worm only appeared for a few minutes, the damage it had caused was immense. There were holes everywhere on the carriage. It was in a shambles. If the worm had not been chased away, the train along with its passengers would have… well, maybe not all of the passengers would have perished, but the train was definitely going to have been delayed.
Luckily, there was the High-Explosive ammunition. The folk all looked toward Xiao Han. One could sense the appreciation in their eyes.
Zhang Wei patted on Xiao Han’s shoulder. No words could describe his gratitude.
“If you want to thank me, just say it. I can’t really read minds.”
“…”
Everyone was speechless.
Xiao Han’s words completely destroyed the atmosphere.
The agents rested for a moment and started clearing up the mess.
The attack by the Dark Earthly Worm was ultimately a one-time incident, and the fact that only one of such accidents had occurred proved that the military rail line was safest.
The scenery outside the train’s windows was mainly mountains, dense forests, and loess plains, which gradually became boring.
Along the way, Xiao Han stationed himself in the large black carriage, practicing his energy training technique and machine manufacturing skill.
Three days later, the train arrived at the Hesla Border station.
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
Hesla and Stardragon belonged to the same continent. The more liberal culture on Hesla was perhaps due to the hot and humid climate. Even outside of the beaches, bikini girls and topless guys could be seen walking on the streets.
The train pulled in to the military train station. Looking through the window, a man in shades wearing a loose-fitting flowery shirt could be seen standing on the platform. He was probably the next point of contact.
Han Xiao alighted from the train together with the rest as Qi Bai Jia led the way. Qi Bai Jia walked up to the man and introduced himself. “I am Qi Bai Jia from the Stardragon’s Division 13.”
The man laughed and removed his shades. He had unshaven stubble and looked unkempt, as if he was a fishmonger from the market.
“I am Ye Fan from the Hesla Intelligence Department.”
Han Xiao was in disbelief.
Ye Fan‽
Which Ye Fan was he?
What exactly happened!
The man looked nothing like the dashing and cool Ye Fan that Han Xiao pictured in his mind.
Ye Fan saw the hole-studded train carriage and immediately asked, “You guys encountered a monster?”
“It was just a small worm, no real threat.”
Qi Bai Jia gave a dry cough. Despite of the danger caused by the worm, there was no way he would admit that the situation had been greatly perilous. He needed to maintain the reputation of the Stardragon agents and wanted the folks on Hesla to believe that they were strong.
“It must have been really fortunate for you guys to arrive safely.” Ye Fan laughed. He did not further probe into Qi Bai Jia’s words.
Ye Fan put his shades back on and said, “Let us quickly head to the command center and report in. Our administrative procedures here are less complicated than those in Maple, at least 90% less.”
Some agents chuckled to themselves. Maple was known for its inflexible system. Apparently when the Shanuks from Theseus and Maple collaborated to wipe out the Vagrant Warlords, the short-tempered Shanuks were so frustrated with the elaborate reporting procedures of Maple that they almost fought with the officials at the Maple Intelligence Unit’s Caroma headquarters.
The administrative pre-requisite for this joint operation required the commanders to submit their operation plans before the actual execution of the mission.
For this operation, the Hesla military was delegated to be the offensive force. The agents were in charge of reconnaissance missions to uncover the enemy’s defense blueprints at the Dark Crow Valley Base.
Along the way, one could see the brand-new bulletproof jeeps and small tanks parked in garages. There were also honeycomb missile-launchers and groups of soldiers transporting ammunition.
Zhang Wei, Di Su Su, and Ma Qing Yang became really quiet, a stark contrast from their usual chatty behavior. It was their nationalistic sentiments affecting them. Han Xiao realized that he should not do anything overboard at that point in time.
The commanding officer was a muscular Caucasian man by the name of Colonel Carl. Colonel Carl was studying the operation plan hanging on the wall. Upon hearing the door creak, Colonel Carl, who thought that it was his assistant officer entering the room, blurted out, “Do not disturb me when I am thinking!”
Ye Fan coughed and said, “Colonel, the agents from Stardragon are here to submit their report.”
Colonel Carl turned his head to face Ye Fan. The tension on his face relieved immediately. He squinted his eyes and stared coldly at the Stardragon agents with distrust. He took out a document from his drawer.
“Take them down to rest, we will set off together in an hour,” he ordered.
Carl seemed unfriendly to the agents of Division 13. Ye Fan took the agents to a room and asked them to stay put at the location since they would be moving out shortly.
After Ye Fan left, the agents were left alone. Lin Yao finally dared to speak and asked softly, “Why do I get the feeling that the Hesla soldiers, especially the commanding officer, seem to not like us?”
Ma Qing Yang gave a sarcastic grin and said, “In the past, there were wars between Stardragon and Hesla. Therefore, the people of Hesla are unfriendly toward us. It is really frustrating that we have to face such situations even when we are on a collaborative mission with them. Colonel Carl definitely doesn’t look like an easy figure to appease.”
The different cliques within Division 13 was not unique to Stardragon. In fact, many countries faced such situations. Maple and Ordina were more conservative. Raylen and Theseus were more assertive. Stardragon and Hesla were more neutral.
Lin Yao remarked in disbelief, “Why did the department send us to Hesla then? What if they make us the sacrificial objects for the mission?”
“Nobody knows what the higher-ups have in mind. I guess we have to count on ourselves to stay safe.”
Ma Qing Yang, being a seasoned member of the department, was no longer surprised or shocked by such arrangements.
Qi Bai Jia explained, “Don’t worry, every command given to you guys has to gain my approval.”
The agents fell silent after a series of discussions to get into the mode for the mission.
“I am going out to take a puff.”
Han Xiao stood up and walked out of the room. He lighted his cigarette and took a deep puff, which went all the way down to his lungs, then out of his nostrils in two trails of smoke. He felt a sense of relief.
He ignored the unfriendly stares from the Hesla soldiers and diverted his attention to the mission plan on the screen of the tablet.
_____________________
You have activated [Operation Dark Crow Valley Base].
Mission Brief: This is a small-scale military operation. As a member of Division 13 and participant of the operation, look out for what you can do!
Hint: The mission is a part of the Camp-destroyer series and you can claim these rewards upon completion of the mission.
Reconnaissance 1: Team mission. Monitor the situation in Crow’s Forest Town. 3,000 EXP rewarded.
Reconnaissance 2: Team mission. Monitor the situation in Dark Crow Valley Camp. 8,000 EXP rewarded.
Logistics member: Solo mission. Complete 20 tool repairs for your teammates. 8,000 EXP rewarded.
Assassin: Solo mission. Kill 8 sentries. 18,000 EXP rewarded.
Direct conflict: Solo mission. Kill 50 Germinal Organization soldiers. 35,000 EXP rewarded.
Assassination 1: Kill Dormund. Rewards based on contribution.
Assassination 2: Kill Ji Jie. Reward based on contribution.
Assassination 3: Kill Pan Kuang. Rewards based on contribution.
Destroy the Dark Crow Valley Camp: Rewards based on the level of completion of mission and individual contribution.
At the end of the mission, rewards will be issued based on individual stats and performance.
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Initially, Han Xiao thought that it was going to be a normal mission, but instead, the operation was part of the Camp-destroyer series, which allowed for a varied and outstanding performance.
There were many types of missions, and for those belonging to the Camp-destroyer series, as long as one completed most of the objectives, the rewards would be generous. There were also additional rewards based on one’s individual performance.
As Han Xiao was smoking, a lady with short red hair approached him and asked, “Are you from Stardragon?”
Staring at her in the eye, Han Xiao nodded. “I suppose so.”
Immediately, the lady drew a knife from her waist and stabbed toward the neck of Han Xiao!
chickenpau Editor: Millman97
Han Xiao stared at the red-haired woman without flinching.
The knife was only three centimeters from his main artery when it stopped and turned away, displaying the woman’s strong skill wielding her weapon. The woman gave a fierce look. “Why aren’t you dodging?”
“Why should I dodge?”
“So, you think I do not dare stab you?”
“You can try.”
Han Xiao’s face did not change one bit. Somewhere beneath his clothes, the magnetic-controlled extendable suit had already inched near his collar. He could protect his neck at a moment’s notice, and therefore, he was fearless.
Furthermore, since she was able to move freely in the military campsite, she had to be a Hesla agent. She would not really harm him like this. This would most likely be a test of his ability or to instill fear in him. However, how dare they picked him as the target! Han Xiao was slightly irritated. His eyes turned ice-cold.
The red-haired woman suddenly felt a shiver down her back and did not realize where it came from. She collected her mind, and harrumphed. “Winna, agent from Hesla Intelligence Department.”
She had just finished talking when she felt something pushing onto her stomach. She looked down; a large caliber pistol was pointing right at her stomach.
Only then did Han Xiao laugh and say, “Han Xiao.”
That was fast! I didn’t even see how he drew his gun!
Her pupil constricted. She put away her knife. Han Xiao withdrew his gun, too.
“I will remember that.”
Winna turned around and left.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “Hesla personnel sure are hostile toward us. They’d better not drag me down.”
….
After Winna walked some distance away, she gave a sigh of relief. She realized cold sweat was dripping down her hairline and became serious.
That Stardragon agent gave her… an extremely dangerous vibe.
Winna returned to the lounge to look for the rest of the Hesla agents. Ye Fan smiled and asked, “Discover anything?”
Winna took a sip of water to sooth her parched throat and replied in a serious tone, “That Han Xiao is likely very dangerous.”
“Han Xiao?”
Ye Fan thought of something based on the physical description of him.
That guy had been very low profile ever since they alighted the train. He only gave a weird look when someone called his name.
“A strange person,” Ye Fan concluded.
…
Han Xiao finished smoking and stepped on the cigarette butt. He walked back into the lounge.
Qi Bai Jia looked over and asked abruptly, “Nothing happened, right?”
“Something happened. I saw a female pig falling into a ditch.”
Qi Bai Jia felt slightly awkward. “Can you be more serious?”
“In that case, there was nothing,” replied Han Xiao nonchalantly. Since it was only a test meant to scare him, he did not want everyone to hear about it. Firstly, it was to protect the mission. And secondly, he didn’t think he wanted to be strayed by emotions.
In his mind, they were three types of enemies. The first type pissed him off or violated his interests. The second type wanted him dead or endangered his life. The last type was his nemesis. There was also the type that not only had mutual hatred but also conflicting interests. One example would be the Germinal Organization. This was the enemy that was top priority for Han Xiao. The first kind was too mild for him to care about.
Qi Bai Jia gave Han Xiao a complicated look. He was sitting by the window and had seen the whole incident unfold. He had gone on a lot of field missions before, and he knew that the other country’s agents would surely test their ability and show off their own prowess. This was a covert rule. All the agents were proud and arrogant. They would not get respect and power without showing off their ability. If anyone were to complain to their superior, they would actually be laughed at.
Qi Bai Jia greatly approved of what Han Xiao had done. He did not let Stardragon’s reputation down, and he was glad that Han Xiao had kept his mouth shut. This guy’s ability is good, and he understands the bigger picture.
…
“They didn’t fight?”
Carl nodded his head in satisfaction after he heard his deputy’s report.
“Good. Seems like those Stardragon people know their place on our territory.”
….
Soon, it was time for them to depart. Everyone gathered at the border exit. Ye Fan, together with Winna, brought a dozen agents, armed and ready to go.
The first stop of the mission was a position far away from the Crow Valley Town. There was an abandoned secret hideout of Hesla’s. They would be using it as their temporary base.
Division 13 transported the land rovers using the train. They were just regular all-terrain cars. Only Han Xiao’s Big Black was unique. He drove his team off amid loud revving of the engine.
This time, he drove steadily and comfortably. Li Ya Lin was almost moved to tears. The other three teammates, cramped in the other seats, were puzzled. They didn’t understand Li Ya Lin’s big reaction to all this.
It was half a day’s ride. Hesla’s motorcade was leading, and Division 13 followed.
Suddenly, Hesla’s motorcade sped up, gradually increasing the distance between the two parties. Di Su Su and Ma Qing Yang accelerated when they realized it.
Only Han Xiao, driving Big Black, followed slowly at the back.
“Xiao Ge, we need to catch up with them!” Lin Yao said anxiously.
Han Xiao’s had one hand on the steering wheel while the other one was out of the window and enjoying the wind. “Why do we need to catch up? No matter how fast they drive now, they will have to wait for us later.”
“Well… you are right when you put it that way.”
Suddenly, Di Su Su’s laughter came from the radio. “Little Lin Lin, how come you guys are so slow. Hurry and catch up with us. Unless Han Xiao’s skills are not up to par?”
“I do not want to waste my petrol,” Han Xiao replied briefly.
Di Su Su was instantly stunned. This was the first time she heard such a unique excuse. Agents like us need to worry about paying for petrol?
Ma Qing Yang chimed in on the radio. “Zhang Wei, this is Hesla’s agents showing off. We must not lose to them.”
Zhang Wei pondered for a few seconds, and he patted on Han Xiao’s shoulder. “Let’s catch up with them.”
Li Ya Lin’s face immediately turned pale. She grabbed Zhang Wei’s sleeve hurriedly and urged, “Please don’t. This speed is great!”
“What exactly do you fear?” Zhang Wei was really puzzled.
“Captain, is it not good to be alive?” Li Ya Lin said in a trembling and sobbing tone.
Zhang Wei was extremely baffled.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. “You really want to pursue them?”
“Yes.” Zhang Wei nodded his head.
Han Xiao sighed and changed the gear with ease. “Okay then. You guys had better hold on tight.”
Li Ya Lin was deeply fearful. She held onto the car door as tightly as she could and clenched her jaw.
“You… you guys will definitely regret this.”
…
In the afternoon, everyone arrived at the destination.
As soon as they alighted their vehicles, they all looked at the big black truck with shock, horror, and disbelief. Cold chills ran down their spine whenever they thought of the scene from before.
Even though they were experienced agents who had seen many things, such as “S” and “Z” shape movements, this was the first time they had seen an “&” shape movement! And it was faster than anyone else!
This could not even be counted as drifting… more like flying!
The truck driver must have been heavily under the influence!
Zhang Wei, Lin Yao, and Li Ya Lin fumbled out of the vehicle, held onto a tree at the side, and started vomiting everything they had inside them. At that moment, they felt like they’d be better off dead.
“Blargh—”
“Oh my god… I feel like I’m dying. Blargh—”
“Told you that you would regret this. Blargh—”
Han Xiao strolled down from the car and clamped a cigarette comfortably in his mouth. He smirked and said, “Well, you guys told me to chase.”
“You… Do you specialize in driving bumper cars‽”
Han Xiao curled his lips. Bumper cars? Don’t look down on me. I used to drive Mechas!
Lambert got out of the car with sturdy steps, as if nothing had happened to him. Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed. “See? There is someone normal enough to enjoy my driving.”
Just as Lambert opened his mouth to speak, vomit came out like waterfall. Only after everything was vomited out did Lambert commented with a poker face, “If you ever touch the steering wheel again, I will just jump out of the car.”
chickenpau Editor: Millman97
The cars were parked outside. After everyone moved their equipment into the secret base, they began their pre-mission briefing.
“We have two operations. Firstly, disguise as wanderers and blend into Dark Crow Forest Town to gather intel; secondly, search for sentry guards from the Germinal Organization that are left alone and force information about their base out of them.
“We will handle the sentries, your people can go to the Dark Crow Forest Town,” Winna immediately stated.
Di Su Su frowned. There would mostly likely be spies hidden in the town. If they attempted to blend in, they might be exposed and be put in dire danger. If so, they would not achieve anything. Searching for sentries would be much safer and easier to accomplish.
Hesla just could not wait to throw all the dangerous and tough jobs to Division 13. This attitude annoyed them greatly, but someone had to do the missions after all. If it was not going to be Hesla then it had to be Division 13. As such, no one voiced any objection.
“To infiltrate the town, we must first disguise ourselves as wanderers and then find an opportunity to gather intel covertly. We must not act rashly and alert the enemy,” said Qi Bai Jia.
After some discussion, it was decided that some people would stay at the base as backup. Four people stayed behind: Lin Yao, Qi Bai Jia, Ma Qing Yang, and Han Xiao.
Hesla also left some personnel to guard the base. Han Xiao only knew Ye Fan from their group.
It was only the afternoon. The Hesla agents decided to take a rest first. They would wait till dawn, when enemy’s alertness would be at its lowest, to move off to find enemy sentry guards. They had brought infrared imaging devices, so the darkness actually provided them with an advantage. Also, they secretly wanted Division 13 to be the guinea pig to sweep away some danger first.
Once the mission plan was finalized, those Division 13 agents who were going in mixed together to form a team with Di Su Su as the leader. They were disguised in wanderer’s clothes and looked travel-worn and weary. They hunched their backs to look as if they were being weighed down by stress. They carried giant backpacks and looked exactly like those real wanderers. They then headed toward the Dark Crow Forest Town on foot.
The secret base was equipped with many computer screens that were connected to agents’ camera and earphones. Han Xiao, Lin Yao, and Qi Bai Jia would rotate to monitor the situation.
Di Su Su’s team soon arrived at the crowded town, which was displayed on the screens. There were many different types of buildings, and despite the housing being simple and crude, there were many people there, making it look like a marketplace. Although the town was small in area, it had everything, even hotels for guests.
“Let’s look for a place to stay first.”
Di Su Su and the gang were questioned by the locals, but she answered perfectly. They were just ‘wanderers that were migrating’ and ‘wanted to rest here for a while before moving off.’ Afterwards, they successfully checked in at one of the hotels in the town.
As soon as they entered the room, they immediately swept for monitoring cameras and bugs professionally. They started discussing their next steps after they made sure the room was safe.
“How should we proceed now?” Li Ya Lin curled her lips and gave Di Su Su a cold look.
Di Su Su was not in the mood to banter with Li Ya Lin. Her brows knitted together as she said in a serious tone, “People in the town are still suspicious of our identity. I think we should stay put.”
Han Xiao suddenly chimed in through the earpieces. “You guys had better act today.”
“Give me a good reason.” Di Su Su was slightly provoked.
“You guys are now foreign wanderers, so you should act your part. It is only normal to gather information about this place. It will actually look strange if you purposefully conceal yourselves, making others feel that you have an ulterior motive.”
Everyone looked at one another. “That seems like a good point.”
“…Let’s do what Han Xiao suggested.”
The town had many amenities, including entertainment facilities, casinos, a pharmacy, restaurants, and even places for one to release. As night fell, the team moved out in different groups and pretended to spend money, probe for intel, and gather information. However, they did not achieve any substantial success. The locals there were mostly ordinary wanderers, and they did not spot any people of interest.
“Our enemies must be hiding deeply. We probably won’t get anything through this method.” Qi Bai Jia’s expression was grave.
“Actually, I know a way.” Han Xiao smiled. He knew the specific spy that was station at this town. After ‘real’ players earned enough reputation from missions, they could choose to join the Germinal Organization through this NPC. By catching this NPC, they could get quite a lot of intel.
Han Xiao knew the exact coordinates of the Dark Crow Valley Base, but he was unsure of the specific military strength and defenses of the base. After ten long years, he only remembered a little information about the place. Furthermore, they were at the different point in time, so the changes would be different. It was essential for them to gather intel from the NPC.
“You guys should go to the southern part of town, where you will see a casino. There should be a bald-headed dude who knows the intel about the base.” Han Xiao was describing the spy from the Germinal Organization stationed at the town. Those ‘real’ players who were born at Dark Crow Forest Town could only join the Germinal Organization through this guy.
Everyone was shocked. Di Su Su frowned. “Where did you get this information from?”
“I have my ways.”
“What if the information is incorrect?” Di Su Su was adamant.
“Listen to him.” Qi Bai Jia spoke up for Han Xiao. Before the mission, higher ups had told him to trust his intel. This showed that the higher ups valued Han Xiao highly.
Di Su Su had to repress her suspicion and follow to the order. She took some agents to the small casino and looked for the person quietly. Without fail, they found the bald-headed guy, who was the banker of the casino.
“What should we do now? If we act rashly, we could alarm our enemies. He might have companions from the organization around him,” asked Di Su Su.
Han Xiao was speechless. “We’ve already found our target. Can’t you just be professional and do what you usually do?”
Di Su Su felt her chest tighten, enraged by his comment. But at the same time, she realized that she had asked a dumb question. She gathered her teammates to secretly surround the guy.
Han Xiao looked at the time. He got up and let Lin Yao take over his duty. He did not feel that he needed to supervise the actual execution. If they could not even catch the guy, those agents should just knock themselves out with a piece of tofu.
At the same time, Winna and her team of Hesla agents left for their objective after she gave Han Xiao a fierce glare.
Han Xiao did not plan to rest at the secret base. He went into the trunk of Big Black and started assessing the situation. Both operations are team-based. They will most likely complete them without any hiccups. I should be more concerned with my personal mission. I will need some handy tools in order to assassinate the sentry guards in the forest.
Han Xiao took out some spare parts and began working on his interface.
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Basic Spatial Sensing + Basic Bio-engineering + Basic Mechanical Engineering)
This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP.
_____________________
Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have invented [Miniature Biological Sensor (Spider)]!
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…
Winna’s team sneaked among the trees silently as if they were hunters searching for prey in the dark forest. They were wearing camouflage suits and night-vision goggles.
The sentry guards were stationed right outside the base. One of the team members was a master in investigating trails. He could deduce the number of people that had walked past a location a day before based on the minimal evidence left behind.
He was called Magarnu, a tall Sharnuk. He was built like a small mountain, which made it hard to believe that he was extremely meticulous. He rubbed the soil between his fingertips, smelt it, and pondered for a few moments. “There was a man, weighing around 180 pounds, who walked past here in a northwestern direction seven hours ago.”
Winna did not doubt Magarnu’s deduction. She and her team walked carefully in that direction. Suddenly, they came to a halt. Night vision goggles showed a living entity on tree three hundred meters out.
“Search the surroundings!”
Winna kept a cool head and did not act prematurely. She instructed her team to search for any other sentry guards or surveillance devices in the surroundings. After about twenty minutes, they confirmed that they were safe.
Ye Fan gave the order through the radio. “Take him down!”
Winna activated her power, and immediately, a maroon energy trail flashed under her feet. She moved swiftly and quietly within a hundred-meter radius from the enemy. She always stayed in the blind spots of the enemy by using the trees to hide her body like a master-level assassin. She hopped onto a tree in a cat-like manner before summoning her maroon-colored energy. The energy allowed her to stick onto the tree branches, and she jumped constantly from tree to tree, quickly approaching the enemy.
The Germinal sentry guard felt a sudden gust of wind over his head. He looked up and saw a dark shadow accelerating toward him.
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
Ten minutes later…
Snap!
Magarnu twisted the neck of the sentry guard.
They had already secured the information they wanted.
Winna’s voice blared out from the communication device. “From our preliminary reconnaissance activity, we discovered that the base has been divided into 6 high-alert regions. The level of defense gradually increases from the innermost to the outermost sectors. We are currently at the outermost region.
“Every high-alert region will have a sentry post manned by an officer and his troops. Based on our previous interrogation, officers have access to the intranet of the military base. Therefore, as long as we can arrive at the sentry post, we will be able to access the intranet and gather intelligence using the officer’s computer.
“This sentry guard revealed the exact position of the post. Let’s move out immediately!”
Ye Fan knew that even the slightest delay would change the outcome of the operation. There was a series of protocols to follow for the shift-changing of the sentry guards in the next few hours; by then, other soldiers would discover the disappearance of the sentry guard who had been killed. However, their first priority was still to gather sufficient intelligence even if that risked revealing their positions, since ultimately, the enemy would realize the impending invasion by the Hesla military. They needed to find out the military strength and defenses at the Dark Crow Valley base.
If Winna managed to succeed, the agents of Division 13 hiding in Dark Crow Forest Town would fall into the precarious situation of revealing their positions to the enemy. The agents might even be caught before they made their moves.
Ye Fan analyzed the situation rationally and made the decision.
“Operation approved! Immediately head out to the enemy base.”
Winna nodded and disposed of the sentry guard’s body. She then led her teammates into the enemy base.
Ye Fan heaved a sigh of relief, and his eyes moved away from the screen. He glanced at the operations’ office of Division 13 and shook his head slightly. He did not know what his decision would bring, but he wanted the best for the mission. He would inform the department afterwards.
There were times when one had to take a leap of faith.
…
Before twilight, Winna and her team found the sentry post.
It was a shed camouflaged deep in the vegetation used by the hunters.
Quietly, the team moved closer to their target. Magarnu grabbed the sound-wave detector from his haversack and scanned the interior of the shed from outside. The results returned revealed three human targets: one lying on the sofa and two who seemed to be consuming their supper at the table.
Winna raised her hand and started the count.
Three, two, one! Winna leapt forward into the shed through the window. Her teammates followed behind.
The three enemy soldiers were shocked by the unexpected attack, and before they could retaliate, they were shot with the tranquilizers by the Hesla agents and collapsed onto the ground.
The Hesla agents then searched the shed and the clothing of the unconscious soldiers. They uncovered a hidden compartment behind the wall. The agents discovered that out of the three soldiers, one of them was an officer based on the identity card he carried.
“This is our target.” Winna grinned to herself. This officer by the name of Roman seemed to be the one in charge of the sentry post.
The agents tied Roman up and gave him an injection to wake him up. Magarnu then slapped Roman repeatedly to speed up the process. “Tell us the password to the safe if you want to live!”
Roman was scared to death by the troop of heavily armed agents and immediately confessed the password without any sign of hesitance.
After entering the password, the safe successfully opened, and a laptop could be seen. After turning on the laptop, a sign-in page appeared on the screen, and both the identity card and a verbal password were required to access the portal.
Roman was very cooperative, and the agents managed to access the portal with his account. Following the jingle, the words ‘Dang Dang Dang the Germinal assistant is at your service.’ flashed on the screen.
Startled, Ye Fan choked on his coffee.
All the agents had confused looks on their faces. No one could have imagined that the portal’s interface would look like that.
Ye Fan didn’t know what to say. “What a cute portal…”
A couple of menus appeared on the server, and due to the low rank of Roman, he could only access a few of them. Winnie found the page that displayed the daily activity log for the military base, and the team became really excited.
There must be important information hidden in the daily logs.
“Let me do it.” Ye Fan instructed Magarnu to plug the chip into the computer, which allowed Ye Fan’s computer to also access the server.
There was a look of seriousness on Ye Fan’s face, and his fingers started to punch the keyboard and input the codes like a butterfly dancing in the air.
Level 1 Firewall, hacked!
Level 2 Firewall, hacked!
Level 3 Firewall, hacked!
One-time-password, hacked!
Rights restrictions, hacked!
Ye Fan gave a slight smile. He was a seasoned hacker in Hesla with hundreds of viruses and bugs in his arsenal. Except for certain servers on the dark web, there was practically no server that could escape his attacks.
In less than three minutes, all the encrypted documents were decoded. At that point, the enemy technicians realized what was happening and started deleting the documents frantically while Ye Fan was copying the files.
In a brief moment, all the documents were deleted. Ye Fan’s computer was too slow and only managed to copy 28% of the documents. The more confidential documents were deleted first.
However, the copied documents contained sufficient intelligence, including defense blueprints, internal structure information, and the military strength of the base.
Ye Fan felt relieved. “Good job and well done! Now it’s time to return.”
The attempt to steal sensitive information about the Dark Crow Valley base would definitely heighten the security of the enemy. However, it was all worth it for the intelligence reports.
But despite the success, there was still a sense of unease in Ye Fan.
It seemed a little… too easy.
…
A member of staff from the central control room of the Dark Crow Valley base reported, “Sir, our external server was hacked.”
The assistant director of the military base was Ji Jie. He was a tall, lanky man with a sly appearance. He proceeded calmly to the screened and asked, “What data was stolen?”
“The daily activity logs, internal structure of the military base, the coordinates of the base, the sentry logs for the base…”
Even though so much critical information had been stolen by the hackers, there was no sign of panic within the base.
“Were the hackers actually from Hesla?”
“The bait is set; now, we are just waiting for the fish.” Ji Jie gave an eerie grin. He was like a hunter, excited to see the prey he had managed to trap.
Ji Jie went into the director’s office and reported the situation to Pan Kuang.
“Our external deceptive server was hacked. I presume the hackers to be from Hesla, and they will probably launch a military invasion soon.”
Pan Kuang was polishing his dark, long machete with his handkerchief. The machete had an icy cold blade and a thick body with its handle wrapped with strips of cloth. There were clear spots of dried blood on the cloth. The machete had been used to slay many enemies throughout the years.
Pan Kuang was fixated on polishing his blade. He then asked calmly, “What do you think we should do?”
Ji Jie cleared his throat and said, “Although the information stolen by the enemy is false, we have unfortunately revealed the existence of the base. Therefore, I hope that the chief can evacuate the base and bring along all necessary equipment and information. In addition, I also recommend that we deal a hard and decisive blow to the existing enemy forces.”
”Ok, just tell me when you need me to fight,” Pan Kuang replied.
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
[Reconnaissance 1 completed, you gained 3,000 EXP]
Han Xiao was woken up by the pop-up message on the screen. He looked out of the car’s window to see it was twilight, and the sky was a grayish blue hue and was gradually getting brighter.
The previous night, Han Xiao had been busy creating new machines and only had two hours of sleep. He took out his water bottle and splashed the water onto his face. The cooling splashes refreshed his senses. Then, he went out of the storage and headed for the base.
Lin Yao had worked throughout the night, and she was exhausted. Qi Bai Jia was next in line for the shift, and he woke up from his nap on the couch.
“How was last night’s operation?” Han Xiao asked.
Lin Yao replied with fatigue, “The bald guy revealed the positions of his comrades to us in the forest, and we managed to apprehend them. Also, we discovered the exact location of the Dark Crow Valley base from the captives’ statements. However, our prisoners are low-ranking personnel, and therefore, they do not have the authority to access confidential files.”
Han Xiao nodded to himself. The outcome was what he expected.
“Is the operation team still in action?”
“Yes, the agents are all still hidden in the forest, waiting for new orders.”
“There is no point waiting in the forest. The agents should return,” said Han Xiao.
Qi Bai Jia, who was munching on his breakfast rations, blurted out, “Hey, I am supposed to be in-charge here.”
“Aren’t you in-charge because you are supposed to take the blame for all of us?” Han Xiao questioned.
Qi Bai Jia choked on his rations. He wanted to rebut Han Xiao but was interrupted by Ye Fan.
“Fellow agents of Division 13, our guys have successfully obtained critical intelligence of the Dark Crow Valley base.”
Qi Bai Jia was puzzled. In less than a day, the Hesla agents had managed to complete the mission. Their efficiency seemed too impressive to be true!
“You guys really secured information about the base?”
Ye Fan nodded in affirmation. “Winna captured an enemy officer. Our operation is done, and we are getting our agents back. After which, we will compile the gathered intelligence and pass the critical information to the military.”
Although it was claimed that the mission was completed, Han Xiao’s tablet indicated that [Reconnaissance 2] was not completed. He frowned and then questioned, “Can you ensure that the information we obtained is accurate and not fake. Also, can you explain the flow of events to us?”
“Of course,” Ye Fan and Winna briefly described the completed operation.
“Don’t you think the mission seemed to be too smooth-sailing?” muttered Han Xiao.
“The mission was indeed easy, but there is nothing especially suspicious. Perhaps, it was a result of the enemy letting their guard down. Also, our mission this time was supposed to be a covert assault.”
“I have second thoughts to the reliability of the information obtained.”
“In our line of work, we must not be too trusting, but you must also back your word with evidence.” The frustrated Ye Fan frowned even harder and ordered, “In any case, we will move out at dawn tomorrow.”
Looking at the Ye Fan’s back as he left, Han Xiao’s face dimmed. He could confirm with hundred-percent certainty that there was something wrong with the intelligence gathered by Ye Fan.
Han Xiao started thinking about the events that Ye Fan had described. Although Winna and her fellow agents were a little too brash with their actions, they had not made any critical mistakes. Therefore, the only possibility was that Dark Crow Valley contained hidden traps that outsiders were unaware of.
Han Xiao unfortunately had no evidence, and even if he voiced his opinions, nobody would believe him.
A mere speculation was insufficient to convince anybody.
“Looks like I have to go and take a look at it myself.”
In the morning, Di Su Su and Winna returned back to the base. Both brought with them their prisoners. Since Roman was an officer, his value exceeded that of all the prisoners brought in by Di Su Su.
Winna beamed with pride like a victor. In her opinion, the operation was likened to a battle between the two countries of agents. It was exhilarating for her that the agents from Hesla had trumped the agents from Stardragon.
The agents from Division 13 were irritated by the arrogance of the agents from Hesla. Li Ya Lin remarked, “If we were the ones in charge of your mission, we would have been winners ourselves.”
Winna smirked. “Accept the sad truth that you guys lost.”
Han Xiao went forward and said, “The information you guys obtained might be fake.”
Even if the agents from Hesla did not believe him, Han Xiao still felt the obligation to voice that fact.
Winna’s face instantly slumped and questioned, “Any evidence?”
“My intuition.”
Everyone was astonished by the answer.
Winna laughed. “Then I guess you have to shut up. Who do you think you are?”
Han Xiao calmly replied, “Do you have any evidence then?”
Winna patted on the shivering Roman and said, “He is my evidence.”
Han Xiao squatted down and gave Roman a thorough scan. It seemed like the Dark Crow Valley base had a master of deception.
Roman did seem to be genuinely frightened, and this showed that he was not providing fake information to the agents on purpose. Therefore, the only reasonable deduction was that the higher-ups of the enemy base had never intended to reveal genuine military information to their lower ranking officials. The sentry guards on the outer circumference of the base were merely posted as bait.
The information obtained by Ye Fan was highly likely to be deceptive.
To uncover the truth, Han Xiao needed to go deeper into the Dark Crow Valley base.
A plan started formulating in Han Xiao’s mind. However, he needed to wait till nightfall to execute the plan.
All the other agents were busy interrogating the prisoners and consolidating the intelligence report. They would leave the next morning. Therefore, he could carry out his plan at night.
…
Night arrived, and the bright moon masked the twinkle of the stars.
Han Xiao told his fellow agents that he wanted to be in the truck.
Nobody replied. The agents of Hesla could not be bothered with him, and the agents from Division 13 were too lazy to say no. Only Zhang Wei said, “Go if you really want to, nobody’s stopping you.”
Han Xiao nodded. After which he proceeded out of the camp. He went into the container and equipped himself with Lambert’s sniper-rifle. He also took other necessary equipment. After a few quick glances, he realized no one was present around the camp. Han Xiao sneaked out into the woods
He did not plan to inform his teammates. Qi Bai Jia would surely not approve of his actions, and this would only create more trouble.
After hours of trekking, he finally reached the stipulated location.
Equipped with his thermo-tracking night vision goggles and camouflage suit, after confirming that there were no enemies around him, he started digging a trench deep enough to fit himself.
After which, Han Xiao took out a small mechanical spider from his toolbox. The mechanical spider was the size of his palm. He flicked the switched, and the mechanical spider immediately stoop up before his eyes as if it was awaiting orders from its master.
[Miniature biological sensor (Spider): Miniature bug-like sensor]
This was the latest creation by Han Xiao. It was a practical tool due to its size, ability to camouflage, and ability to be remotely controlled. It also had thermo-sensors that enabled it to avoid other animals. It was like a walking surveillance camera. Han Xiao was not required to move up close to the sentry, and therefore, he was also less likely to be caught.
Han Xiao took out his tablet computer to remotely control the spiders. He was able to locate the positions of several sentries and most of them were hidden beside trees. Han Xiao pictured the location of the sentries in his mind so that he could come up with an optimal route for the assassination he was going to carry out.
Han Xiao carried the heavy sniper-rifle and trudged through the condensed vegetation. The target was now within the range of the rifle.
Lambert’s rifle had a silencer that allowed it to fire out a large beam of energy at a sound that was as light as a finger knocking on wood. In this dark and condensed vegetation, a seasoned agent would able to spot the any slight movement within the range of one hundred meters. However, Lambert’s rifle could be operated from a distance of eight hundred meters. It was also the main reason that compelled Han Xiao to select this weapon for the mission, which offered greater safety and convenience.
Han Xiao looked into the scope with great concentration and held his breath. The distance somehow did not matter, and Han Xiao could feel the adrenaline rushing through him.
The target was the enemy’s head!
The wind was blowing in 8 o’clock direction!
Wind-speed at 1.3 m/s with a 43 mm inaccuracy!
All the corrections and modifications were completed.
Han Xiao pulled the trigger. His body absorbed all the recoil coming from the butt of the rifle, and his hands gripped the rifle to stabilize it.
Through the thermo-sensing scope, Han Xiao could see that the bullet had managed to hit the target. The target had instantly lost his head, and blood was spurting out.
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
The bullet from the heavy sniper pierced through the target’s head. Like a watermelon pounded by a hammer, the head disintegrated into bits and pieces.
Through the video feed transmitted from the spider, Han Xiao adjusted his position and stabilized himself again, before firing a shot at another sentry guard. One shot after another, the sentry guards were eliminated. The interface flashed with each successful kill made by Han Xiao.
_____________________
The sudden blast is charged up to 200% and ready to be deployed.
The enemy has been successfully eliminated by the fatal blast. You have dealt 190 points of damage to the enemy.
You have successfully eliminated the sentry guard. 500 EXP gained from the attack.
_____________________
The sudden blast is charged up to 200% and ready to be deployed.
The enemy has been successfully eliminated by the fatal blast. You have dealt 201 points of damage to the enemy.
You have successfully eliminated the sentry guard. 500 EXP gained from the attack.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
These level 10 sentry guards were merely ordinary troops. Their fighting abilities were similar to those of the guards back at the lab where Han Xiao had once been held captive. Han Xiao had no issues wiping out the lab guards back then. Likewise, he had no problems now.
One after another, the sentry guards were killed, and Han Xiao gained 18,000 EXP from the kills.
[Forest Assassin mission completed, you gained 18,000 EXP.]
The mission proceeded smoothly. After killing so many sentry guards, reinforcements were bound to arrive… and there they came!
The Spider detected three fully-armed quick-response teams approaching in their jeeps. After the jeeps pulled up, the team members hopped down and started conducting thorough searches.
The sentry guards had their earpieces, which enabled them to connect main communications network. If a sentry guard was killed, their radio channel would fall silent. If a large number of channels operated by the sentry guards fell silent, it would raise suspicions at the Dark Crow Valley Base, which would dispatch quick-response teams to the field to investigate the situation in response.
Han Xiao predicted that once the quick-response teams discovered the murdered sentry-guards, they would start searching intensely. Through the ‘eyes’ of the Spider, which he shifted up the tree, he could observe that the troopers were equipped with Jackson machine guns, high-explosive grenades, and RPG rocket launchers. Instantly, Han Xiao called off the plan of challenging these heavily armed troopers
It was the perfect time for Han Xiao to flee.
Han Xiao disassembled the heavy sniper and lugged it onto his shoulders. Clad in his camouflage suit, he sneakily shuffled to the trench he had dug. He transferred all the unnecessary accessories into the toolbox and then dumped both his sniper rifle and toolbox into the trench.
At that instant, the search-teams discovered the headless sentry guards. The armed troopers immediately started searching warily, using the torchlights on their machine guns.
The tree beside the trench was Han Xiao’s hiding spot. The spot had been carefully selected by Han Xiao. It was at the edge of the high-alert sector. The further away from the enemy base, the more dispersed the enemy troopers would be. It was likely that the troopers would search the area alone.
The rays of a torchlight flashed beside the tree. Han Xiao gradually lowered his body and held the thin metal wires tightly. He concentrated all the energy in his legs and was preparing to launch himself forward like a mantis.
The moment the trooper’s foot crossed the tree’s body, Han Xiao moved his body like a phantom and instantly went behind the sentry guard. Although the enemy had already detected Han Xiao’s movement and had intended to fire at him and call for help, Han Xiao reacted faster and managed to strangle the trooper by coiling the metal cables around the trooper’s neck.
Han Xiao then kicked the trooper’s machine gun to one side. After which, he wrestled the trooper to the ground. The trooper’s entire upper body was resting beneath his knees.
The suffocation caused the trooper’s face to turn purple. It was as if the blood was going to burst out of the vessels. At this point in time, the metal cables had already pierced into the flesh of the trooper. The trooper waved his hands hysterically, trying to grab Han Xiao by any means, but it was to no avail. The trooper’s eyes also flipped upwards.
Han Xiao maintained the tension until the interface indicated that the trooper was dead.
Throughout the entire process, he had managed to keep the struggling trooper silent.
Han Xiao quickly changed into the trooper’s uniform. The trooper was a Caucasian of similar height to himself. He quickly used his pocket knife to trim his hair. After which, he straightened his collar and pulled the sleeves tight to ensure none of his skin was showing, since he was of a different skin tone from the trooper. He then used his finger to tap his forehead to activate the face scanner. A light beam emerged from his forehead and scanned the dead trooper’s face.
Replicate the scan!
Almost immediately, Han Xiao’s face morphed into that of the trooper!
That was the trump card to be used in his successful infiltration.
He dumped the dead trooper’s body and the unwanted accessories into a hole and buried the contents. He then marked out the area. Han Xiao, clad in a trooper’s uniform, made his way forward blatantly. He could also clearly hear the conversations on the enemy’s communication channel.
“This is H103 reporting. Everything is fine in the northwest sector.”
“This is H141 reporting. Everything is fine in the southeast sector.”
The call-sign of the trooper that Han Xiao had killed was H223. Han Xiao made his report in a similar fashion using his suppressed voice.
“H223, what happened to your voice?” A man that seemed to be his captain spoke.
“I have a sore throat.”
After ‘searching’ the area for a while, Han Xiao was recalled. More than twenty troopers gathered at the jeep, and Han Xiao had not yet raised any suspicions.
The captain asked, “None of you found anything?”
“No sir,” the troopers replied.
The captain frowned and said, “Get in the car. Let’s head back to base.”
Han Xiao squinted. He had managed to infiltrate the team, and it was all part of his plan to enter the Dark Crow Valley base.
…
The car drove into a cave, and three minutes later, an unexpected sight appeared before Han Xiao’s eyes.
There was something special about the cave; it was actually a mini car-park.
The jeep pulled over, and the troopers alighted from it. Han Xiao tagged along with the team and came before a wall of rocks. The captain pulled out a rock that was actually a modified metal casing that contained a card-scanner.
The captain scanned his identity card, and following a boom, the rock wall split open. At this point, Han Xiao realized that the rock wall was a metal gate in disguise. The gate was sprayed with a greyish paint, and it looked very much like a rock. One would be unable to tell the difference if he or she did not examine the wall closely.
How strange. This looks exactly like what the agents from Hesla reported.
Han Xiao was confused. All of this had actually been detailed in Ye Fan’s intelligence reports. It was all accurate information. However, why did the interface claim that ‘Reconnaissance 2’ was not yet completed?
What was the problem exactly? Could it be something to do with the time? Perhaps the base appeared differently at different times of the day?
Han Xiao proceeded together with the rest, and they came upon a gantry. After scanning his identity card, he was finally into the base.
The base was hidden deep in the ground. It was supported by metallic structure, which added a cool greyish tone everywhere. There were winding corridors and many rooms. The troopers were busy transporting containers of items.
Han Xiao lifted his head, and he could see a surveillance camera positioned at the corner of the ceiling. He retracted his neck instinctively.
Going behind enemy lines alone was tough, and Han Xiao prayed for the success of his operation.
So, now that I am in the base, what shall I do next? Hang around aimlessly or chat someone up… better not. Chatting with someone will likely reveal my identity. What information am I hunting for exactly? Since for ‘Reconnaissance 2’, I am supposed to uncover critical intelligence with regards to the Dark Crow Valley base, there must be some loopholes here! Since the low-ranking officers serve merely as bait, most of the people are not likely to have access to important information. I need to find someone that looks and acts differently from the rest.
Once this thought flashed in Han Xiao’s mind, he started wandering about the base, carefully examining every inch.
…
“13 sentry guards were killed?”
Ji Jie frowned in disbelief. Based on his prediction, since the enemy agents had obtained the necessary intelligence, they would not kill any sentry guards. Unless, they were suspicious of the information they stole.
It appeared that these invaders were indeed meticulous and careful with their actions.
Ji Jie shook his head and said proudly, “But they are still greenhorns.”
The double-server network was the best trap Ji Jie had ever planted during his stint as the assistant officer in-charge of the base. Its sole purpose was to prevent invaders from attacking, and now, the security network’s effect was finally showing.
If only false information was planted, it would only raise the suspicions of the invading agents. Therefore, to deceive his enemies, Ji Jie was willing to risk his life and included some true information in the bait. The information included were the exact location of the base, the deployment of the sentry guards, and defense mechanisms in the third and sixth high-alert sectors. To successfully trick the enemies, a certain degree of true information needed to be weaved in with the false. The final two sectors had defense mechanisms with firepower that was more than ten times stronger than the rest. There was also another trump card.
“The chief has approved the path of the retreat. Reinforcements will arrive in five days. That will also be the day for the retreat. For now, let’s deliver a huge present to Hesla.”
The main forces of the Germinal organization were concentrated on the continent of Andrea. The Germinal Organization had also covertly extended its influence to the other continents through setting up secret facilities and bases. These bases remained hidden, and if they were discovered, the Germinal Organization would order the retreat as it was impossible for a single facility to withstand the raids from the military forces of the six nations.
Ji Jie was highly confident of his trap. He was not afraid to expose real information and the location of the base. He had one trump card in his hand. All the other troopers, and even the base itself, could be sacrificed in order to deal a strategic and painful blow to Hesla.
chickenpau Editor: Millman97
The more nervous he was, the harder it would be for him to infiltrate without being exposed. Han Xiao had many experiences infiltrating enemy bases. Thus, he was very calm and walked as fast as blowing wind, without alarming anyone.
He gradually understood more about the base after exploring it for a while. The base was hidden at the hill side, and it was about five to six times larger than the laboratory that he used to stay in. The base had two exits: one was the entrance that he took; the other was a side gate for the individual personnel to access the outside world conveniently.
Not knowing why, Han Xiao felt that some places in the base were unusual. However, he could not pinpoint the exact reasons.
Most of the personnel had a serious face, as if they were expecting an incoming storm. They were loading up important supplies hurriedly.
“Have you heard? The higher ups want us to evacuate the base. It seems like Hesla’s agents have found us.”
“They mentioned that the spy stationed at Crow Forest Town lost contact. I think a battle is going to happen soon.”
Han Xiao heard some voices as he turned a corner. A few armed guards were gathered together and having a discussion. They looked worried. As they saw Han Xiao, one of the guards shouted, “Hey Mandela, did you guys find anything from the search inside?”
Mandela was H223’s real name. He was a Caucasian. Han Xiao covered his skins fully with his uniform so that the rest would not get suspicious.
These few guards seemed to be acquainted with Mandela. “The sentry guards outside were all shot in the head by a sniper. We still haven’t uncovered the enemy. I bet it was done by the Hesla agents,” lied Han Xiao while innocently blinking.
The guards looked troubled. They were all armed personnel, so if the enemy were to strike, they had to be at the frontline to defend the base.
“I am so jealous of the non-military personnel. They get to evacuate the base first.” One of the guards was disgruntled with his circumstances.
Light flashed in Han Xiao’s eyes. Since they were up against an army from Hesla, it was predicted that the enemy was going to evacuate the base. Furthermore, this was only a supplemental base, not a main one; it was impossible for everyone to stay back and fight to their death.
However, evacuation was not an easy feat; too many people leaving at the same time risked leaving trails in the forest for the Hesla army to track. So, it was essential to leave some military personnel to stay behind and cover their tracks, while the officers and non-military personnel leave first with important supplies, which were more valuable than those armed guards. They would only get to leave after the more important personnel had evacuated safely.
The final Camp-Destroyer mission was to destroy the entire base, which included their personnel. If they only took hold of an empty base, the completion rating of the mission would be really low.
A thought suddenly occurred in Han Xiao’s mind. They already know Hesla is going to attack the base; they should have evacuated by now. Ye Fan’s team infiltrated the base last night, which was twenty-four hours ago. They should have had enough time to leave. This is strange.
A muscular-looking guy walked over and shouted, “What are you idling here for‽ Don’t you have things to carry‽”
The guards apologized in great trepidation. It was the captain of the base’s security team, Dormund, a buff Sharnuk.
A core member like him would definitely know the secrets about this base.
Dormund left after some reprimanding, and Han Xiao followed from a distance behind. After turning a few corners, Han Xiao was dumbfounded. He barely looked away for two seconds, and Dormund was already missing from his sight.
There was no one on the walkway, only a storage room.
Han Xiao walked over to the room and turned the knob. It was not locked.
He pushed the door open and walked inside. The room was about a hundred square meters, and it was filled with miscellaneous items, with no one else inside. The lamp was not switched on, and the light from the walkway shined through gap beneath the door.
Han Xiao knitted his brows as he suddenly realized something unusual.
The room was spotless, and the floor was clear of any footprints.
Normally, very few individuals would go into the storage room. Even five-star hotels would not send people to clean their storage unit like this, so it was impossible for the Germinal Organization to keep an ordinary storage room as immaculate as this.
There must be a secret door somewhere here. Otherwise, Dormund would not have disappeared so quickly. But Han Xiao could not locate the door.
What would be behind the secret door?
All of a sudden, Han Xiao pretended to cough while bending his back. He took this chance to take out the Spider from his pocket. He then threw it into the corner silently before leaving the room immediately. He took out his tablet in a spot that was hidden from the surveillance cameras, switched the Spider on, and stared at the storage room.
It took Han Xiao two hours of high intensity monitoring, during which he started to become quite weary, before that was some movement in the storage room.
One of the walls creaked open, and a secret metal door was shown. Two people, unarmed, walked out. They seemed to be technical staff.
There is my secret door.
As the two personnel left the room hurriedly, Han Xiao followed behind quietly. He suddenly sped up to bump onto the staff from the back. Three of them almost fell.
“Sorry. Sorry. I am really sorry about this,” Han Xiao apologized as he stabilized the two staff with his hands.
They did not make a fuss over it and left.
Han Xiao turned around to continue following them. However, this time round, he had gotten a white card. It was an access card from the pocket of one of the two staff.
His stealing skill had come in really handy.
This card had no noticeable difference from the ordinary identity card from the base. However, Han Xiao believed that the chip inside should be different; it should have access to the secret door.
He followed the two staff for a while and arrived at the side gate of the base. The two greeted the door guard and left through the gate.
All of a sudden, Han Xiao realized what was wrong with the base.
Atmosphere!
Although most people were worried sick over the incoming Hesla attack, a small group of personnel still held on to their posts without any anxiety. They seemed to have some backup plans and were as calm as the sea—greatly contrasting the first group of personnel.
Han Xiao squinted and soon arrived at a reasonable deduction. However, he still needed some evidence to confirm his thought. He went forth toward the side gate before the door guard stopped him.
“You are not allowed to enter or leave the base without a mission.”
Han Xiao took out the access card he had stolen and said, “I bumped into those two people just now, and they dropped this card. I want to return it to them before they walk away.”
The door guard nodded his head before allowing Han Xiao to go.
Han Xiao walked out of the gate and saw a forested valley; it was already past midnight. The two staff were few hundred meters away, so one could only see their tiny back view. He chased them up quickly.
The staff turned around as they heard footsteps coming from behind and looked guarded.
“You dropped your access card.”
As Han Xiao walked near, they realized that he was the colleague that they bumped into in the base beforehand. They let down their guard. One of the duo searched his pockets and exclaim, “Where did I drop the card‽ Thank you very much.”
“You don’t have to thank me. We are all comrades of the Germinal Organization, working hard to build a new tomorrow. This is just a part of my job.”
Han Xiao smiled as he walked closer to them.
“You are quite an interesting guy.”
The person laughed while he moved his hand over to grab the card. Han Xiao’s face instantly turned serious, and he launched his attack all of a sudden. His fist punched hard onto the person’s stomach, injuring the internal organs with its shear force. The person stared with astonishment, as his vomited. The other person almost screamed before Han Xiao quickly grabbed his neck to choke him. He them slammed his head onto the floor and slapped them as hard as could, knocking them out.
Han Xiao took off his belt to tie the two personnel. He dragged them behind him while taking a big detour to avoid all the sentry posts. As soon as he had moved far enough away from the base, he slapped the two awake.
They woke up with faces full of horror. “You…you are not from the base!”
Han Xiao took out his foldable machete and rubbed its blade. He was clearly threatening them. He said in an ice-cold voice, “I know the two of you know something that the ordinary members are kept in the dark about. You’d better tell me honestly now.”
They gulped in fear and stuttered, “We are just low-ranking members who do not know anything.”
“Low-ranking?” Han Xiao laughed before he moved his knife swiftly toward one man’s crotch.
“Ahhhh…”
The person screamed as if his soul was tearing apart, like a pig that was being butchered. But he suddenly realized he was not in pain. He looked down and saw the shiny blade had grazed past his inner thigh and cut into the soil beneath. It was only three centimeters from his genitalia. His crouch could feel the chill from the cold metal blade.
“I know that is a secret door in the storage room. Tell me everything you know, or I will make you the first eunuch in the Germinal Organization,” Han Xiao said in a murderous tone.
Although they did not know what a eunuch was, Han Xiao’s action was quite telling. They were badly shaken up immediately.
“How… how did you learn about the secret door‽”
“I am the one asking questions.” Han Xiao lifted his machete to brush his genitalia gently, as if he would just lop it off at any moment. He was so frightened that he almost peed his pants and… He really peed his pants? Damn… my machete!
The two staff looked crestfallen. Since the secret was out, there was no point in hiding. They spilled the intel as they trembled in fear.
After ten minutes…
Han Xiao’s brows were knitted tightly together.
“No wonder…”
[Reconnaissance 2 completed. You gained 8,000 EXP]
chickenpau Editor: Millman97
Dawn, at the secret base…
All the agents were busy packing their equipment as it was time for them to evacuate.
“Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao! Where are you?” Lin Yao slapped on the door of the truck’s container. He looked frustrated. He had been trying to find Han Xiao for the past fifteen minutes, but his efforts had been futile. The rest of the agents from Division 13 were running out of patience.
“He is not in the truck. Where could he possibly have gone?” Li Ya Lin was puzzled.
Everyone looked at one another and did not have a single clue.
Last night, Han Xiao had mentioned that he wanted to stay on the truck, but now, he was not there. What exactly did he do last night?
“What is your team’s plan?” Qi Bai Jia said to Zhang Wei’s team.
“We are going to stay back to wait for his return,” Zhang Wei replied.
“Is there a need to do so?” Di Su Su was rather surprised.
“Because the truck key is with him!” Zhang Wei was gnashing his teeth in great anger, and the vein on his forehead was about to pop at any moment.
Everyone was rendered speechless, not sure whether they were lucky or unlucky to have such a member on their team.
Qi Bai Jia was very displeased as he hated any unexpected changes during a mission. Just when he thought Han Xiao had a clear understanding of the big picture, he caused trouble like this.
I must be blind! Any team member who acts on their own accord without following any order is a rascal!
If something went haywire, Qi Bai Jia would have to assume the responsibility!
Han Xiao was such a jackass!
…
The Hesla agents stationed on the other side discovered Division 13’s unusual behavior, and they started discussing secretly.
“Some of the Division 13’s agents are intending to stay behind.”
“I thought we agreed to move together?” Ye Fan frowned. He went to find Qi Bai Jia to get an answer on this. After which, he came back and explained the reason to the Hesla agents.
“Who is the agent missing?”
“It was the agent that was wearing the mask; his name is Han Xiao.”
“It’s him.” Winna’s face suddenly tensed up, and said, “Last night, when we received the intel, Han Xiao rejected it without any supporting evidence, and then he was gone for the whole night without leaving a message. This seems quite suspicious. Is it possible that he is a… spy?”
All the Hesla agents startled.
“Be careful of your words.” Ye Fan frowned. He did not buy that deduction, but Han Xiao’s actions definitely aroused his suspicion. “We will report all the facts to the commanding officer when we get back to the army camp.”
….
After all the other agents left, Zhang Wei and the other three teammates stayed back at the base.
Lin Yao could not help asking, “Where did Han Xiao go and what is he going to do exactly?”
“How would I know? He did not say anything to me last night.” Li Ya Lin rolled her eyes.
Zhang Wei shook his head as he felt irritated; that guy had zero respect for his team leader!
…
The other agents arrived at the border several hours later.
Winna and Ye Fan went to report to Colonel Carl immediately.
“A Division 13 agent was missing for the entire night?” Colonel Carl walked back and forth, and his brows furrowed.
“Is this 100% true?” he asked.
Winna nodded. “He left last night without telling anyone, and it was right after we uncovered the intel about the Dark Crow Valley base.”
“Although it seems suspicious, this does not mean that he is a spy,” Ye Fan added.
Colonel Carl nodded slowly. “I will go and clarify this with Stardragon a while later. Now, tell me more about the intel.”
“The captive that we brought in passed our lie detector test, which means that everything he said was true. Furthermore, Ye Fan personally hacked their network to gather all this intel. We can guarantee its authenticity!” said Winna.
Colonel Carl’s eyes turned sharp as he said decisively, “Then let’s attack immediately before anything changes!”
Ye Fan was hesitant. “The Division 13 agents left at the secret base will be in danger if the army attacks now.”
“To achieve our strategic objective, it is reasonable to sacrifice one or two people from Stardragon. Since they are not from our country, we need not care so much.” Colonel Carl did not give it a second thought.
At the same time, after taking a long, indirect route, Han Xiao finally brought the two captives to where he had hidden his toolbox, bypassing all the detectors and sentry posts. The whole journey had been arduous and onerous; he was so tired by then that he almost wanted to puke blood. The captives were not wearing camouflage suits, so he’d had to spend hours to bypass the alert areas.
Fortunately, they were the technical staff in charge of the testing detectors and landmines, so they provided much valuable information. Otherwise, he would not have left without alerting anyone.
However, the captives had tried to lure him into a high-alert area to expose him once, but he’d realized immediately. He had punished them harshly before they cooperated fully with him.
The Sun was shining brightly above the sky. Han Xiao calculated the time and sighed. “Crap, I went beyond the stipulated time. I guess all the other agents have already left.”
He dug out his toolbox and took out his radio equipment to contact Zhang Wei.
“Hello. Hello. Yangtze River. Yangtze River. This is Yellow River. Please reply if you can hear me.”
“Yellow your head!” Zhang Wei’s fury could be heard through the earpiece. “Where exactly did you go? You were missing for the whole night, and all the other agents left. We could only stay at the base and wait for you!”
“That’s right. You’d better make up for this. I want new equipment!” Li Ya Lin chimed in on the radio channel. One could hear the annoyance in her voice and imagine her pouting; it was actually a little cute.
Han Xiao shook his head and started acting more seriously. “I infiltrated the Dark Crow Valley base and discovered top-classified intel!”
“Let me get Officer Qi for you,” Zhang Wei said with a look of solemnity.
…
Qi Bai Jia received the radio message at the border army camp.
“Zhang Wei, what are you calling me for? Is Han Xiao back?” he asked.
“He wants to speak with you.”
“He’d better cook up a good explanation for his actions.” Qi Bai Jia was clearly displeased.
After Han Xiao was connected to the channel, he said, “I just received the intel saying that the Dark Crow Valley base has two sectors: the outer sector and the inner sector. The outer sector is where all the low-ranking personnel work, while the inner sector is where the core members stationed themselves. The inner sector is hidden deeper in the mountainous valley, and the low-ranking personnel outside are not even aware of its existence. The information about the inner sector is classified for all the low-ranking personnel, and the path connecting the two sectors is always blocked…”
The two captives had told him that the base was divided into two sectors. The inner sector was hidden deeper in the mountains, where all the important supplies were stored. It was the real core of the base. The higher ups in the base did not tell the periphery personnel anything about the inner base. So, it was a secret to many of the Germinal Organization personnel. In their previous lives, the ‘real’ players did not even know the existence of the inner base.
The inner base had many evacuation routes. The core members could leave without leaving a trace. They were very cunning in the sense that each of these roads was classified. Nobody knew which path they would take before the actual evacuation was decided by the top leadership of the base.
Qi Bai Jia understood the importance of this information immediately. If Hesla did not know about the existence of the inner sector of the base and the army went ahead to attack the outer base, they would simply retreat when they took down the outer base, declaring it a military success. In that case, the core force of the enemy would be entirely unharmed, and the inner base would remain safe. The enemy could move back secretly in the future, ensuring that hideout was secure from the enemies.
Qi Bai Jia was dumbfounded. He could not believe that Han Xiao’s solo act could bear such critical intel!
“Cough, cough. Even though it was a move well played, I still have to emphasize that it is unacceptable to act on your own without any orders.
“Hold on for a while. I will report this to the commanding officer immediately!”
Qi Bai Jia was stopped by the deputy officer when he requested to meet Colonel Carl. He waited anxiously for five minutes before was allowed to go into the office. He realized Ye Fan and Winna were there too.
Colonel Carl looked at Qi Bai Jia and asked, “What do you have for me?”
“One of my team members just discovered some critical information that needs to be reported to you.”
“Han Xiao?”
“Yes.”
Qi Bai Jia nodded, but he did not realize that the other three started having a weird look.
Colonel Carl’s eyes flickered. “Speak.”
Han Xiao repeated what he said before, and at the end, he added, “If we attack brashly, we will only take down an empty shell. I hope we can pause the operation until our guys get hold of the enemy’s evacuation time, evacuation route, and the detailed structure of the inner base. By doing so, we can directly kill their evacuating troops and prevent a direct attack against their fortification. This will greatly reduce our casualties.”
Colonel Carl was expressionless after he heard everything.
“Where did you get this intel from?” he suddenly asked.
“I infiltrated the base by disguising my face, and I managed to capture two personnel from the inner base…”
All of a sudden, Colonel Carl yelled, “You are lying!”
To Colonel Carl, it was impossible for Han Xiao to infiltrate, even if he said he could disguise his face. It would take at least tens of minutes to make a legitimate face mask. During that time frame, Han Xiao would have faced all kinds of danger. At the same time, he could not predict which enemy he would encounter next, so it was impossible for him to make the face mask beforehand. So, it was an impossible situation that Han Xiao could never achieve.
Han Xiao was startled. He realized that these people did not know the capability of his Facial Simulator.
The function of the Facial Simulator was his trump card. He would not divulge such information. However, without exposing it, he could not explain the details of his infiltration.
“I have the capability to do so.” Han Xiao had to give an ambiguous answer.
“Unless you can demonstrate, there is no way we can believe you.”
Colonel Carl was still expressionless, but he was more untrusting of Han Xiao’s words.
This person… is really suspicious!
chickenpau Editor: Millman97
Han Xiao’s brows furrowed.
“Do you have any evidence to support your claim?” Qi Bai Jia quickly provided a solution as he trusted Han Xiao. However, Hesla had a different position. Both parties were mutually untrusting toward each other.
Han Xiao paused and said, “I have two captives with me. You can test them with a lie detector to confirm that I am not lying.”
Colonel Carl squinted. “Well then, you can bring them over.”
Qi Bai Jia heaved a sigh of relief. Although he was skeptical of how Han Xiao had managed to infiltrate the base, he chose to believe that Han Xiao had his own ways.
Fortunately, he had captives to prove to them that what he said was true.
However, after the radio connection was cut off, Colonel Carl told his deputy, “Order the troops to move out. Our target will be the Dark Crow Valley.”
Qi Bai Jia was stunned—it was the complete opposite of what was previously promised.
Colonel Carl was reluctant to explain his rationale. It would take Han Xiao a few hours to bring the so-called captives in, and if Han Xiao was to play tricks and delay further, the enemies from the Dark Crow Valley base might seize the opportunity to evacuate completely before his troops could reach the target. As the commanding officer, he would not simply alter his decision based on certain unverified intel.
He was more inclined to trust Ye Fan’s intel; it had witnesses, evidence, and originated from reliable sources.
Colonel Carl believed that he would not risk any damage for moving out earlier even if Han Xiao was right. Han Xiao could still bring the captives to him. The only difference was that the base would be on high alert earlier, and that would cause danger to Han Xiao’s team.
But, he didn’t care about the lives of a bunch of Stardragon agents. Even if they were killed, the Hesla top-level officers would not look into it. Someone from Hesla would naturally block the protests from Division 13.
Furthermore, Han Xiao had already provided the information about the inner base. Colonel Carl did not give a hoot whether or not Han Xiao could prove his story. He could verify this information himself after he took down the base.
“My men are still stationed near the base. Your rash attack will put them in great danger!” Qi Bai Jia was clearly enraged.
“Such a great opportunity may pass at any moment. We cannot risk a delay because of one or two agents. Since they are agents themselves, I am sure they can understand the bigger picture,” Carl replied calmly.
“Objection!”
Qi Bai Jia’s face was filled with anger.
“It’s not your place to disagree.” Carl pressed on an electric bell to summon a section of troopers; they pointed their rifles at Qi Bai Jia. “Send our ‘friends’ from Stardragon to the vehicles. We will move out together later. I do not want them to communicate with anyone else as that may leak our plan, so remove all of their communication devices.”
Carl emphasized the word ‘friends’ to stress his point.
Qi Bai Jia was so furious that his body started shaking vigorously.
“Sigh. How did things come to this stage?” Ye Fan was bereft of words. Han Xiao had suggested a conservative method, while Carl was more radical. Neither was wrong, but Carl was the commanding officer, and Han Xiao was only a subordinate. Furthermore, they were not from Hesla.
Winna watched coldly from the side.
….
After the connection was cut off, Han Xiao’s face blackened.
He had a hunch; Carl was a radical commanding officer, so he would most likely attack in advance.
This guy is eager for a quick success. Han Xiao was clearly irked. It seemed like he had to complete the mission by himself since time was running out.
However, he only knew about the existence of inner base but not the enemy’s evacuation route and time. He needed to infiltrate again to gather more information.
This time, Han Xiao did not plan to accomplish it himself. To achieve his plan, infiltrating alone was not the optimal option.
The best option for a partner was actually Lin Yao, a hacker that could be planted inside the base. Like a computer virus, he could cut the enemy’s communication network at the critical junctures, rendering them blind and deaf.
Therefore, he had to make two facial masks based on the two captives. There were molds and make-up tools in the truck storage. Thus, he could craft the masks in an hour or so.
Han Xiao forced his mind to focus and used his remaining energy to drag the two captives toward their secret base. He reached it in the afternoon, and his teammates came out to welcome him.
“Are you alright?” Lin Yao quickly came forward to support the exhausted Han Xiao.
Han Xiao shook his head and said, “There is not much time left. We need to make two facial masks based on the captives. Lin Yao and Lambert will use their identity cards to infiltrate the inner base. I will explain the details later.”
“Brother Xiao…Brother Xiao, I have no experience in spying. Can you give the job to another person? ” Lin Yao’s face turned pale due to the overwhelming fear.
“You are our only hacker, so it has got to be you.”
Lin Yao looked petrified.
“I will take the other slot.” Li Ya Lin volunteered herself.
Han Xiao peeked at her and shook his head without any hesitation.
“What are you trying imply? Are you looking down on me?” Li Ya Lin was infuriated.
“These things are too big, making them hard to conceal.” Han Xiao pointed at her breasts.
Li Ya Lin was speechless.
Lin Yao anxiously grabbed onto Han Xiao’s sleeve and said in a hopeful voice, “Brother Xiao, are you going in with me then?”
“Nah. I won’t. This mission is too dange… cough… too simple for me. It is not challenging enough for me!”
You definitely said something fishy there! Lin Yao and Li Ya Lin were screaming in their hearts.
“I shall do it then,” Zhang Wei said.
Han Xiao shook his head again. “No, you can’t. No one else can operate the armored suit. And, you are the team leader.”
” Oh , so you still know that I’m the team leader?” Zhang Wei gave a bitter smile. Ever since the appearance of Han Xiao, he had become a mere figurehead.
There was only one possible candidate left.
“It has been decided that it will be you!” Han Xiao pointed at Lambert.
“…” Lambert.
“Oh my god. I am definitely going to die.” Lin Yao was exasperated.
Lambert slapped the back of Lin Yao’s head with an expressionless look as he was unhappy with Lin Yao’s attitude at the decision; he made it seem so much worse than choosing Han Xiao.
…
One of the team members drove the truck closer toward Dark Crow Valley so that they didn’t need to walk so far, while the rest were busy putting on make-up to disguise the two unlucky souls. They parked the truck right outside the alert zone.
After more than an hour, Lambert and Lin Yao’s disguises were completed. They looked exactly like the two captives. After putting on micro-earphones, they held the access cards and entered the Dark Crow Valley base from the side gate.
“Brother Xiao, how concrete is this plan?” Lin Yao asked Han Xiao softly.
“If you dream of its success with sincerity, you will make it.”
Lin Yao felt a clot of blood stuck in his throat as he was made speechless by that answer. He turned to Lambert for more assurance.
“Are you not afraid?” Lin Yao asked Lambert in a quiet voice.
“To accomplish the mission, we must try even if there was only a slight possibility of success,” Lambert said calmly.
“Well said. You seem to be very dedicated to the mission.”
“…” Lambert.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the gate. Lin Yao was so nervous that his jaw was trembling.
“Will we get exposed?”
“The more nervous you appear, the easier it will be for you to be exposed.” Lambert patted Lin Yao’s shoulder and reassured him.
Lin Yao took out his access card after he had gathered his senses.
The security guards checked the access cards, and shortly after, they opened the gate for them.
They then walked to the storage room under Han Xiao’s instruction. They found the access card reader and successfully opened the secret door using the two captives’ access cards. A metal pathway appeared before them.
The pathway was long; it took them ten minutes to reach the inner base.
The defenses were much tighter in the inner base, and many computer screens were seen hung on the walls. The enemy personnel were busy moving supplies and data.
Lambert and Lin Yao looked each other in the eye.
Now, they were really deep inside the enemy’s base!
All of a sudden, a screeching alarm was heard in the base, and the lights turned red.
Lin Yao was scared to death as he thought that they had been discovered. Lambert frowned slightly and held onto Lin Yao.
“Calm down. The alarm was not triggered by us,” he said softly.
The personnel in the base were whispering to one another.
“What is happening?”
“Is the enemy invading us?”
Ji Jie walked out calmly and updated everyone, “Be quiet. Hesla’s border troops are advancing toward the base. The military personnel in the outer base have already set up the necessary defenses. They will be able to hold our enemy back long enough for us to get ready to evacuate.
Lin Yao’s expression changed, and he whispered anxiously over the radio, “You guys must leave now!”
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
As expected, Carl did not choose to wait; instead, he ordered the early deployment of his troops.
Zhang Wei violently slammed the tabled and screamed, “Damn it! It took Han Xiao so much effort to obtain the critical intelligence, but now this lot are going to leave us in the lurch!”
Such a scenario had been predicted by Han Xiao, and therefore, he looked rather calm. The rest were puzzled when they saw Han Xiao being so composed. Through the communication set, he ordered Lin Yao and Lambert, “You guys remain undercover. Always keep your safety at the front of your mind. We are going to retreat soon.”
“Copy that!”
There was an air of uneasiness around Zhang Wei and Li Ya. The truck was parked not far away from the Dark Crow Valley base, and once the base entered the battle mode, more enemy troopers would be deployed. The tracks of the truck would definitely be discovered quickly.
There was no time to waste.
“Li Ya Lin, you are in charge of driving the truck!”
Li Ya Lin was a pugilist, and she would not be able to launch attacks while they were driving anyway. Therefore, she did not disagree with Han Xiao’s decision.
Han Xiao and Zhang Wei stayed in the container, where they were able to carry out their strikes at the enemy.
Li Ya Lin stepped hard on the accelerator, making no effort to cover their tracks. The engine of the truck blared, and the tires started to spray the mud and soil from the ground. The truck moved forward loudly.
In a while, the sounds of approaching vehicles could be heard. The retreating party could feel the heavy beating of their hearts. Through the window, Han Xiao could see a large group of armored jeeps chasing behind their truck. The headlights of these jeeps could be seen flashing around the truck. There were more than ten jeeps around, and each had a heavy machine gun attached.
“We have been discovered.” Zhang Wei’s heart sank.
Han Xiao was not affected by the heavy rocking of the moving truck. He started preparing the weapons to be used for the impending battle.
“Drive fast, Ya Lin!” Zhang Wei yelled.
“I know!” Li Ya Lin replied, biting her lips. She was trying to change gear to speed up even more. The full power of the truck’s engine was unleashed, and it growled like an enraged beast. The anti-slip tires left deep marks in the moist ground. The uneven, hilly terrain and winding paths caused the truck’s body to spring away from its tires as a result of the shock absorbance effect created by the vehicle’s suspension. Even with the suspension working well, the truck rocked violently.
Han Xiao peeked out of the window in the container and saw the enemy’s jeeps closing in.
“Can’t you go faster?” Zhang Wei shouted.
“This is a truck, not a sports car!” Li Ya Lin was evidently irritated by Zhang Wei’s comments.
“The four buttons beside the gear lever can be used to activate the nitro boost,” Han Xiao said.
“You added nitro boost to the truck‽” Li Ya Lin was shocked yet excited to try it out.
“Do not activate the boost now. We are still travelling through dense vegetation, and you may destroy the truck with it. Use this to pick up more speed once we reach the plains!”
Da da da da…
The enemy troopers from the jeeps started firing their machine guns. Thick smoke emerged from the guns’ barrels. Countless enemy bullets were sprayed at them. However, the shots fired from further away were largely inaccurate. The firing encompassed a huge radius, and trees along the way were getting destroyed. Some bullets also managed to scrape the surface of the container, and sparks were created from friction.
Li Ya Lin glanced at the rear mirror, and the next moment, the rear mirror was destroyed by a bullet. She cursed in silence. The heavy truck was difficult to control; it rocked violently as she tried to evade the oncoming trees that were obstructing the path. She could feel the pain in her butt due to all the incessant vibrations of the vehicle. The contents of the truck were flying all around, and Han Xiao had to use locks to fasten the weapons and machinery in place.
The two prisoners were sitting at the corner of the container, trembling profusely.
The Sun was setting, and it looked as if the skies had been stained red with blood.
Dozens of armored jeeps were engaged in the intense pursuit of the fleeing truck. The enemy troopers were fast approaching, and bullets were fired everywhere; gunshots could be heard all over the forest. The blares of the engines sounded like the roars of a wild dragon. The Wanderers who were at Crow Forest Town could hear the sounds of battle and started to search for the source of the faint sounds.
Closer and closer… closer and closer!
Suddenly, a truck emerged from the forest and entered Crow Forest Town like an uncontrollable rhinoceros. It crashed into a building, which instantly crumbled under the huge impact. The shape of the crash barrier at the head of the truck became warped.
The truck sped past the streets.
The Wanderers on the streets were shocked and quickly searched for shelters to hide. Only after confirming that the truck had driven past did they come out of hiding. Many of them were confused and astonished. Before they could even calm down, the armored jeeps entered the town, driving recklessly. Many buildings were destroyed, and it was a complete mess.
It was raining bullets, and many Wanderers were shot by stray bullets. Screams of pain could be heard all around, and the ground was drenched with blood.
The final rays of light from the sun disappeared, and night fell. The truck was finally at the edge of the forest, and the obstacle-free plains appeared before it. The headlights from the armored jeeps illuminated the darkness like a Light Dragon.
There was no obstacle blocking the way on the plains, so it was easier for the armored jeeps to close the gap.
Nearer and near they came. Six hundred, five hundred, four hundred meters!
“Zhang Wei, change into your armor!”
Zhang Wei felt a surge of adrenaline. Even before the command, he had prepared for the moment of his ‘suit up’. Upon activating the armor, he noticed an immediate difference. The internal skeletal system provided power for all movements, and therefore, there was no need for his own strength to be used. His vision was also enhanced with the analysis interface. Chains of battle data flashed on the display. There was even an enhanced scope that offered greater shot accuracy.
Zhang Wei widened his eyes in disbelief.
“It is so powerful!”
Han Xiao loaded the high-explosive rounds into his sniper rifle and replied confidently, “This is only a simple modification.”
It was right to have spent the $36,000 on the suit.
Ding ding dang dang!
The clanging of the bullets that were crashing against armor became denser!
“Retaliate now!” Han Xiao growled, and following that, Zhang Wei kicked open the door of the container. He had a clear vision of what was in front of him. The head armor covered the fury in his eyes. He lifted the triple barrel machine gun and started firing.
“Tu tu tu tu––”
The high frequency gunshots created thunderous blasts. Thick ember emerged from the wild firing formed around the gun’s barrel. Shells were spat out of the gun and fell to the ground. The large, long bullets coupled with traces of ember were directed at the armored jeeps.
Boom! The bulletproof windows of two jeeps were shattered, and the passengers of the jeep were crushed.
Zhang Wei held two chains of bullets tightly. The chains extended all the way behind his back and led to a box. The box contained the ammunition that Han Xiao prepared; Zhang Wei had sufficient ammunition to spray to his heart’s content.
The dozens of armored jeeps dispersed from their formation to evade the shots from Zhang Xiao. The enemy troopers fired back using the machine guns mounted on the jeeps.
Zhang Wei was standing right at the opening of the container wearing his armor. The exterior of the suit was made up of the Platinum Alloy. Zhang Wei mounted the hexagonal shield before his body to shield himself from the bullets. Most of the bullets were blocked by the thick armor.
Han Xiao raised the sniper rifle and started firing the high-explosive rounds. The rounds set the jeeps aflame. The enemy drivers started panicking, and once the flames reached the jeeps’ engines, they were forced to stop.
However, more jeeps were approaching, and bullet holes could be seen on the external armor of the truck.
The distance was sufficient!
Han Xiao put aside his sniper rifle and grabbed the mechanical dragonfly explosives from the box. He threw them forward as if they were free of charge. The mechanical dragonflies glided close to the ground, and they were detonated once they reached the jeeps.
Boom!
The armored jeeps were overturned by the explosions, and the momentum from the blast resulted in the jeeps tumbling in midair before landing. Once the flames reached the fuel tanks of the jeeps, it resulted in a second explosion that caused more deaths.
The never-ending death toll started flashing on the tablet’s interface.
Every delayed explosion caused by the mechanical dragonfly could kill four to eight enemy troopers in the jeep. In addition to the kills, EXP was also awarded for the destruction of the vehicle. Therefore, every jeep destroyed generated 5,000 to 7,000 EXP for Han Xiao. The rewards motivated Han Xiao greatly, and he strove to cause greater damage with the explosives.
[Direct Conflict completed. You gained 35,000 EXP!]
“Ah!”
Hysterical screams were heard. Han Xiao turned back his head only to realize that the two enemy troopers who were held captive had been killed by the flying bullets. Instantly, Han Xiao’s heart sank.
“The prisoners are dead!”
The firepower coming from the jeep started to lessen; the enemy troopers were afraid of the attacking abilities of the truck
A single truck had managed to destroy twenty armored jeeps. It was definitely a scary fact for the enemies.
“I can see the military forces of Hesla!” Li Ya Lin screamed in excitement.
Han Xiao looked ahead and saw the army of vehicles operated by the Hesla military.
…
“Commander, there seem to be skirmishes ahead of us!’
Carl looked at the video feed on the operation vehicle and was thoroughly shocked.
More than twenty armored jeeps were chasing after the bullet-hole-riddled heavy-duty truck. He then saw the trail of overturned jeeps that had been set ablaze.
Carl was suspicious of the situation.
These agents from Division 13 really had a substantial and fierce firepower.
There were not many operation teams that had such strong fighting abilities that could rival with those of modern militaries. A smaller team enabled greater flexibility in operations. Usually, such operation teams were considered the best of their kind. He suppressed his initial shock. Following that, he squinted and started looking back and forth.
Winna and Ye Fan were also astonished by the sight before their eyes.
A single truck had managed to survive the attack of an army of armored jeeps. Also, it had managed to wipe out half of the total enemy count.
“It’s surprising that the truck can still move after withstanding a thousand shots!”
Even though the truck was almost wrecked, it could still travel freely like a wild dog on steroids. The truck had undergone some sort of modification. A grenade exploded on the armor of the truck, yet the explosion only caused minor change, barely denting the armor. In the same situation, a normal vehicle would have been blasted into multiple pieces.
What sort of metal was it made of‽
Too strong!
Even the agents for Division 13 were confused.
Since when did Zhang Wei’s team possess such powerful fighting capabilities?
Could a mechanic really elevate the firepower of a team so much?
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
The armored jeeps started to flee from the scene by turning in the opposite direction.
Carl’s eyes lit up, and he ordered, “Provide fire support and blast everything in the vicinity!”
Carl’s assistant understood the hidden agenda behind Carl’s order. He was shocked but still carried out the order. The area of attack was locked in.
The team of vehicles equipped with missile launchers moved forward, and in an instant, the rockets were launched.
The truck fell inside the radius of the missile strike!
The agents from Division 13 were sharp-eyed and figured out what Carl was trying to do. They were enraged and astonished.
The assistant officer explained, “Damn it, we miscalculated the radius of the attack.”
Such words were only sufficient to fool little kids. The agents from Division 13 were not convinced, and the enraged Qi Bai Jia shouted, “Carl, what do you think you are doing‽”
Carl did not reply. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were cold as ice.
Too bad! You guys do not belong to Hesla.
Li Ya Lin could clearly see the flaming exhaust of the rockets, which also signified the impending destruction their team was going to face. She screamed, “They want to send us up to heaven too!”
“Hesla’s commanders did it on purpose!” Zhang Wei was furious.
Even though tension was bound to occur during joint operations involving different countries, nobody expected the commanding officer from Hesla to make such a brutal move. Also, he could shirk off the responsibility by conveniently claiming that it was an accident.
Only radicals would result to such despicable measures—the killing of their allies and the neglecting of consequences!
The Germinal Organization was a common enemy of the Six Nations. All the parties agreed on counter-terrorism efforts. However, the different parties involved were not allies, and some even had conflicts with one another. The higher-ups of the nations were pretentious and hypocritical. They were also willing to sacrifice those beneath them to attain their goals.
Han Xiao focused and shouted, “Nitro boost!”
Li Ya Lin immediately pressed the button. Blue flames emerged from the exhaust of the truck. The acceleration of the truck was exponentially increased, charging forward like a wild rhinoceros. Li Ya Lin was pressed hard onto her seat by the surging momentum.
The rockets began to descend quickly. Three hundred, two hundred, one hundred, fifty meters.
Boom!
Finally, the blast arrived and created a wave of heat that resulted in a mushroom cloud of dust. The flaming smoke rose on the plains. At that instant, everyone lost their senses. The sound of the blast exceeded the audible range of the human ear. It was as if the whole world had fallen silent. All that was left was a rising glow, which illuminated the night sky.
Everything within the radius of the strike, regardless of vehicles or humans, had been demolished.
After three seconds, an incessant ringing became audible.
Rage and fury were written on the faces of the agents from Division 13.
Grief could be observed from the killer eyes of Di Su Su; a green flame was burning silently in her heart.
Whoosh!
The wind started howling.
The heavy-duty truck emerged out of the thick dark smoke. Only a small section of the container had been blown apart. Some of the machinery and accessories had been reduced to scrap metal.
“They are still alive!”
The agents from Division 13 were surprised. Li Ya Lin was not yet out of her state of shock. It had really just been a matter of a few meters. They were really lucky to have escaped the radius of the strike in time. If not for the nitro boost, all of them would have vanished into thin air.
Han Xiao coughed out the blood from his throat. He’d suffered from injuries due to the shockwave of the blast. Almost 200 HP had been lost due to the blast. The second blast had sent him crashing into the hard wall of the container, costing him another 50 HP. Han Xiao was still feeling giddy from the aftershock of the blast.
After the nitro boost, the engine was overheating, but it still managed move forward till it reached the Hesla soldiers.
After seeing countless bullet holes on the container, the soldiers of Hesla could feel the chills up their spines.
What a tough battle they’d had.
“What a pity. They managed to survive.” Carl frowned in disappointment.
After Han Xiao alighted from the truck, the agents from Division 13 started to crowd before him. Qi Bai Jia, who broke out into cold sweat, heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that Han Xiao was alive and well.
Carl walked toward the agents.
Instantly, the agents from Division 13 glowered furiously at him. Zhang Wei, clad in his armor, gritted his teeth and moved toward Carl. The soldiers at the side immediately raised their weapon and pointed at the agents. The assistant officer bellowed, “What do you want? Back off!”
“I want an explanation!” Zhang Wei yelled.
Explanation? How childish.
Carl ignored Zhang Wei and glanced at Han Xiao. He asked flippantly, “Where are the captured enemies?”
“…Dead.”
Carl’s order to strike ahead of the stipulated time had caused immense danger for them. The two captured enemies had also been killed. More importantly, Carl had tried to kill them. It was obvious that he had done these things on purpose.
Han Xiao shut his eyes to conceal the ice-cold chill in them.
“No more evidence, I suppose?” Carl frowned with a look of discontent. His poor attitude angered the agents from Division 13 even more. However, they were rational enough to keep their cool as they were, ultimately, in a foreign land surrounded by soldiers from Hesla.
Qi Bai Jia could not contain his anger and lashed out, “Prepare to be questioned by Division 13!”
Carl couldn’t care less. Division 13 had no jurisdiction over him. Moreover, what happened just was an ‘accident’; there was no evidence to justify that he had done it on purpose. At most, he would be reprimanded by the foreign diplomats. He would not have to face any real punishment.
If he managed to destroy the Dark Crow Valley base, it would truly be a great achievement. With the help of his backers, he was highly likely to be promoted to the leading figure for the radicals in the government. No matter how Division 13 complained about him, the higher-ups in Hesla would be there to fend off these complaints.
Carl thought to himself. After which he pointed at Han Xiao and said, “Take him to the medic. Let them check his injuries.”
Han Xiao had no expression on his face. He followed the medic to the logistics vehicle. All his injuries were due to the shock on his soft body. With his endurance, he would recover quickly with a sufficient amount of rest. Therefore, he dismissed the medic.
The logistics vehicle started its engine. Hesla’s troops continued their advance.
Han Xiao shook his head, closed his eyes, and then proceeded to lie on his bed.
He had not slept since yesterday. Now was the right time for him to catch up on his sleep.
…
The sounds of gunshots could be heard. Han Xiao was a light sleeper, and he opened his eyes. He alighted from the vehicle and realized it was midnight, around 3 to 4 am.
At this point of time, Hesla’s troops had arrived at the border of the high-alert sectors of the Dark Crow Valley base. The six high-alert sectors comprised not only of sentry guards and patrolling troopers, there were also large defense mechanisms put in place like ramparts and guardhouses that were fortified with enemy troops. In the event of war, Hesla’s army would have to go past the six high-alert sectors before they closed in on the actual base itself.
Han Xiao, who was now with the logistics division, was far from the battlefront.
Han Xiao asked the two soldiers guarding by his side, “What’s the situation of the battlefront?”
One of the soldiers replied, “Everything is proceeding smoothly. Our troops have successfully reached the fourth sector.”
Han Xiao nodded, and just when he was about to proceed out, the two soldiers blocked his path.
“The Colonel wants you to rest and recover from your injuries here.”
Upon hearing that, Han Xiao realized that he had been intentionally imprisoned here by the Colonel. Han Xiao frowned and asked, “Where are my friends?”
“Your officer also tasked us to look after you and ensure that you have sufficient rest.”
Han Xiao understood the intentions of Qi Bai Jia. He did not want Han Xiao to risk his life anymore. Ultimately, Han Xiao had almost been killed by the flaming missiles. Qi Bai Jia wanted to keep Han Xiao away from the battlefront.
Such a move is better for my plan, Han Xiao thought.
Han Xiao turned his head and saw the truck being towed away. The escape mission had almost destroyed the entire truck. Without a full repair, the truck would surely be not usable.
Han Xiao’s eyes suddenly lit up before he proceeded toward the heavy-duty truck.
The two soldiers guarding him allowed him to do so. Han Xiao was free to go anywhere as long as he stayed away from the battlefront in the logistics zone.
He entered the container and discovered that all the important equipment was still around. Only the bodies of the two captured soldiers had been disposed of. Han Xiao took out the communication set from the box and adjusted it to Lin Yao’s frequency.
“Lin Yao, are you still alive?”
“Of course, I am, but don’t jinx it! ” Lin Yao’s unfriendly voice blared out from the earpiece.
“What’s the situation now?”
“We are preparing for the retreat. Apparently, according to the higher-ups in the base, the troops stationed around the base were all deployed to fight Hesla’s army. I have yet to discover their path of retreat. Seems like I’ll have to follow the order to locate the exact route. Oh, I also managed to find out the false information that Ye Fan collected. The defense mechanism and deployment between the third and sixth sectors were true. However, the first and second sectors were different. If Hesla’s troops attack according to the information Ye Fan provided, they are bound to suffer heavy losses.”
“Have you told them yet?”
“Nope, you are the first guy that contacted me.”
“That’s good. Don’t tell that to Hesla’s people.”
Lin Yao was confused and asked, “Why so?”
Han Xiao told him the series of events that had happened previously. Upon hearing the incident of the misfire of the missiles, Lin Yao’s blood started boiling with rage. “That is just too much!”
Carl revealed his intention to wipe out his allies, so it was no longer logical for Division 13 to continue assisting him in the operation and minimize his losses.
The intelligence that Han Xiao provided was all aimed at eliminating Pan Kuang and Ji Jie, who were high-value members of the Germinal Organization. Only the successful elimination of them would ensure the mission’s success. Carl treated them like they were merely tools. Now it was time for Han Xiao to reciprocate. They wanted his intelligence reports, and he wanted their troops. Both parties were merely using each other to their advantage.
As long as Hesla’s army accomplished the mission using his intelligence, he could not have cared less about the number of troops they lost.
What Han Xiao had not expected was Carl’s intention to kill them.
“It is time for a change of plan.”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled brightly.
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
Morning was always the best time of the day. Likewise, morning was also the best time to fight a battle.
The previous night, the Hesla troops had managed to clear the fourth high-alert sector. Carl had ordered his troops to rest for an hour before continuing their advancement at first light. They wanted to reach the base in one final attack.
As the sun rose, the Hesla troops were fighting the enemies at the third high-alert sector.
Boom, boom, boom!
The endless blasts were thunderous, and the enshrouded the battleground in smoke. The entire forest was wrecked by the hail of bullets and artillery strikes, the used shells of which were littered everywhere.
The soldiers from Hesla, coupled with the armored vehicles, managed to take down the defense mechanisms in place. One after another, fortresses, sentry-posts, and trenches were destroyed. The information Ye Fan had obtained was of great use. The enemy’s defense mechanisms were practically useless against the attacks. The troops managed to secure their objectives with minimal losses. The soldiers were elated because their victories had never been so comfortable before.
“Continue to advance. Let’s take down the two remaining high alert sectors in one shot!”
Carl was overwhelmed with excitement.
Once the confident troops entered the second high-alert sector, the favorable situation started to turn around.
Not long after stepping foot into the second high-alert sector, the Hesla troops faced their first enemy ambush. Two armored vehicles and dozens of soldiers were wiped out by well-hidden mines. And that was, in fact, just an appetizer. The Hesla soldiers were soon completely devastated. The death toll was rising steadily, and there were traps and ambushes everywhere.
Ye Fan’s intelligence was practically useless at this stage. Following the false information provided led to even greater losses. The various platoons were at a complete loss.
The intelligence about the first four high-alert selectors had allowed Hesla’s military to successfully penetrate deep and eventually enter the ambush zone that Ji Jie had marked out.
The casualties were increasing exponentially.
Carl experienced a mix of shock and fury.
The expression on Winna’s face changed. Indeed, the information they had obtained was only bait; Han Xiao’s predictions were right. They were indeed responsible for the huge losses.
Ye Fan shook his head and said, “The enemies are too cunning and ruthless. They were willing to sacrifice the lives of their own comrades to lure us in. It was almost impossible to see through their plot. Perhaps, that’s the advantage of being on the defensive side. The Germinal Organization is not afraid to go all out. However, such a measure is not feasible for our side. Carl’s moves were too radical; he should have listened to Han Xiao and been less brash with his deployments.”
He looked at his remorseful teammates and sighed.
At this point, Carl saw his soldiers falling one after another. He had an uncomfortable expression. What was supposed to be a smooth-sailing situation had flipped around. The ‘easy-win’ had reversed, becoming a complete disaster. Even if they managed to prevail in the battle, it was going to be a costly victory.
The Hesla troops, who were facing head-on defeats, were suffering heavy losses, and their advancement proceeded at a snail’s pace.
Suddenly, a grim-looking man who held a long machete in his hand emerged from the enemy side. He was surrounded by cold and transparent waves of energy that bore similarity to flames. The air beside him distorted as he dashed toward Hesla’s army. The soldiers immediately started firing their rifles, but the man span as he ran and speedily slashed his machete. The approaching bullets were disintegrated by the slashes and fell to the ground.
“Pugilist!”
While the soldiers were still in shock, the man barged into the crowd. Within seconds, the combo of powerful slashes from the shiny machete diced numerous Hesla soldiers into many bits. Blood sprayed everywhere, and broken limbs, heads, and torsos could be seen all over the ground.
The man stood with conviction amid the sea of red.
“Pan Kuang!”
The agents were all astonished.
Pan Kuang was the man in charge of the Dark Crow Valley base and the executive officer of the Germinal Organization. In addition, he had managed to kill many powerful individuals and had a glorious battle record on the Dark Net.
Based on his battle record on the Dark Net, Pan Kuang was highly adept with his machete. His fighting style originated from that of Rui Lan, and he was becoming known as the ‘Soul of the Blade’.
The light reflected by his shiny blade was usually the last thing his slain enemies saw.
The armored vehicle adjusted its position. Larger bullets were fired out from the re-adjusted barrel at Pan Kuang. Pan Kuang started leaping with unbelievably fast movements and dodged the incoming shots by ducking behind the trees. It was impossible for ordinary solider to accurately trace the position of Pan Kuang. More often than not, in the blink of an eye, Pan Kuang would disappear without any trace, and the fired shots would all miss.
Pan Kuang was able to move around the battleground with ease and without any substantial obstruction.
Like a life-claiming reaper, Pan Kuang slew one soldier after another. He even managed to slashed open a couple of heavily armored trucks and kill the soldiers inside the vehicles.
As long as there were shelters that offered protection against the bullets, a Superhuman could unleash his extensive power and cause immense damage. The energy he possessed protected his body, and ordinary gunpowder and bullets were unable to cause any significant harm.
A D-class Superhuman could battle a platoon on their own and escape with ease after the fight.
A C-class Superhuman had colossal strength and an iron body that could withstand the attacks of guns and canons. They could cause substantial damage on all terrains and could tear down a building with their bare hands easily. A C-class Superhuman was of the lowest-level in the galaxy. It also had the title of ‘Basic Cosmic Warrior’. Different planets in the galaxy had different gravitational fields and atmospheric conditions. A C-class Superhuman would be able to set foot on most planets. It was normal for certain species that lived in harsher galactic conditions to possess C-class Superhuman bodies from birth.
However, there were very few C-class Superhumans on Aquamarine. The Superhumans on this planet were low-ranked ones.
Pan Kuang’s Superhuman class was E+, one level away from becoming D-class. He was able to easily defeat groups of Hesla soldiers in the complicated forested terrain. A Superhuman possessed a powerful solo-fighting capability, and they would often swipe in to kill the highest-ranking commander of the troops or infiltrate the enemy to sabotage operations.
Soldiers in the way were being killed by the advancing Pan Kuang. It was obvious that Pan Kuang was travelling in the direction of Carl!
Carl had made it onto the radar of Pan Kuang’s killer instincts, which made Carl feel very uneasy. He had no sense of security even when he was protected tightly by his troops, so he immediately commanded, “Launch the thermo-tracing rockets!”
An armored vehicle equipped with missile launchers arrived, and multiple rockets that were locked onto Pan Kuang were fired.
Pan Kuang was circling the forest speedily, and the rockets crashed into the trees. The last rocket managed to go through the gaps between the tree trunks and headed for Pan Kuang.
With a tight frown, Pan Kuang halted in his steps. He scooped up some soil and held the machete with both of his hands. There was an invisible wave of energy surrounding the blade. He slashed the machete at the rocket.
The quick slash managed to hit the side of the rocket at the right time. The force from the strike changed the course of the rocket, and its path was altered. The rocket crashed into a large tree that was twenty meters away and burst into flames. Pan Kuang was slightly disorientated by the shockwave of the explosion. If Han Xiao were there, he would have seen that the damage was more than twenty health points.
After realizing that even the rockets were useless against Pan Kuang, Carl looked at his agents. Carl’s intention of deploying the agents to protect himself was clear.
“Let’s go!” Winna yelled, and Hesla’s agents moved forward together with her.
The agents from Division 13 were observing from one side. The joint operation no longer made sense after what Carl had done; therefore, they were not going to help.
After finding out that the agents from Hesla had entered the battle, Pan Kuang immediately sheathed his machete and retreated. He did not want to be held up by the agents.
Gunshots echoed through the forest as bullets were fired out of the agents’ guns.
The shiny blade slashed past. Light was reflected off the surface of the blade. A bullet fired at Pan Kuang was cut in half. Although Pan Kuang operated at a lower speed than the flying bullet, he had managed to anticipate the path of the bullet and position his machete at the perfect spot. His reflexes were rapid.
Pan Kuang remained expressionless as he turned away and disappeared into the forest.
In this attack, Pan Kuang had managed to kill hundreds of enemy soldiers and destroy a couple of armored vehicles. The morale of Hesla’s soldiers was at its lowest. They had suffered heavy casualties, and the initial fatigue accumulated from the attacks on the previous four sectors was beginning to take its toll. The situation forced Carl to slow down the attack even though he was unwilling to do so.
Ji Jie was observing the situation at the frontline from his monitor. The second high-alert sector was down, and Hesla’s troops were moving toward the final sector. Even if Hesla’s army suffered great losses, they still had an upper hand over the armed security guards of the base.
However, everything was under control.
After Pan Kuang returned, Ji Jie locked the doors leading to the base. Even if the enemy managed to take down the external base, they would be unable to locate the internal base. Furthermore, Ji Jie was also preparing to give a ‘big gift’ to the Hesla soldiers outside the internal base.
“Assistant Director, when are we going to retreat?”
“Now,” Ji Jie said.
The staff of the inner base gathered at the doorstep of the third secret passageway. Lin Yao and Lambert were furthest away from the rest. When nobody was looking, they would inform each other of critical intelligence. Strangers would think that they were just making casual conversation.
…
Boom!
The final fortress was blasted into pieces by the cannon of a mini-tank. The remaining armed guards only had one choice—retreat into the base.
All the defense lines crumbled, and Carl finally loosened up from the tension.
The final two sectors had cost seventy percent more losses than expected. Carl’s superiors would definitely be less impressed when they saw the battle report.
“The enemies are left with the final base, and they have nowhere to retreat to. Are we going to let the troops rest for a while?” the assistant officer asked.
Carl was sat in deep thought, and he suddenly remembered Han Xiao’s intelligence report. It mentioned that there was an inner base and also a secret escape passageway. Instantly, he felt that it was an opportunity for him to improve his battle record. He did not want to waste a single moment so as to reduce the enemies’ chance of escape. Therefore, he issued an order with conviction.
“Start the attack immediately. Remember to search thoroughly in the facility, especially the storerooms. There must be some hidden door somewhere that can lead us to the enemy’s inner base.”
The order was confirmed, and the soldiers who had still not yet recovered from the shock of the previous battle regained their spirits and entered the base to wipe out the remaining enemies. The base was very small, and the fighting took place in the narrow alleys. Endless gunshots could be heard throughout the drawn-out battle.
“We found the storeroom, but no hidden doors can be seen. There are only solid concrete walls. We also tested our explosives on the walls.”
“Maybe there is something wrong with the intelligence report?” Carl frowned hard. He summoned his assistant and said, “Bring the agents from Division 13 here. Also, get me Han Xiao. I want to ask them about the intelligence report they submitted.”
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
While the battle at the frontlines was still ongoing, Han Xiao, who was at the logistics zone away from the battlefront, was observing the situation attentively.
Han Xiao had seen many high-level battles that involved the destruction of entire planets in the game. Compared to those battles, the current one, a low-level battle fought on the ground, gave Han Xiao a greater adrenaline rush. The sound of gunshots and scent of gunpowder gave a better display of the brutality and the atmosphere of war compared to those battles Han Xiao had previously witnessed, which had only involved silent energy beams and plasma canons.
Han Xiao sat in the container of the truck, while the two sentry guards were still guarding the vehicle tightly. They were highly suspicious that Han Xiao was intending to escape.
Lin Yao’s voice could be heard from Han Xiao’s earpiece.
“Brother Xiao, we are going to retreat together with the core team of the enemy. I have planted the virus in their system, so we can now jam their communications any time.”
“Good job.”
“Oh, Uncle Lambert made a new discovery. The internal structure of the base is very strong, and it is probably explosion-proof.”
Han Xiao frowned, and after piecing together the bits of information, he suddenly realized that the external base was disguised as the bait, or more accurately, a graveyard. There were probably heaps of explosives hidden, and once the invaders stepped into it, the explosives would be triggered to kill all of them. Also, the explosions would be strong enough to demolish the external base and bury everything in it, thereby making the internal base more discrete.”
“What an ingenious plan.” Han Xiao sighed. Even if he were to report the situation now, it would be too late. Also, Han Xiao did not have any intention of doing so.
He had finally reached the final stage of his plan.
Han Xiao rose up and began to pack his belongings. He transferred all the accessories and important mechanical components from the container into his bag. The bag was completely filled. Han Xiao then said to the two sentry guards, “Could you guys help me carry some of these items? They are pretty heavy.”
The two troops went up the truck unknowingly to help Han Xiao carry his bag.
The moment they bent their bodies, Han Xiao took action. With two solid punches to the necks of the soldiers, both of them collapsed to the ground without making a sound.
Han Xiao closed the door of the container, and he secretly changed into the trooper’s attire and removed the mask he was wearing. After which, he activated the mask and used it to change his appearance. He carried the bag and walked out confidently. He was able to blend into the logistics team without anyone noticing.
…
Carl’s assistant soon rushed back.
“Everyone from Division 13, except for Han Xiao, was present,” he said.
Carl was shocked. “He disappeared‽”
“The two sentry guards that were supposed to look after him were found unconscious. I asked the logistics team, and nobody saw Han Xiao around.”
Carl wanted to continue the conversation, but there a thunderous boom in the air, which made him jump up on reflex. He immediately started scouting for the source of the sound.
The mountain was moving, and it was as if an earthquake had struck. Everyone was terrified!
The Dark Crow Valley base had detonated!
The entire base crumbled, and the main entrance was completed sealed by the falling rocks. Hundreds of elite soldiers were buried!
The turn of events obviously infuriated Carl.
The troops had fallen into the enemy’s trap just as victory was in sight. Countless lives were claimed, and the base was also destroyed. This greatly depreciated the value of the victory.
Carl knew that, as the commander of the forces, he would face a lot of backlash.
Carl had a gloomy look, and he thought of Han Xiao’s advice. If he had heeded the advice, he could have prevented the heavy losses. But even if he had the opportunity to choose again, Carl felt that he would still make the same choice. He was completely frustrated and vented that frustration on the wall of the commander’s vehicle.
The army had suffered heavy losses, and Carl could feel the pain in his heart. He then gave several orders to raise the morale of the dejected troops.
After the agents from Division 13 arrived, Carl said with a gloomy face, “Your teammate disappeared. What is going on exactly?”
“Han Xiao vanished again‽” One could clearly see the change in expression on the agents’ faces.
Why the word ‘again’?
Qi Bai Jia felt a blank in his mind.
Goddammit, Han Xiao always did such things.
Zhang Wei and Li Ya Lin were very calm. It was as if they had gotten used to it.
It was really the norm for Han Xiao to carry out tasks at his own will without seeking any approval. One just had to get used to it. He was probably on his way to create some new trouble.
“If Han Xiao did not obtain the critical intelligence, you would have foolishly thought that you have successfully destroyed the base, when in actual fact, you have only managed to destroy the outer region. You would not even be aware that the enemies have escaped!”
Carl pondered, and indeed, he would have thought that his operation was a complete success, and if the Dark Crow Valley base managed to reinstate itself in the future, he would the first to be held responsible.
“What other information can you guys offer?” Carl asked anxiously.
Zhang Wei, who was trying hard to suppress his detest for Carl, bellowed, “Two of our companions retreated together with the enemy. Once they confirm the enemy’s path of retreat, they will send it to us.”
Carl’s eyes lit up and said immediately, “Inform me as soon as you receive any news.”
He had not expected that Han Xiao would accomplish so much in his operation. His troops had suffered way too many losses in the previous battle, so he needed to atone for his mistakes by successfully eliminating the core of the enemy’s retreating force.
…
There was a region away from everyone’s attention at the outskirts ten kilometers away from the Dark Crow Valley base. Pan Kuang, Ji Jie, and over two hundred core members were exiting the secret passageway via their vehicles. The vehicles carried huge amounts of logistical items and also contained precious information about the base.
“I suppose Hesla think that they have won the battle?” Ji Jie let out uncontrollable laughter.
Pan Kuang looked and him and said, “Don’t let your guard down.”
Ji Jie nodded and ordered the teams to advance faster.
They needed to travel for another two hours to reach a secret hangar that housed several Black Harrier helicopters and a small cargo-plane.
Lin Yao and Lambert received Zhang Wei’s orders from their earpieces. They looked at each other and knew it was time for them to strike.
Lin Yao took out a tablet and activated the dormant virus planted in the enemy communication network.
Sheela!
Everyone was shocked by the piercing shrieks in their earpieces. They immediately removed them from their ears.
Ji Jie was disgruntled. Just as he was about the order the vehicle-fleet to stop and inspect on the communication set, he heard a series of engine-hums approaching from all directions.
“Prone!” Pan Kuang expression immediately changed. He pushed Ji Jie, who had yet to react, to the ground. After Pan Kuang completed these actions, there was a wave of gunshots.
Bullets rained on the fleet from all directions. The exploding grenades overturned the vehicles of the fleet. Flames and glaring light could be seen.
Lambert dragged Lin Yao off the vehicle. They rolled toward the vegetation at the side to avoid the direct attack.
Ji Jie could not believe that his trap had been discovered by the invaders. Who had leaked the information?
“Run!”
There was no time for any disappointment. Ji Jie was dragged toward the forest swiftly by Pan Kuang.
…
Carl, who was commanding his troops from the forest, felt a great sense of excitement. His troops had encircled the core of the retreating enemy, and he knew it was a golden opportunity for him to turn things around.
A distance away, Han Xiao, who had changed his appearance, was driving the jeep alone. He held a thermo-sensor in his hand and was searching the battle zone. He quickly discovered his targets: Pan Kuang and Ji Jie, who had managed to escape the heavy encirclements. Troops who managed to catch up with Pan Kuang were mercilessly destroyed by his powerful fighting abilities.
Han Xiao was tailing both of them from a hundred meters away with the help of with his thermo-sensor.
“A jeep is approaching.” Pan Kuang looked behind. He could barely see the jeep that was following them in the dense forest, and the faint sound of the jeep’s engine could be heard.
Pan Kuang wanted to destroy the jeep. However, every time his distance from the jeep shortened, Han Xiao would change course and increase the distance between them again. The jeep was just like an irritant.
Pan Kuang thought Han Xiao was operating a reconnaissance jeep that reported their location back to the enemy. Also, they expected the entire army to be following them, and therefore, they were afraid to stop moving. Pan Kuang, who was dragging Ji Jie in his escape, could feel the quick depletion of his energy.
“We just need to reach the hangar. The helicopter will help us with the escape.” Pan Kuang knew that was his only way to escape. Although Pan Kuang was a Superhuman himself, his fear of being surrounded by a gargantuan enemy force prompted him to increase his speed. He failed to realize that Ji Jie was deeply fatigued.
After chasing for about twenty minutes, both parties were far from the frontline.
“The time is right.” Han Xiao could feel a sense of determination. He changed his course and went in front of his targets with the help of a map he had stolen from the logistics department. The jeep travelled at a very high speed, and Han Xiao drove up a ten-meter high cliff that was two kilometers away, which his targets were sure to pass by. The engine stopped, and Han Xiao took out all his gear.
He slotted his left arm into the modified light-weight mechanical arm and attached the box housing the magnetically-controlled retractable armor to his waist. He stuck his Berserk Eagle into its case and then buried ten delayed-explosion explosives in the shape of a circle with a radius of five meters. A thin thread was lined through the safety rings of the delayed-explosion explosives, so a slight pull would activate them all.
Han Xiao grabbed a sniper rifle he had sourced from the logistics team and lay prone on a rock. He had a clear view of the valley and aimed his rifle in the direction his targets were expected to arrive in. He held his breath and focused hard.
…
Ji Jie was panting heavily. His face was all pale from the running. He was not a Superhuman, so he had limited stamina. If it wasn’t for Pan Kuang, he would have collapsed long ago.
Pan Kuang shouted emotionlessly, “Don’t stop, the enemy could approach at any moment. We need to reach the hangar as soon as possible.”
The two of them came out of the forest quickly. The mountains lay ahead of them.
Ji Jie felt his legs wobble before he fell to the ground. Breathlessly, he said, “I can’t run anymore.”
Pan Kuang frowned. He was slightly irritated, but he knew he could not leave Ji Jie behind. Ji Jie’s sister was the in-charge of the entire intelligence network of the Germinal Organization.
“Carry me on your back, it is…”
Ji Jie was halfway through his sentence when a gun shot rang in the air.
Pan Kuang reacted quickly and ducked backwards.
However, he was not the target of the shot.
Ji Jie’s head was thrust backwards as if a punch had been thrown at him. There was a bloody hole on his left cheek. The hole was so big that it allowed the bullet to tumble in Ji Jie’s skull, crushing his left cheek. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Ji Jie’s expression froze as he collapsed to the ground. He showed no signs of life anymore.
[Assassination 2 completed. 100% of energy expended. You gained 4,000 EXP!]
Pan Kuang’s pupils constricted. He drew out his machete and dashed toward the source of the shot.
Chocolion Editor: Millman97
Pan Kuang was closing in! Han Xiao spammed the trigger of the rifle. Chains of bullets skipped out of the barrel and pierced through the air, heading in the direction of the target. It was as if Pan Kuang had the danger-sensing ability of a beast. He always changed his position before Han Xiao fired the shots. Han Xiao fired a total of thirteen shots, and Pan Kuang dodged nine of them. The remaining four bullets lost their momentum after hitting the blade. The bullets were reflected by Pan Kuang’s protective energy, and their total damage was merely 80 HP.
A high class Superhuman would have a stronger defensive capability. Ordinary weapons and ammunition were useless against Pan Kuang.
The firepower of an ordinary weapon from a place indicated the general level of civilization of that place. With the opening up of higher versions and more maps, the upgrading of the ordinary weapons would follow. However, it was evident that such a day had yet come.
The distance between Pan Kuang and Han Xiao was shrinking rapid, and Han Xiao could see the deathly chill in Pan Kuang’s eyes.
“Damn it, he’s quick.”
Han Xiao cursed softly and threw his rifle to the side. He tugged the thread in his hands and activated the delayed-explosion explosives then pretended fleeing.
Pan Kuang was much faster and went up the cliff in a few steps. He stepped into the ambush circle and sensed something was off. His face changed, and he leapt into the air. His shiny blade was spinning beneath his torso. It was as if he was riding a hurricane, pushing him up the skies.
BOOM!
The ten explosives detonated together, and Pan Kuang was engulfed by the flames!
_____________________
Your delayed-explosion explosives dealt a damage of 34 HP to Pan Kuang.
(Damage protection is taken into account.)
Your delayed-explosion explosives dealt a damage of 37 HP to Pan Kuang.
Pan Kuang is slightly torched!
…
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Ten messages appeared on the interface, and after a quick glance, Han Xiao confirmed that the series of explosions had dealt more than 400 HP damage to Pan Kuang.
_____________________
Due to your level, you gained some information about the enemy!
Name: Pan Kuang
Level: 38
Class: [Agent] LV10, [Amateur Pugilist] LV10, [Stormblader] LV10, ??
Attributes: 65 Strength, ?? Dexterity, ?? Endurance, ?? Intelligence, ?? MYS, 8 Charisma, 7 Luck
HP: ??
Energy: ??
Energy Rank: 687
Grade: E+
Specialties:
– Amateur Blade-Wielding Technique: +10 attack points when using blades or machetes.
– Soul of the Windy Blade: “The blade is the extension of our limbs; listen closely to the breath of the wind.” ??
– ?? …
Skills: [Defensive Blade of the Wind] Lv.6, [Wind-Gliding Steps] Lv.4, ??, ?? …
Equipment:
Wind-Slicing Blade
– Grade: Green
– Damage: 44-47
– Length: 0.87 meters
– Weight: 10.2 pounds
– Description: An alloy blade manufactured by a master blacksmith, very strong.
– Additional effects: Windy Breath: smooth texture, +3% attack speed. Strong Edges: sharp blade, +3% additional damage to metallic objects.
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There was a huge difference in level. Also, much of the information was unknown. However, Han Xiao was not completely reliant on hard statistics. From the performance of Pan Kuang, it was evident that he had high attacking power and agility, and his weak side would be his limited health. It was certain that the explosion had taken away 20% of Pan Kuang’s initial health. Furthermore, Pan Kuang had faced tough battles previously and spent an hour on the run from his enemies; therefore, he was not in his best condition for a fight.
I have a higher probability of winning!
Han Xiao looked at the experience that he had accumulated on the interface, and it was as high as 520,000 points. He channeled all the experience points into raising his levels! Like a rocket, Han Xiao rapidly gained four levels.
His HP was raised to 985, almost exceeding 1,000!
He had practiced the Energy Training Technique 48 times, and his energy had managed to hit 390 points. He just needed a little more to gain four continuous level-ups and raise his energy to 540 points, which exceeded the Lv.5 benchmark of 400 points. That would allow for new increases in all his other attributes. His strength, endurance, agility, and intelligence were increased by approximately 10% each.
The rest of the experience points were channeled into [Continuous Gliding Shots].
_____________________
Level 2: a slight increase in the effect of the ability.
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Woosh!
Pan Kuang emerged from the flames, and he was charred from head to toe. He looked battered, and his eyes were locked on to Han Xiao like an exasperated wolf. He growled and shifted his feet as if he was gliding. In the blink of an eye, he slashed his blade with fury in an attempt to disintegrate the scoundrel who had ambushed him!
The light from the blade flashed, and Han Xiao retreated three steps. Han Xiao’s speed shocked Pan Kuang.
Han Xiao dodged the slashes from Pan Kuang and took out his Berserk Eagles. With his increased attack-speed, he fired the pistols. The bullets, which had ferrous cores, went straight toward Pan Kuang’s chest.
Pan Kuang moved his machete back and forth, and the bullets were slashed apart. Only one bullet managed to hit his chest, but Pan Kuang’s immense energy lowered the bullet’s momentum. The bullet was stuck between his muscles.
Han Xiao realized that ordinary bullets were of little use. He immediately switched the magazine for high-explosive rounds.
Pan Kuang made use of this moment to approach closer.
“How dare you switch magazines right before my eyes! Are you tired of living?”
Changing magazine in front of a Pugilist was a sign of insufficient battle experience! Pan Kuang, with a sinister look on his face, slashed toward Han Xiao’s throat. He tried to pierce through Han Xiao’s neck as if it just was a piece of meat on the skewer.
Pan Kuang could tell that Han Xiao could not dodge his hack!
“Ding ––”
The edge of the blade managed to touch Han Xiao’s throat, but it was blocked by metallic scales!
Pan Kuang’s pupils constricted. When did this armor appear‽
Han Xiao felt a little suffocated. Although the magnetically-controlled retractable armor could withstand the shock, there was still some leftover force that landed on his body. He raised the pistol and started firing continuously. Pan Kuang blocked the bullets with his blade again. This time, the high explosive rounds detonated the moment the blade touched its tip, and the flames enshrouded Pan Kuang’s body and burnt him.
What the hell is this bullet? Pan Kuang’s heart skipped a beat. He channeled his energy to shake off the flames but to no avail. The orange flames could not be shaken off, and his skin burned harshly. He could only retract his energy to protect his body. That resulted in a huge amount of energy being expended.
The high-explosive rounds were highly adhesive. Therefore, they were able to cause substantial, continuous damage. Pan Kuang had a high defense, so his HP was falling at a very slow rate. However, using the high-explosive rounds was still more effective than normal rounds. At least, the former was causing a decrease in Pan Kuang’s HP.
The Berserk Eagles were spitting out rounds from slanted positions. When there was a final bullet left, Han Xiao used it to initiate the continuous gliding shots. At that point in time, Pan Kuang’s clothing was burnt completely, and his hair also started burning. The price Han Xiao had to pay was the endurance of the magnetic armor, which fell after the relentless, powerful slashes by Pan Kuang.
Han Xiao focused hard. At the cost of taking another powerful blow, he put away the Berserk Eagles and took out the retractable machete. He held the machete in his right hand and the mechanical arm in his left. It was as if a barbarian had taken over his body; he had the courage of a beast that was unafraid of death. He was ready to give Pan Kuang a hard fight, which was also likely to be a bloody one.
The three items that Han Xiao was equipped with could all be used as shields, and in comparison, Pan Kuang was heavily disadvantaged since he could only use his body to defend Han Xiao’s strikes.
However, in reality, Pan Kuang was steadily gaining ground. For most of the time, Han Xiao could only make a strike at Pan Kuang after receiving seven slashes. The fighting abilities of the two individuals were too far apart. Pan Kuang was a legitimate pugilist, and his fighting technique was stronger than that of Han Xiao by leaps and bounds. Han Xiao’s close-range combat technique was considered a joke by Pan Kuang. If not for the gear he was equipped with, Pan Kuang would be unscathed by Han Xiao’s attacks.
“You want to fight me up close? Don’t you think that you are courting death?” Pan Kuang could not understand how Han Xiao had the courage to challenge a pugilist in close-quarters. In his mind, he considered such an act to be extremely arrogant. Han Xiao was challenging Pan Kuang’s greatest strength with his greatest weakness.
A slash toward Han Xiao’s face resulted in a deep cut that bled profusely.
Han Xiao had taken off his mask before the battle as he had been afraid that it would be destroyed in the battle. He revealed his genuine appearance, and Pan Kuang recognized him. Han Xiao was the traitor that escaped from the organization not long ago—Zero.
Why did Number Zero attack him here? Pan Kuang did not know, and he did not care. He only knew that the man before him was an enemy, and all Pan Kuang wanted to do was to hack him to death!
The force from the slashes shocked Han Xiao’s body a few times. His HP decreased, but he remained calm.
The reason he dared to fight Pan Kuang close up was because he had faith in himself. The previous shots, explosions, and strikes had managed to lower Pan Kuang’s HP by 700 to 800 points.
Under the protection of the magnetically-controlled retractable armor, his HP only fell by 300 points. The armor managed to prevent a total damage of at least 150 points of HP.
The armor was not even meant to be worn by Han Xiao at his current level. The armor had a defense of 75 points. It was strong and useful even until higher levels of 40-50. Han Xiao depended greatly on the armor!
With the armor, he had the ability to fight opponents of much higher levels!
Han Xiao locked his hand and grabbed hard on Pan Kuang blade-wielding hand. Pan Kuang was not afraid. He twisted his arm flexibly and broke free; at the same time, he gave Han Xiao another slash, which landed on the lightweight mechanical arm. If not for the platinum alloy, the mechanical arm would have long disintegrated into pieces and shards.
Han Xiao attentively discovered that Pan Kuang had a brief moment after every strike when he slowed down. Pan Kuang was instinctively trying to conserve his energy.
He is starting to feel tired. He used up too much of his energy and lost his additional attributes. He is no longer sharp!
Han Xiao eyes started flashing, and his sharp acumen allowed him to discover Pan Kuang weakness; the moment that he was waiting for had arrived. He selected an option on his interface.
A new character—Norsa Connor!
_____________________
The summon card for character has been used. 1/1 card used. The card has been exhausted and will disappear.
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Pan Kuang saw a faint shadow at Han Xiao’s back. An eerie-eyed individual appeared in rainbow-colored mist. Pan Kuang felt that the individual looked familiar.
Who is that?
He looks like… Norsa! Isn’t Norsa long dead‽
What’s going on‽
Pan Kuang was alarmed and wanted to move back, but it was all too late. He succumbed to the illusion and was paralyzed.
_____________________
Scanning…
The scan is complete.
The target has an Intelligence of less than 50. The illusion is successful.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Pan Kuang was a Lv.38 Pugilist with high agility and attack power. Therefore, it was almost impossible for his intelligence to exceed 50. If Han Xiao was really that unlucky and Pan Kuang did have higher than expected intelligence, Han Xiao would have had choice but to resign to his fate.
The illusion confused Pan Kuang, who was totally unprepared for it. All the attacks from the illusion could deal real damage to Pan Kuang, but ultimately, Pan Kuang had a relatively high level, so he would not be defeated if Han Xiao relied on the illusion alone.
Without hesitation, Han Xiao’s lightweight mechanical arm headed for Pan Kuang crotch, which housed his most vulnerable body part!
“Mega-load!”
The power of the mechanical increased by 30% instantly, and the punch landed right on the target.
Pan Kuang’s wiener exploded!
Han Xiao had learned this move after observing a series of tapes. He had derived this legendary move from “The Faraway Home of the Warrior – The Third Twilight”. Once the move was activated, even the skies would tremble.
Han Xiao had no time to look at the messages on the interface. He needed to make use of the period when Pan Kuang was distracted by the illusion to deal as much damage as he could.
Han Xiao immediately activated the pressure compressor in the palm of the mechanical arm. His palm went through a sudden vibration, and a shockwave was sent out. Blood seeped out of Pan Kuang skin, and a blood red triangle could be seen on Pan Kuang’s crouch.
Of course, Han Xiao’s right hand was also put to use. Using the machete held in his right hand, Han Xiao stabbed hard into Pan Kuang’s chest without any hesitation. Pan Kuang was still affected by the illusion, and thus, the protective energy shielding his body was non-existent. The stab successfully pierced through Pan Kuang.
Han Xiao then reached out for his Berserk Eagles and stuck the barrels of the pistols right where Pan Kuang’s heart was. He used his wind-gliding steps to drag Pan Kuang backwards together with him. Han Xiao fired the shots continuously, and all the bullets went into Pan Kuang’s body.
Blood spurted out. There was a burning sound of the scorching ember sizzling human flesh.
Ka, Ka, Ka––
All the bullets in the magazine were expended, and Pan Kuang was finally awake. The sharp pain sent Pan Kuang into thunderous fury, and his face twisted in agony. He slashed hard at Han Xiao’s abdomen.
It seemed Pan Kuang wanted an eye for an eye.
Han Xiao used his energy to control the magnetic retractable armor to shield himself from the strike. Although he was protected, the shock from the strike still made Han Xiao pale. He could sense a chilly wave of energy going all the way up to his forehead via his spine.
Enduring the pain, Han Xiao expanded the reach of the mechanical arm to press hard onto Pan Kuang’s head. Pan Kuang was hurled to the ground back and forth. The back of Pan Kuang’s head, after coming into contact with the ground so many times, started bleeding profusely, forming a puddle of blood on the ground. Coupled with growls of agony, Pan Kuang was desperately trying to retaliate by slashing his machete hysterically. The slashes landed on Han Xiao’s armor, and his HP was steadily decreasing.
“The crack of a hundred winds!” Pan Kuang yelled manically before his blade suddenly let out a blinding glare.
Han Xiao was alarmed and moved backward immediately. At this of time, explosions of light emerged from the Wind-slicing Blade. They surrounded Pan Kuang like a tornado. Countless slash marks could be seen on the surrounding ground. Han Xiao suffered a head-on attack, and his armor was losing endurance. This move had a damage-radius that was too large for the armor to offer complete protection. Every part not protected by the armor turned bloody. There was a series of damage inflicted on Han Xiao, and each amounted to 40 points.
The light from blade continued to glare for about three seconds before disappearing. Han Xiao retreated about ten meters. He took a deep breath. Droplets containing blood and sweat were dripping down as he stared at Pan Kuang. The previous attack must have consumed much of Pan Kuang’s energy. Also, the cool down period for the move was definitely long; therefore, Pan Kuang would not be able to use it anytime soon!
Pan Kuang supported his body using the blade and stood up. He looked ghastly, and his lower body was in a bloody mess. There were charred bullet marks in his chest, and the ember was still scorching his body, giving out a smell of burnt charcoal. The burning and bleeding were dealing him continuous damage, and one could not imagine how his damaged body looked from the inside. The retractable machete was still stuck in his chest. His face looked even more horrifying. His nose had broken and was dented inward, and his skull was exposed from the back of his head. He looked like a savage ghost.
A savage ghost!
The savage ghost stared hard at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao looked alarmed. He was prepared to use all his additional points to increase his endurance. That was another trump card he held.
The howling wind brought the sand along while, at the same time, seemingly bringing away the murderous atmosphere.
Pan Kuang’s head drooped down, and he stopped breathing.
The final sign of life was decimated by the scorching burn. Pan Kuang was like a camel that was knocked to the ground by a piece of grass.
_____________________
You killed Pan Kuang (Lv 38), 21,000 EXP gained.
The enemy killed was ten levels above you. You gained an additional 280% experience worth 58,800 points. Your individual contribution rate was 99%.
You gained an additional 58,212 (99%) points of EXP.
[Assassination III] completed. Contribution rate was 99%. You gained 79,200 EXP.
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A total EXP of 158,500!
That was Han Xiao’s total gain from the successful killing of Pan Kuang!
A victory against opponents of higher levels could generate additional rewards.
To activate such additional rewards, the opponent defeated needed to be at least five levels higher. The additional EXP was in accordance to the respective contribution rates of the member of a team since most missions were team challenges. If any member of the team failed to meet the criteria mentioned, the entire team would be deprived of the additional rewards. Such a measure highlighted the importance of good cooperation, and cheating from the players was prevented. It also prevented the occurrence of free-loaders that leeched onto the efforts of others.
Han Xiao finally relaxed and sat on the ground. He then lay down, allowing the rays of sunlight to hit his face. He closed his eyes in peace and enjoyed the calm and silence after the battle, as if all the damage and destruction did not exist.
A thought suddenly flashed in his mind, and he immediately jumped up and checked his pants. The little Han Xiao in his pants was all good. He heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, the sleeping dragon in his pants had not been damaged at all.
After a short rest, Han Xiao started to check on the damage. The endurance levels for all his equipment had dropped drastically. The delayed-explosion explosives had all been used. His HP had started to recover, and the overall damage was within his expectations.
Han Xiao walked to Pan Kuang’s dead body, which was still in an upright position. He searched for any loot and found a hard object in Pan Kuang’s pocket. He took it out and discovered that it was a communication device from the Germinal Organization.
Han Xiao thought for a moment and decided to activate the device. Ten seconds later, a virtual image of the chief of the Germinal Organization appeared.
“Ji Jie, have you guys retreated successfully…” The chief was halfway through his words when he realized that something was amiss with the image transmitted over from the other side.
It was Han Xiao. The chief changed his expression immediately and glared at Han Xiao.
“Why are you here‽”
Zero was using Ji Jie’s communication device, and it was apparent that the base had been completely destroyed. It was also highly likely that Pan Kuang was dead.
“You have the audacity to contact me?” the enraged chief exclaimed.
“Yo, haven’t seen you for a long time.” Han Xiao laughed
If felt weird that Han Xiao was talking to him like a long-lost friend. The chief could not think of a reply immediately, so he paused for a moment. The chief then questioned, “Where did you obtain the confidential information?”
That was the greatest puzzle in the chief’s mind.
“Why do you think I will tell you the answer?” Han Xiao replied snobbishly.
“Do you think you can damage the power of the organization with such means? What a fool!” the chief yelled back.
“I sabotaged four of your bases.
“I can destroy you easily with my hands!
“I sabotaged four of your bases.
“There are many executive officers in the organization. You won’t be out there for long!
“I sabotaged four of your bases.”
Ahhh! Too angry!
From the tone of the chief’s words, it sounded as if he was chewing on metal and every word was filled with the utmost determination to kill Han Xiao. “Don’t you think that you will be able to escape from our clutches by pledging your allegiance to Stardragon. My guys will disintegrate every bone and tendon in you once they catch you!”
Han Xiao started laughing. Following that, he blew a kiss at the chief.
“Come and find me if you can? Hahaha…”
The chief was completely enraged upon hearing Han Xiao’s words of contempt. He wanted to say something, but before he could, Han Xiao destroyed the communication device. The screen blacked out.
The chief’s words of fury were stuck in his throat. He was shaking in anger.
“Increase the bounty on Zero to five million dollars!”
The bounty increased by five times!
…
Han Xiao wiped his smile away. Teasing the chief was not just a random act of entertainment.
The Germinal Organization was bound to send members to the West Capital to find him. They would not rest until he was dead.
The situation seemed disadvantageous to him, but in actual fact, it was not.
Because…Han Xiao never wanted to return to Stardragon!
This was his real plan!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Initially, Han Xiao turned to Stardragon to seek temporary asylum from the Germinal Organization and had the motive of advancing skills. He had long planned to use his Facial Simulator as a way to escape.
Once he had the Facial Simulator, it was almost impossible for the Germinal Organization to locate him. He no longer had to worry about being discovered and captured, which meant that he could go anywhere he wanted. He did not want to be restricted to an area where there was always a risk of angering the head of state. Furthermore, he could mislead the Germinal Organization with regards to his whereabouts. For them to focus all their attention on Stardragon…that was definitely not fun for Han Xiao! Definitely not!
Even if he wanted to borrow Stardragon’s strength and resources to crush the Germinal Organization, he no longer needed to put himself under the government’s control. Naturally, Stardragon did not fully trust him despite its amicable treatment of him. They had planted an extremely discrete GPS locator in his encrypted phone, which he had discovered long ago. It was finally the time for him to disarm it.
It was last three months before the open beta. He needed to level up quickly and accumulate more resources. There were countless missions on the planet, and he treasured every one of them greatly.
He had accumulated sufficient resources while working with Division 13. It was now time to drop his pretense of sincerity toward Stardragon and go solo.
He could now go anywhere he wanted on the vast planet.
His plans were meticulous and closely-linked.
In Han Xiao’s eyes, his pleasant relationship with Stardragon was not enough to convince him to stay in a place that lacked the potential to become more powerful. Furthermore, once they reached Version 2.0, even the Six nations and the Germinal Organization would become feeble.
These entities were now powerful and stable and could fight with one another through both open and secret means. However, the moment a planetary-grade disaster swept the planet, they would realize that their individual interests were hollow and meaningless compared to the survival of the whole civilization. Their statuses now were like colorful bubbles flying under the Sunlight—they could easily burst with a slight poke.
Version 1.0 hasn’t started. It will last for seven months in real life, which translates to about three and a half years in game time. Additionally, the time, in game, between the version updates will last for a year. This means that I am still five years away from the Undead Crisis.
The Undead Crisis was a huge disaster. It will be better for me to avoid the beginning of it at the start of Version 2.0, which will be the most dangerous and chaotic period. This means that in these five years, I will have to dig out all the things are useful for me on this planet and then find a way to leave this planet for a while.
Han Xiao was in deep thought.
Suddenly, a new message was shown on the Interface.
_____________________
[Camp mission: Destroy Dark Crow Valley Base] Completion Rate 100%. Contribution Rate 72%. You gained 36,000 EXP!
Mission Ended.
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It seemed that the Heslean army just finished the battle.
Han Xiao was quite satisfied with the result. He would only have gotten a completion rate of forty to fifty percent if he did not kill Pan Kuang and gang. It had been worth the trouble to infiltrate alone and plant two spies in the base, which allowed him to monitor the enemy’s movements the whole time. This was the reason he had received such a high contribution rate and reward.
_____________________
Camp-Destroyer Mission [Dark Crow Valley Base] has been completed. You completed:
– [Reconnaissance I]
– [Reconnaissance II]
– [Dark Crow Forest Assassin]
– [Direct Conflict]
– [Assassination II]
– [Assassination III]
– [Destroy Dark Crow Valley Base]
Calculating Mission Stats… Calculation Completed. Performance Rating: Excellent
Reputation with Stardragon Strategic Defense Department increased by 1,120. Current Relationship: Friendly (1370/3000)
Reputation with the Germinal Organization decreased by 500. Current Relationship: Hatred (-1500/3000)
You received an Excellent performance rating: Additional 50% EXP (18,000), Random Reward x1.
Random Reward type is being decided…
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Can’t believe there is a random reward. Seems like I’m quite lucky this time. Han Xiao was delighted. Large-scale missions and serial missions would release performance ratings upon completion. The probability of an excellent rating triggering a random award was only thirty percent, so it was rather uncommon. The system would decide first which type of random reward the player would receive—it could be anything, such as EXP, equipment, skills, stat points, or talent points. Then, the player could select the choices provided under the reward.
_____________________
You received the Random Reward Type: [Innate Ability]
Randomizing… Randomization complete. Please choose one option from the following:
– Strengthened Body: HP+400, Abnormality Resistance+4%
– Quick Pace: Agility+6, Attack Speed+5%
– Strengthened Spirit: Mystery+5, Willpower Resistance+8%
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Han Xiao held onto his chin and started deliberating.
All three abilities had mediocre effects. [Strengthened Body] increased health points, so it was more suited for tank players. Usually, he employed long-range attacks, and he still had a magnetic suit to protect his body, so he did not require the additional HP for now.
[Quick Paced] seemed decent. Agility affected many different aspects of a long-range attacks, including accuracy, critical rate, and movement speed etc. This ability could potentially increase his attack output by eight to ten percent.
[Strengthened Spirit] was only useful for Mages and Psychics.
Han Xiao thus opted for [Quick Paced].
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You gained an innate ability [Quick Paced].
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Han Xiao looked at his interface. He still had 12 Unassigned Stats that he had gained from levelling-up. He then added them all into Intelligence. His Intelligence was now his highest stat, standing at 88 points.
There was an increase of 1.8% on the A-class Quest [Fall of the Germinal]. Although it did not look like a significant increase for now, Xiao Han knew that the future potential gains would be much greater—at least ten to fifteen percent more. Because Dark Crow Valley Base was the nearest point of contact for future players to join the Germinal Organization. Without it, many ‘real’ players would join a camp that was nearer and more convenient for them. This would greatly contain the rate of expansion of the Germinal Organization in the near future.
The head of Germinal still did not realize the importance of this base; he was only dismayed by the loss of an ordinary large base.
Intel from Han Xiao allowed other powers an opportunity to attack the Germinal Organization. The mission progress he received from such events was less than a direct assault by himself based on the calculation of contribution rating. But if he were to insist on attacking the organization personally, the individual damage he could deal would not be sufficient to keep up with organization’s rate of expansion. Naturally, his best option was to mass distribute intel that could harm the organization.
The minimum progress needed for the Camp Destroyer mission was only twenty percent. It was not required for him to chase after perfection lest he risked losing out on other missions.
It is time to change the method of supplying intel. Han Xiao squinted.
After completing the mission, it was time for him to work on other important things.
Han Xiao went onto the radio and spoke to Lin Yao.
“How is the situation now?”
“Brother Xiao! The Heslean Army has seized all the supplies in Dark Crow Valley Base. They also captured a few hundred of their members, including Dormund. Unfortunately, the two directors, Pan Kuang and Ji Jie, got away.”
“Where is the army now?”
“They are still sweeping the battleground. They will probably retreat to the border tomorrow.”
“Okay. Message received.”
…
After the Heslean army finished sweeping the battleground, they set up camp on site and prepared for a withdrawal the next day.
Lin Yao and Lambert went on to meet up with the rest, and the Division 13 agents gathered to commend them for their excellent intel work.
“The younger generation of agents is very capable,” Ma Qing Yang commented.
“Xiao Lin Lin, your teammates have done a great job,” said Di Su Su.
The rest chimed in. “You guys did an excellent job. Really commendable.”
“We acted under the directions given by Brother Xiao.” Lin Yao was feeling slightly uneasy with all the praise.
The fellow Division 13 agents realized that it was Han Xiao who deserved all the recognition.
Qi Bai Jia decided to praise Han Xiao’s contribution strongly in his report. However, he realized that Han Xiao was still not back.
“Hey, where is he?”
“He is probably delayed by certain things.”
As the sky turned dark, Han Xiao was still nowhere to be seen.
“How is he still not back?” Li Ya Lin was puzzled, so she nudged Lin Yao to prompt him to contact Han Xiao.
“I tried to communicate with him more than forty times, but he still hasn’t answered.” Lin Yao was out of options.
It was dawn. The Heslean army was ready to move back to the border, but Han Xiao was still missing. Division 13 agents started imagining the possibilities for such an odd happening.
Zhang Wei had a sudden thought. “Is it possible that Han Xiao has already moved back to the border?”
“This is possible. Han Xiao has always moved around on his own. He may think that it is not necessary for him to meet up with them now.” Everyone pondered over this possibility.
All the agents followed the army back while this worry lingered in their minds.
…
The Hesla troops looked relaxed and were rather undisciplined on the way back.
In the middle of the troops, Colonel Carl was sitting in the command vehicle. He was deliberating over a very grave problem.
In this mission, he did not have an outstanding performance. Instead, he made a critical error in his decision, which resulted in unnecessary casualties. This would most definitely lead to a poor evaluation of his ability by the higher ups.
He had to artificially raise his significance in this mission to obtain more merits for this attack.
If I could take credit for Division 13’s contribution…
Carl had an idea. He could perhaps write on the report that it was him who instructed Han Xiao to take his two teammates to spy in the base that gave them critical intel. In this scenario, his significance as a commanding office would be greatly elevated.
This can work.
Division 13 will leave as soon as the mission is completed. They can’t possibly come to Hesla and expose me. Furthermore, my report to the higher-ups will be kept secret from everyone else.
All of a sudden, there was a commotion coming from the outside of the vehicle, and Carl realized that the troops had stopped moving.
“Colonel, there are two corpses in front of us. They seem to be Pan Kuang and Ji Jie.”
Carl was in shock. He left the vehicle quickly to check out the bodies. It was really the two directors of the base.
The troops were astonished, and they started chattering. They remembered how strong these two directors had been just few days ago, but they had been killed just like this.
“Who did this! Who left the bodies here?” Carl shouted.
Nobody had an answer as the troops looked at one another. They had just discovered the bodies.
Division 13 soon arrived at the scene upon hearing the commotion. They were too dumbfounded.
“It must be Han Xiao’s doing.”
“It’s unbelievable that he actually succeeded!”
“But why did he place the bodies on the road? This is just giving free credit to the Hesleans.”
Carl was beaming joyously; he could claim credit for killing the directors. He waved at his troops to wrap up the bodies and take them back to camp.
Just as the troops moved the bodies, the sound of landmines being activated was heard.
The troops were terrified, and they quickly jumped away in different directions.
Carl was caught off guard. He only had the time to drop on the floor.
However, there was no explosion after seconds had passed. A brave soldier stood up and went to dig out the landmines. He weighed it in his hand and realized that it was very light.
“This is not a real mine. They are all empty.”
The troops were infuriated by the prank.
“This is not funny at all.”
“What a wretched move!”
“I just peed in my pants!”
Division 13 agents had a weird look their faces—they did not know whether to laugh at what they saw.
“This seems like something Han Xiao would do,” Li Ya Lin mumbled.
Carl stood up with a flustered look on his face. His clean and well-pressed officer uniform was now covered in mud and grass.
He was now livid. He knew it was Xiao Han who did it. He wanted to ruffle him with a prank like this.
“What a childish play!” he said in anger.
Bang!
A faint gunshot was heard faraway.
The bullet pierced through Carl’s temple, and it brought a dash of blood out of his head.
Carl’s eyes were still wide open. He was unable to comprehend what had just transpired, totally caught unaware. His eyes were filled with the longing for life and a pinch of disbelief. His body wobbled before it landed flat on the floor.
Just a moment ago, he had been dreaming of his military success and his bright future. He could not believe that he had been killed on the way back to claim credit for his success in the mission!
At this moment, everyone, including the Division 13 agents and the troops, was shell-shocked.
They could not believe what had just happened before their eyes!
…..
On a faraway cliff top, Han Xiao raised his head from the scope of a sniper. He was looking relaxed.
What goes around comes around.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao had gone to the road the night before when the troops were camping at the battleground. He had planted a trap using the corpses of Pan Kuang and Ji Jie to lure Colonel Carl out of his vehicle. The moment Carl stepped out of his command vehicle, Han Xiao had the opportunity to snipe him down.
Additionally, he had placed a blank landmine beneath the bodies to scare the troops out of their formation so that he could get a better shot at Colonel Carl from the distant cliff.
Killing a high-ranking Hesla officer in front of everybody was bound to raise suspicion from the Hesleans. They could probably deduce that it was Han Xiao who did it based on the use of the two bodies, but Han Xiao was not at all worried. They had no concrete evidence to proof that he was guilty. As long as Division 13 denied it, all Hesla could do was protest diplomatically. They could never hold Han Xiao accountable.
Just like Carl did not care if the enemy killed them, Zhang Wei’s team could also push the blame to the escaped personnel from the Dark Crow Valley Base.
I can be just as devious as you, Carl.
Han Xiao cocked the barrel, and the smoky bullet cartridge fell out. He conveniently tossed it into his pocket, leaving no trace behind.
Carl’s order had almost taken his life. He was bound to take revenge after the mission was completed. Han Xiao had once been a ‘real’ player who had always taken revenge when someone, regardless of who they were, harmed him. And he would avenge himself in all sorts of ways without saying much.
Han Xiao saw that the Hesla troops were in a mess through his scope. Some of the troops were furious. They boarded their vehicles and moved rapidly toward the source of the fire.
He calmly stowed the dissembled sniper into his backpack. He had handpicked the position for an easy escape after the assassination.
After turning around, he jumped off the cliff, and a feeling of freefall hit him immediately. He smacked the button on his back, and two fine, foldable metal wings expanded. He was then gliding in the air toward the forest beneath the cliff.
Sky Swallow Gliders!
When the Hesla troops arrived at the cliff, all they could see was a nimble shadow rapidly disappearing before their eyes.
…..
Division 13 agents were still dumbfounded. They could not believe that Han Xiao had the guts to kill a commanding officer from Hesla.
It was a definitely a good way to vent one’s anger, but there would be dire consequences. Nothing was worse than killing a Hesla high-ranking military officer right on their land! It seemed that Han Xiao had the balls of steel!
Qi Bai Jia was greatly anxious, but when he saw that the Hesla troops had not caught anyone, he was relieved.
Thank goodness he got away. In this case, they cannot prove that he is guilty. We can still argue our case.
Wait! If Han Xiao disappears, are we going to take his place in the trials‽
Everyone’s eyes were wide open. They felt it was something that Han Xiao would definitely do.
How can he just push all the troubles to us! He is such a master at shirking responsibility!
The surrounding Hesla troops raised their rifles in anger and pointed them at the Division 13 agents. They were arrested, locked up in the cars, and escorted back to the border camp. As soon as deputy officer reported the incident, Hesla’s government was furious.
Hesla’s agents had to interrogate Division 13 as they were the prime suspect.
However, they soon became frustrated. Division 13 insisted that they did not know anything about the incident. Winna felt a sense of defeat.
Everyone knew that Han Xiao had done it, but no one had any evidence to proof that it was him. They could not even find the cartridge, which meant the only thing they could do was interrogate Division 13 over and over again. Since they could not use torturous methods to extort information because they were up against the Stardragon agents, their efforts were in vain. Moreover, the condemnation from the higher-ups of Hesla was met with empty excuses from Division 13.
The head of Intelligence in Division 13 took a private jet to quickly arrive at the Hesla border in order to rescue his agents. Without any concrete evidence, Hesla had to release the Division 13 agents.
The head of Intelligence brought everyone out of the interrogation room and back to the jet. He ordered Qi Bai Jia to report on the details of the incident after he was certain that there was no Hesla personnel around.
“He is such a trouble-maker. Fortunately, he did not leave any trace. Otherwise, Hesla would not have rested until they found him,” he said.
Qi Bai Jia was feeling embarrassed and dared not reply. Ultimately, he had to take the full responsibility as the Stardragon leader of this mission.
The head of Intelligence looked at him without saying a word. He reflected on the reaction of the higher ups in Division 13 upon hearing this news. They believed that Carl’s orders were authorized by the high-ranking officials in Hesla. It was the only reasonable conclusion to explain why Hesla purposefully sent a radical officer to helm this mission. They were displeased with Hesla’s insidious acts. It was actually quite a good ending. After all, Hesla failed in causing any harm to Stardragon agents, and yet, they lost a high-ranking officer. They even had to swallow the loss without catching the culprit.
“This fellow did an excellent job.” The Head of Intelligence nodded quietly. This time, even the hawks in the department had nothing critical to say about this incident. In fact, they loved what Han Xiao did. If one had the audacity to plot against Stardragon, the retaliation would be swift and deadly.
Despite the appreciation, the heads of the Department unanimously agreed in the previous internal meeting that they had to impose greater control on Han Xiao and not let him escape their surveillance. As their source of valuable intel, Han Xiao was far too important to warrant any accidents or mishaps.
Because of Han Xiao’s cooperative attitude, they had been too lenient with his actions, but since the incident from the joint mission, they became deeply alarmed. They came to the consensus to reject any of Han Xiao’s future mission requests.
This motion was passed without any objection, even from the conservatives in the Division 13. The department was still willing to cooperate with Han Xiao, but before divulging all the intel he had, he would not leave the headquarters’ surveillance.
The Head of Intelligence finished contemplating and looked at the team of agents. He then looked at his watch and said in a puzzled tone, “Why is Han Xiao still not back?”
“I have no idea.” Qi Bai Jia shook his head.
“Han Xiao just contacted me.” Lin Yao suddenly pressed his headphone as he became overly-excited. But the next second, his expression changed drastically.
“What did he say?” The Head of Intelligence had a bad hunch.
“Brother Xiao said… he is going to lie low until the dust settles,” Lin Yao stammered.
“Lie low until the dust settles? This means….” The Head of Intelligence was slow to process the meaning of this message. Then, he quickly realized what it meant. “He is not coming back‽”
His expression turned ghastly.
Zhang Wei looked shell-shocked. Li Ya Lin was wide-eyed. Lambert was in disbelief.
Everyone was utterly shocked.
It looked as if he was really going solo!
There was really nothing he was afraid to do!
…
Twenty minutes later in Division 13’s headquarters, Gu Hui called for an emergency meeting. The directors who were not stationed at the headquarters joined the video conference. Everyone had a solemn look.
“Han Xiao ran away,” Gu Hui said in a sobering tone.
Everyone gasped.
“Is he defecting?”
“Unclear. Before this, he sniped a Heslean military officer. It is possible that he is afraid of the consequences, so he escaped. But this possibility is not high,” the Head of Intelligence replied.
The other heads were irritated. That reason was highly improbable, unless Han Xiao believed that Stardragon was incapable of protecting him, which also meant that Han Xiao looked down at their abilities.
“What about the GPS tracker that we planted in his phone?”
“The tracker has not moved in the last twenty-four hours. Han Xiao discovered and removed it.”
“He is going to defect. He must be still near us and heading toward the wilderness. We have to bring him back!” the Head of Internal Affairs thundered.
“We cannot be certain that he is defecting.” Gu Hui waved his hands disapprovingly.
All the heads simmered silently. They had been planning to restrict him in the West Capital the moment he was back, but his sudden escape had ruined all their plans.
Was it a pre-meditated move, or was it just a spur of the moment decision?
Was it defection, or was it something else?
Standard protocol indicated that when an agent broke contact, and when the exact cause behind the disappearance was inconclusive, the first thing they needed to do was send people to track the agent down. Then, they would contact the agent to make a judgement based on their reaction for the subsequent course of actions.
If the agent resisted the capture or continued to run, they would have no choice but to hunt the agent down globally.
If the agent had a good reason, the protocol ensured that a misunderstanding and manslaughter were avoided.
“This is just in. The Germinal Organization has increased the reward for capturing or killing Han Xiao by five times to five million on the dark net,” the Head of Intelligence said all of a sudden.
Everyone was utterly surprised. This mission had been announced as a joint exercise between the two countries. How did the Germinal Organization know that Han Xiao was the main catalyst? Was there a mole within them?
The increase in reward implied that the Germinal Organization was determined to kill Han Xiao more than ever. Furthermore, the organization had already located Han Xiao to be in the West Capital. Could that have been the reason for Han Xiao’s departure?
Was he not afraid of being located by the organization in the wilderness and slaughtered? The Germinal Organization was way more unhinged in the wilderness. They could very well fire missiles to bombard the whole area.
“He came to Stardragon to seek protection in the first place. How did he suddenly have the guts to leave?”
This question lingered in everyone’s mind.
Gu Hui knocked on table and concluded the meeting. “We will continue to keep his identity as our agent and file him under missing personnel. The Intelligence Department will collect the surveillance tapes, migration records, and transport records from everywhere to try and contact him. We will also send out search teams to find him. We must get hold of him first before any subsequent action!”
“Seconded.”
“Seconded.”
“Seconded.”
…
On the private jet back, the Division 13 agents constantly peeked at the corner, where Zhang Wei’s team was. It was like the center of a high-pressure vortex.
Zhang Wei pinched the bridge of his nose with a look of seriousness. The veins on his forehead were showing clearly.
Lambert was wiping his knife in silence.
Li Ya Lin was constantly shaking her legs with a look of indignation and anxiousness. Her tight black body suit outlined her beautiful and seductive long legs.
Lin Yao was sitting at the side, frightened.
He wanted to get away from his raging teammates but was afraid of doing so. He trembled in fear.
“This is too much! He just left without saying anything to us. He clearly does not treat us as his teammates!” Li Ya Lin slammed hard on the table. The thundery sound spooked all the other agents that were eavesdropping in the surrounding.
Zhang Wei’s hands held onto half of his face, and he looked as if he had nothing to live for.
“He modified my armored suit… and no one else knows how to repair it,” he mumbled.
“…”
It was such a tragedy. The other agents did not know how to console Zhang Wei.
“He asked me to take business orders for him, and he already collected the deposit for a few dozen orders. What do I do now‽” Li Ya Lin clenched her teeth in rage.
The other agents were startled. They realized that they had also made some orders…
Crap!
Our deposits!
“I used my reputation to guarantee to his business. He totally ruined my reputation!” Li Ya Lin now sounded like a grudging wife who was being cheated on. She pinched Lin Yao’s arm in an attempt to release her anger.
Lin Yao felt an immense pain. He immediately jumped far away and said hastily, “Calm down… Calm down…”
“Do you know his real identity?” Lambert suddenly commented.
The three of them were startled.
They were unaware of his real identity even after being on the same team for so long. Han Xiao had always been rather mysterious, and he had never divulged any information related to his real identity. Even the higher ups had refused to tell the team.
At this moment, everyone was dispirited.
“When I find him, I will definitely beat the crap out of him,” Li Ya Lin said in an infuriated voice as she cracked her knuckles loudly.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Two days later in Hesla’s Morning Wind City…
A coastal city near the border, Morning Wind City had a massive seaport that handled a massive volume of transcontinental ships. The city was a metropolis with many high-rise buildings.
Hesla had the strongest maritime force among the Six Nations—it focused on developing its navy to protect its numerous coastal cities. There were four continents on Aquamarine. They were separated from one another by the massive oceans.
There was an old saying—he who controls the sea controls everything.
There were tons of resources beneath the seafloor, including petroleum and natural gasses. Extraction of fossil fuels from the sea was the main pillar of Hesla’s economy.
Han Xiao remembered that Hesla had a secret military strategy called ‘The Forth Contingency Plan Against Great Crisis’. The plan was to produce many thousand-meter-long motherships in preparation for the scenario that the country suffered from massive calamities, such as nuclear world war. They could transition into a drifting nation on the sea and preserve their population.
Although this strategy eventually paved way for others, their spirit of preparing for the worst in times of peace was worth emulating. As the saying went, one who prospers in worries and hardships perishes in ease and comfort. It meant that if one did not create some sort of trouble, one might as well not live.
Wait. That does not sound right… Well, it’s not important.
Now, Han Xiao, with a new face, was waiting at the branch of Fabian Company in the city. He had used the black gold card from Matthews to receive VIP treatment at the place. It was his temporary rest stop.
There were three months to open beta, and moving around on his own would yield him the greatest amount of benefits. He could use Fabian Company’s channels to purchase mechanical parts with the huge amount of cash that he had accumulated to make more machinery. He could then earn a lot of EXP from this and even sell his products for more cash.
Old Man Lu’s secret quest would only be triggered after the open beta. He had established a good relationship with him, so he was in no rush to continue this mission.
Han Xiao wrote down the key points for personal development for this last period of time before the open beta.
– Trigger all the high-reward quests, and subsequently obtain rare skills and abilities to improve my power.
– Obtain stable supply channels for mechanical parts so as to allow myself to make machinery during the course of my quests and earn more EXP.
– Continue to cause destruction for the Germinal Organization.
– Increase my personal mission issuance’s reward limit in preparation for the open beta
These are roughly the points of focus.
Han Xiao put down his pen and began thinking carefully. The first point was easy since he remembered many large-scale quests. Also, supply channels could simply be obtained from the Fabian Company with the help of the black gold VIP card.
Destroying the Germinal Organization was his A-class quest. He had some initial thoughts on how he could maximize his large reservoir of intel—he could utilize the help from all the powers that were hostile toward the organization.
As for his personal mission reward limit, Han Xiao’s goal was to increase his Universal Reputation. Because there were two types of reward limits—daily limit and individual quest limit—he could increase both by improving his Universal Reputation. This was the most cost-effective method.
His Universal Reputation was now zero, but that was okay. Han Xiao would definitely increase it in due time.
There were three ways to obtain Universal Reputation. The first method was by achieving high contribution ratings in advanced and rare quests. Normally, only a planet’s main quest line would reward Universal Reputation—his A-class quest [Fall of the Germinal] was one of them.
Every planet, not only limited to novice planets, had at least one or more major storylines that linked to the respective main quests. For example, in Planet Aquamarine Version 1.0, there were two main storylines and one hidden storyline. The conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization was one of the main storylines; the others would only appear in the open beta. On the other hand, the hidden storyline could only be discovered by luck.
That method of obtaining Universal Reputation was highly difficult and time-consuming—he could not achieve it in a short timeframe.
The second method was rather random. It involved doing things related to one’s reputation with a camp that could potentially become well-known; the things could be very varied and circumstantial. Nobody had a clear idea of how to do it, and it was quite unreliable.
Han Xiao was keen on applying the third method—getting on top of some ranking lists—the easiest way to obtain Universal Reputation.
Some factions had created publicly-recognized rankings. By climbing to the top of rankings, he could easily obtain Universal Reputation. However, if some new guys were to push him down the ranking, his Universal Reputation would decrease, making this method unreliable. That was the method employed by most ‘real’ players. Universal Reputation quickly helped one accumulated camp reputation, which in turn, gave players discounts on NPC items and provided opportunities to trigger rare quests.
Han Xiao’s fingers on one hand tapped the table surface as he continued to contemplate on this, and with his other hand, he picked his nose.
Well, before I make a move, let me get rid all the burdens (EXP) I have now.
He looked at his Character Interface, which showed a grand total of 720,000 EXP. He directly channeled all the EXP into levelling his character to thirty. His stats consequently increased.
Mechanic (Novice) reached the maximum level. The last level-up always gave players the greatest stats increase. This time he received a ninety-point increase in his energy between levels nine and ten.
He then threw all six unassigned stats into his Intelligence, making it one hundred.
His mind instantly became much clearer, and he felt more at ease controlling all the machinery. Intelligence affected many different areas of a Mechanic, including production speed, production quality, and the damage bonuses when using Mechanic weapons. For example, when a Mechanic used a pistol that normally dealt twenty damage points, the pistol would deal more damage due to the Mechanic’s damage bonus. As such, even though other classes of players could still use Mechanic weapons, the damage would be lower.
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[Mechanic (Novice)] has reached the maximum level. To advance, learn 20 blueprints.
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This randomized requirement for advancing class is quite simple.
Han Xiao was delighted, and he counted the blueprints that he had learned so far. He was only short of eight.
He did not want to produce useless blueprints through random fusions. I should make full use of the EXP I have. Anyway, all the EXP is stored in the Interface, so there is no rush to advance my class.
…
At Fabian Company’s Morning Wind City branch, the man in charge, Antonio, was smoking a cigar. He was built like a mountain, filling the entire space on the sofa. He exhaled a puff out and looked Han Xiao, who was sitting at the sofa across, up and down to size him up.
Han Xiao was wearing a black jacket, and his Facial Simulator simulated an ordinary unemployed, middle-age male who looked rather unassuming. This was the face that he had prepared for his new identity.
Han Xiao took out a shopping list for supplies and said slowly, “I want all the items on this list.”
Antonio took the list and looked over it. “The total cost will be $100,000. After the twenty percent discount from your Black Gold Card, it will cost $80,000.”
“Also, I want to buy an entry pass for The Dark Net’s Blood Pact Society”
“$20,000.” Antonio’s eyes narrowed.
The Dark Net was the hub of all intelligence related to the underworld. It was fully controlled by the Dark Net Organization, a neutral faction that strictly followed the principles of not getting involved in conflicts and developing peacefully. Many factions were business partners with the Dark Net Organization. They provided people from the underworld many kinds of services, including, but not limited to, smuggled firearms, package transfers, safehouses, hired assassins, mercenaries, and intelligence.
The Blood Pact Society was the organization for hired assassins under the Dark Net Organization. Using the entry pass, Han Xiao could become a contracted assassin under the organization and enjoy all the services provided by the Dark Net. This meant that Han Xiao could unlock his relationship with the Dark Net just from using the pass.
Although Blood Pact Society was a lousy name, it had another world-famous name.
The Assassin Union!
Of course, one could also call it the assassin social club, which instantly degraded its class.
A player had to go through a series of complicated quests to join the Dark Net Organization. However, time was of the essence for Han Xiao, so he would rather used extra money to buy the pass instead of spending a few dozen days fulfilling the entry requirement. Although $20,000 was a big sum of money to ‘real’ players, it was considered peanuts to him.
“Who says money can’t buy happiness?” Han Xiao muttered. When he was still a ‘real’ player, he had needed to be stingy and calculative about every single purchase. He had never felt the pleasure of having so much money to spend before this.
The mechanical supplies were soon transported to the private workshop that Antonio arranged for him. Han Xiao went on to repair all the equipment that was damaged during the fight against Pan Kuang.
The mechanical parts left were meant for the new machinery.
I will be moving alone without any team support. Thus, my fighting style should focus more on minimizing danger. Sniping better suits me temporarily. I need to develop more powerful snipers and new types of bullets. Also, I will need some explosives, booby-traps, and anti-vehicle weapons. Lastly, I will probably need machinery that enables me to engage in close-quarter fights, such as tiny and covert weapons that can deal maximum damage…
Han Xiao contemplated for a while before he drew out his Interface to start his talent fusion. He decided to start with new bullets.
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Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 3 Basic Material Science + Lv.2 Basic Dynamics Principle)
This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!
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Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Spindle-Shaped Penetration Bullet]!
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 3 Basic Material Science + Lv.1 Basic Biology)
This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!
_____________________
Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Hayme Bullet]!
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 3 Basic Material Science + Lv. 2 Basic Optics)
This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!
_____________________
Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Flash Bullet]!
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I still have over 20,000 EXP left, and my sniping capability is not yet up to standard. Let’s continue.
Han Xiao pondered for a moment before he decided to raise the core skill [Snipe] to Lv.5, which increased his accuracy and sniping range.
He had stolen the sniper rifle named Red-Falcon from the Hesla army logistics team. The rifle was black and only a gray-grade weapon. It had mediocre quality. He soon started upgrading the weapon.
Han Xiao focused on increasing the power of the sniper rifle during this series of upgrades. The damage was increased to 92 ~ 103; the rate of fire was two rounds per second; the range was 600 meters. But with [Machinery Affinity] and [Sniping], his range could reach up to 750 meters, which was sufficient for his use.
Han Xiao was still left with tens of thousands of EXP, but he decided to hold onto it first. He started the production of the three bullets that he had previously discovered
…
Soon, batches of new bullets were produced.
Fabian Company’s private workshop was primarily adapted for making firearms and ammunition, which saved Han Xiao a fair bit of time for the whole production. This also reminded Han Xiao of something.
Should I make some robot assistants to help me with the production of mechanical parts?
He already had the blueprint for smart chips and other necessary parts for the robot. All he needed to do was upgrade his [Basic Programming] before he could produce a simple robot rover that could act as his assistant. However, since he did not have a fixed base for now, it was not appropriate for him to produce the robots yet.
Antonio’s footsteps were heard. Soon, he entered the workshop. He placed an intricately designed dark gold coin onto the table and said, “This is your membership pass.”
Han Xiao was delighted.
_____________________
You have unlocked a new Camp Reputation!
Blood Pact Society: Cold (0/300) – [Reserve-level Assassin]
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Hotel Victoria was a 43-floor-tall luxurious hotel, and it had branches in every major city of the Six Nations. It was owned by the Dark Net Organization, and it only permitted members of the organization to stay. The hotel would use the excuse of ‘no available rooms’ to deny normal people from staying in the place. While it acted as a safehouse for the members, it was also the transaction hall for people from different camps. No fighting was allowed in this place, and anyone who broke the rule would receive endless assassinations.
After obtaining the pass, Han Xiao went to Hotel Victoria. It had a classic interior, with various types of aged dark-brown wooden furniture, which had a beautiful luster. A sense of serenity was overflowing in every corner of the hotel.
Han Xiao came forward to the front desk before revealing his Blood Pact Society coin. Then he was brought to the 23rd floor by a servant.
23rd to 25th floors belonged to the Blood Pact Society. The 23rd floor was the resting and transaction areas for all the assassins—they would get employed or paid here. The floor also had numerous entertainment facilities such as a bar, café, and restaurants.
After he handed his dark golden coin to the receptionist on the 23rd floor, another server wearing a white glove came to receive Han Xiao. They sat down at a semi-private table in the corner. The server took out a notebook with black leather covers and started recording the personal information of this new member.
“What will your code name be?”
Han Xiao thought for a moment, and he decided to use an enchanting name, which might help his Universal Reputation in some ways.
“Apostle-level Observer No. 9527 from the Crimson Dynasty stationed in Couton Group.”
The server was stupefied.
Assassins usually had minimalist names like ‘Silver Fox’, ‘Devil Snake’, or ‘Ghost’, the kind that was more appreciated in the age when reduced attention spans were the norm. Such a ‘unique’ name would really intrigue employers, but it way too long.
The server coughed. “Can you shorten the name?”
What? I’ve only ever heard of others complaining about short names. I didn’t know people would dislike name for being too long.
Han Xiao pondered for a while before he came up with another name. “Black.”
The server was briefly rendered speechless.
“Your name is too short now. A single-world code name is permissible, but code names that are just colors have long been taken by other assassins. All the names like ‘Red’, ‘Blue’, ‘Orange’, and so on were mostly names of the honored assassins of the previous generation who have passed away. The organization will not allow someone else to reuse their code names.”
Han Xiao smacked his lips in irritation. It seemed him to him that naming was a troublesome affair anywhere he went. He then came up with the final name. “Mr. Black.”
“Mr. Black… Alright.”
This name was much more ordinary. The server quickly recorded it.
“You are now a Reserve-level assassin with a blank resume. You can only rise to Scorpion-level upon the completion of your first assignment. Employers will usually pick from our whole list of assassins. If someone chooses you, we will contact you. Until then, you can take up assignments that are open to everybody on the market or assassinate wanted personnel.
“Of course, you can also accept private jobs. We do not have any hard requirements for our assassins, but we will take five percent of the reward as our commission. If you have any questions in the future, you can always call up our reception at Hotel Victoria.
“Sounds reasonable.” Han Xiao nodded his head.
There were two reasons for him joining the Blood Pact Society. First, he wanted to take on all the wanted personnel that warranted high bounties, and these missions would trigger high-reward quests. Secondly, he could earn some Universal Reputation by becoming one of the top ten ranked assassins on the Dark Net.
There were only three months till the open beta. He needed to accumulate a large base of resources using the remaining time he had.
“All of these are ‘wanted’ assignments.”
The servant took out a tablet and opened a page on the Dark Net before passing it to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao instantly saw the most popular personnel on the list—himself.
“Zero. Five Million Dollars Reward. Dead or Alive. Location: West Capital, Stardragon. All the best.”
If he had returned to the West Capital, his movements would have been heavily restrained. Fortunately, he had escaped early. Han Xiao sniggered. It would take a long time for the Germinal Organization to realize their efforts were all in vain.
He was the most popular target on the wanted list as the Germinal Organization had spent a lot of effort in chasing him down and hunting him recently, but he was not the most wanted. Some of the accumulated prices had even reached tens of millions—they were mostly impossible assignments such as stealing top-secret intelligence from a certain country. Based on the security and defense around Division 13’s underground database, this mission’s success rate could go as low as 0.001%, with the probability of death being 99.999%. This assignment only looked good on the list; no one would really attempt to do it.
Han Xiao scanned further down the list. He soon settled on a wanted assignment.
“Take down the Rose Militant, a group of mercenaries active in the Somar Desert, in the Southern Land.”
The Southern Land was where Hesla was located, and it was also called the South Continent. It had a vast land area and tropical climate. The other continents were the North Continent, West Continent, and the Andrea Continent, which located in the middle of the other three.
Han Xiao picked this mission due its close proximity. Just as he was about to accept the assignment, the server suddenly jolted and said, “Mr. Black, you have a new personal assignment.”
Han Xiao was pleasantly surprised. He received an assignment within five minutes of uploading his particulars onto the net.
“This organization’s business is really thriving,” Han Xiao remarked sincerely.
The server was puzzled himself. “Such happenings are actually quite rare.”
“The employer hopes to speak with you personally.” The server looked at the screen and continued. “Take a seat first. He will arrive in about ten minutes.”
Han Xiao complied.
Ten minutes later, a middle-aged man walked in hastily. He had a head full of white hair, which made him look much older than his real age, and his expression was one of exasperation. He walked into the hall and looked left and right before he came forward to Han Xiao. “I am Cheng Shan Shui.”
Before an assignment was officially accepted, the employer would not divulge the target’s real name. Assassins could only ask for other basic information. “What will the bounty for this assignment be? And tell me more about the target’s protection and location.”
“12 to 20 body guards. The location is right in this city. The remuneration will be $10,000.”
“Only $10,000?” Han Xiao frowned slightly.
That price was insufficient to employ an assassin.
Cheng Shan Shui nodded anxiously. He had immediately been turned down by other assassins when they heard the price. He lacked enough money to pay for the usual price, so he had decided to try his luck on new assassins like Han Xiao.
“I will take it,” Han Xiao agreed.
Cheng Shan Shui cheered inwardly. He took out a stack of documents and passed them to Han Xiao. “Yue You Zu, located right in Morning Wing City.”
Yue You Zu was a mafioso in Hesla who was always accompanied by 12 to 16 bodyguards that were made up of retired army reconnaissance soldiers. Recently, he had expanded his influence into the territory of Morning Wind City, which belonged to the local mafia head, Cheng Shan Shui. He could not guard against Yue You Zu’s invasion, and so his mafia gang had disbanded. He was now left all alone and wanted to hire assassin to avenge him.
Han Xiao signed the contract after he finished reading the information.
_____________________
You have triggered an E-level Quest [Assassination Assignment (Cheng Shan Shui).
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Han Xiao already knew the quest requirement. He went on to look at the reward of the quest, and it was not much, only 5,000 EXP.
“I’m leaving.” Han Xiao stood up and prepared to leave.
Cheng Shan Shui quickly stopped Han Xiao from going and asked, “How long will you need to finish this job?”
Han Xiao paused. He looked out the window and saw that it just reached noon. “I’m guessing you haven’t had lunch, right?”
Cheng Shan Shui was startled, not understanding what Han Xiao was trying to say.
Han Xiao turned his head and gave him an aloof look. “He will be gone by the time you finish your lunch.”
Cheng Shan Shui’s heart skipped a beat.
Based on his impression, assassins would normally do some pre-assignment preparations, such as reconnaissance and escape route planning.
Was this Mr. Black really that powerful, or was he just being arrogant?
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“We meet again, Mr. Cheng.”
Cheng Shan Shui was anxiously waiting for the result of his assignment when he heard a voice. He raised his head and saw that it was the man, code-named Lawson, who had previously turned down his assignment. He was a Scorpion-level assassin.
“Oh. It’s you. How are you doing?”
“I have some free time for now. I can take your assignment,” Lawson said coolly.
Cheng Shan Shui’s eyes glimmered for a moment before they became gloomy again. “I’m sorry. My assignment has already been accepted by someone else.”
Cheng Shan Shui gave a bitter smile.
The Blood Pact Society’s rule dictated that once a contract had been established, no one could alter it.
Lawson was slightly disappointed upon hearing his words.
He had come all the way from Red Maple to visit a friend in Hesla, and he was taking the opportunity to travel around Hesla, so he had no intention of doing any assignment on this trip. When Cheng Shan Shui approached him with his assignment, he had given an outright rejection because the reward for the mission was too low.
But now, Lawson was feeling bored from the idling the past few days. Thus, he wanted to do some simple assignments, and he had planned to take up Cheng Shan Shui’s mission. He was surprised that someone else had already accepted the assignment in just one day.
Lawson was annoyed at the situation, but he knew that he could not break the society’s rule. He had no choice but to give up on this. He then walked toward the bar and ordered a drink.
After taking two sips from his drink, his phone suddenly rang. He looked at the incoming call—it was from an old client of his, Yue You Zu.
“Hey, Lawson.” A man’s voice was heard on the phone.
“Yes, it’s me. How can I help you, Mr. Yue?” Lawson said nonchalantly.
“I have a job that I hope you can help with.”
“Tell me more about it.” Lawson’s eyes suddenly turned sharp.
“I want you to help me get rid of someone.”
“Who?”
“I have sent the details to you.”
The rule of confidentiality did not apply here since it was a private job.
Lawson took out his tablet and looked over the information. He then raised his head suddenly and looked at Cheng Shan Shui – he was the target!
“So, what do you think?” Yue You Zu asked. A group of people could be heard going down the stairs from the phone.
“I will take it,” Lawson replied confidently.
“Great. I will ask my guy to transfer the deposit to…”
Boom!
Suddenly, the sound of someone dropping onto the floor was heard through the phone. A gunshot was heard from a distance, and Lawson’s body stiffened. He recognized the sound—it was a gunshot from a sniper rile. Soon after, he heard people shouting and screaming in panic. He did not bother to speak as he knew Yue You Zu had just been killed by someone.
“This sniper killed the target, who was surrounded by a dozen bodyguards, with just one shot. He’s a fine sniper.” Lawson’s face tensed up as he immediately deduced the whole sequence of events—Cheng Shan Shui’s assignment was to kill Yue You Zu. After all, they were enemies.
Cheng Shan Shui must be waiting for the sniper. Let me see who the assassin is.Lawson’s eyes flashed.
…
Using the information provided by Cheng Shan Shui, Han Xiao stationed himself on top of a high-rise building a few hundred meters away from Yue You Zu’s base in advance. He aimed his sniper from a high vantage point and wanted to snipe Yue You Zu through the window. However, Yue You Zu walked out of the main gate, which made Han Xiao’s job much easier.
Even though he was surrounded tightly by a dozen bodyguards, they were no use in defending Han Xiao’s shot.
His newly-produced [Spindle-Shaped Penetration Bullet] was strong enough to penetrate any non-metal object easily. The bullet pierced through a bodyguard’s body and with no sign of slowing down, it went right into Yue You Zu’s heart.
One shot one kill.
Assassinating a regular person was too simple for Han Xiao. He finished the job without any hiccups.
Han Xiao’s Facial Simulator was an extremely useful tool for an escape. He changed his look and ran away easily before the commotion attracted the police.
…..
As soon as Han Xiao was back in Hotel Victoria, the troubled Cheng Shan Shui stood up with a look of anxiousness.
“The job is done.”
Cheng Shan Shui’s body loosened up instantly. He subconsciously looked at his watch, and he realized that Han Xiao had only spent forty-five minutes between leaving this place and coming back, which meant he had taken less than ten mins for the actual assassination after subtracting the travelling time.
That was too fast!
“It’s for you to pay me.”
“Yep. Okay. Okay.” Cheng Shan Shui was in reverence. He took out a suitcase containing $10,000 and handed it to Han Xiao.
_____________________
[Assassination Assignment (Cheng Shan Shui)] completed. You gain 25,000 EXP.
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Cheng Shan Shui left with light footsteps, as if he was rid of a heavy load.
Han Xiao pressed the bell to call the servant in so that he could take up the Wanted job on The Rose Militant. Suddenly, he was aware of something, and he turned around.
“Someone is watching me?”
A man, sitting at the bar, looked at him as if he was sizing him up. Han Xiao did not recognize him, but the man clearly showed a hint of provocation.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, not afraid at all, but he did not want anyone to give casual provoking looks at him. He gathered his power and threw a freezing stare toward the man to send a universal message.
What are you looking at!
Lawson’s whole body turned rigid as if he was being locked onto by a menacing sense of hostility. The feeling of danger was hitting his mind in waves. He hurriedly moved his eye sight away from Han Xiao, and the ill feeling finally disappeared.
In just a few short seconds, Lawson’s forehead had become covered in cold sweat.
What a terrifying feeling. I should never provoke this guy again!
Lawson quickly gave up on his previous scheming thoughts and left hastily after paying the bill, refusing to stay a moment longer.
….
“We meet again.”
Han Xiao smiled gently at the servant.
It was the first time the servant had encountered a newbie who ranked up to an official member of the Society so quickly. He was left in wonder. “Now you are officially a Scorpion-level assassin. Higher tiers of benefits will be available to you. Additionally, you will receive primary VIP benefits in Hotel Victoria in other cities.”
“What is my current ranking on the Dark Net assassin’s ranking list?” Han Xiao suddenly asked.
The servant was dumbfounded by question. “Only the top-ranking assassins will appear on the list. You are at least more than a thousand over rankings away.”
After speaking, he took out his tablet and opened the ranking list for Han Xiao to see.
Han Xiao quietly nodded after scanning through the list. Right now, the top ten assassins were on average at level forty. They were not of top-notch capability. Only the top three assassins were more terrifying as their powers were near the upper-limit of Version 1.0. This ranking list was determined by the number of completed assignments and other related achievements. ‘Real’ players could only get on the ranking list by competing missions. The same rule applied for the ranking list of hired mercenaries.
Planet Aquamarine did not have many powerful Superhumans. Before the open beta, players could hardly meet any Superhumans above level forty. Furthermore, those powerful individuals who were level fifty to sixty had the highest combat powers on this planet. They were generally leaders of large organizations, secret weapons, recluses, or super criminals and formed their own social circles. Thus, they were hardly present before the normal people and players.
Players would only meet them through missions or by getting more powerful themselves.
After these thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, he opened the wanted list and pointed at one of the assignment. “I want to take the assignment to eliminate the Rose Militant.”
“Alright. Your request is now being process. Please give us a few moments.”
The servant wrote down the request on some paper before placing it in a specially-made metal tube. He went forward to the reception desk and stuck the tube into a metal pipeline, which fitted the metal tube perfectly.
Swoosh.
The tube was sucked into the pipeline.
The tube travelled rapidly through the pipeline, bypassing numerous openings and other similar tubes, before coming to its new exit.
It was a spacious room decorated like a customer service room. Rows of tables were lined up neatly with a few computers on top of them. The administrative staff were busying processing the documents on their computers, and every table was connected to the pipeline.
An administrative worker dressed in an all-black suit took out the paper from the metal tube and started typing furiously on the keyboard to upload the information.
“Wanted Target: The Rose Militant (Mercenary)
“Requirement: Complete Annihilation
“Initiator: Rothschild Family
“Location: Somar Desert
“Initiated Date: Year 685, 17 November
“Wanted Amount: $3,000,000
“Difficulty Assessment: Hard
“Assignment Record:
– 685.11.27, Code name – Hall (Dark-level) [Killed in action]
– 685.12.11, Code name – Bloody Hand (Dark-level) [Killed in action]
– 685.3.10, Code name – Magic Flower (Dark-level), Freeman (Dark-level) [Killed in action]”
…
“Assignment Info Update: The strength of the militia is currently between 80 to 120 people, including four superhumans, leader Luo (Esper), instructor Dorothy (Pugilist), instructor Ghostly Fox (Pugilist), and unknown (suspected to be a Mechanic). They are active in the Somar Desert.
“Authorizing… Authorization approved.
“Assignment Info Updated.
“688.4.1, Code Name – Mr. Black (Scorpion-level) [Awaiting results].”
….
At the same time, Han Xiao triggered the corresponding quest.
_____________________
You have triggered C-level quest [Bounty Hunter (The Rose Militant)]!
Quest Information: The Somar Desert is filled with many factions, including Wanderers and hired militants… but how did a desolated land like this attract so many powerful factions? Perhaps it has something to do with certain incidents in the past. You should explore this land.
Quest Requirement: Kill all members of The Rose Militant. Time limit: 15 days
Quest Reward: 15,000 EXP
Special Reward: 25,000 EXP, unknown reward
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“I need to use your cargo plane,” Han Xiao said to Antonio. They were in a base camp of the Fabian company.
Antonio was slightly shocked.
“We only use the military cargo plane for large scale transactions. Even if you are a Black-Gold VIP, you are still required to pay the stipulated charges,” Antonio stuttered.
“Ok, got it.”
“Well, how many guys you want to transport. When will they leave?”
“Just myself. I’m leaving immediately.”
Antonio’s chubby face was shaking like waves of water. He paused for quite a while and eventually said, “What a waste.”
The military cargo plane was able to reach the destination in around a day’s time. There was a simple garage available on the plane, and Han Xiao was able to create new machinery and gain experience during the trip on the plane.
“A trip by the plane cost $50,000. Are you serious?”
“When can I board the plane?” Han Xiao took out a large stash of cash from his briefcase that contained a hundred thousand dollars.
“One hour.”
The Fabian Organization rented a stretch of runway at the Morning Wind City’s airport. There were a couple of large olive-green cargo planes parked. Han Xiao brought along all his gear and materials and boarded one of the planes. Soon, he could sense the vibrations. The plane started to accelerate and took off into the clouds.
Once the plane regained its stability in the skies after the take-off, Han Xiao was able to start his creations.
…
The glaring sun was shining brightly on the endless desert. The yellow sand was heated to a temperature unbearable for the human body.
A group of twenty was trudging through the desert.
They were clad in torn and tattered gray robes. Their robes had not been cleaned for god knew how long. Their robes were drenched in sweat, releasing a disgusting stench, and they stuck to their wet bodies. They lips were cracking, and their eyes draped down. Their fatigue was evident from the look on their faces. They were moving shakily, and it was as if they were going to collapse at any moment. The horses that they brought along also looked sick and skinny.
The Somar desert had once had an oasis. The country was rich, and its citizens lived happily. But after a war, the entire country had perished. The oasis had been destroyed by the battles and blended into the surrounding desert. The people walking in desert were the citizens of the country that had vanished.
A legend of the old nation said that ruins of over a million years old were hidden deep in the Somar desert. Beneath the ruins, there was a hidden treasure that held the power to control the entire desert!
In the wars that happened decades ago, the desert had undergone a series of abnormal changes. The sand behaved like water and transformed into a whirlpool. The whirlpool moved around the desert as if it was being controlled by someone. The whirlpool then vanished after seven days. The records of the eerie incident disappeared with the destruction of the country. Many citizens of the old nation believed that the treasure could revive their country, and they searched long and hard for it.
The Wanderers active along the border of the Somar desert were also known also as the pilgrims.
That group of twenty was the last batch of pilgrims.
“The ruins of Felonia, the power of the magic, they are sure to exist,” the eldest of the pilgrims mumbled to himself.
…
A fleet of vehicles returned to the desert to defend the boundaries.
“Dorothy! Nothing again this trip?” Luo Qing, the chief of the Rose Militants, questioned.
“This time, we searched in sectors E4, E5, and D4. There are still no signs of Felonia,” Dorothy replied with frustration. She was a strong black lady. Her face was disfigured by a long scar that looked like a centipede. Her strong muscular arms had tattoos that were hard to see due to her dark complexion.
Rose Militant was a mercenary organization made up entirely of female members. They were active in the Somar desert and had been searching for Felonia for years.
There were two trainers in the organization. The other trainer, nicknamed Ghostly Fox, was a petite white lady and a brilliant assassin.
“In this search, our members came into contact with the Coutonians. Wen Li and Cecil died in battle.”
All the returning members of the militia suffered from injuries. Their bulletproof vests had many holes, and the ceramic tiles housed in the vests were also shattered.
Luo Qing gave a cold glance and said, “Be more careful in the next search. The Coutonians are funded by the Rothschild family, who have always wanted to wipe us out.”
All the military groups active in the Somar desert had their sponsors. They all had the mission of finding Felonia. Therefore, battles between the different groups were very common. Most mercenary soldiers had at least ten lives on their hands. They were all ruthless individuals.
…
Han Xiao felt a shake in the plane. The huge force pressed his body hard on the seat. Gradually, that force pushing him disappeared.
“The plane has landed,” the pilot shouted through the speakers.
Han Xiao brought his briefcase down, and he could feel a wave of heat once he alighted from the plane.
The landing site was a warehouse surround by barbed wire. There were many militias patrolling the area. It was the branch of the Fabian organization in the Somar desert. The Fabian organization was a global arms-dealing organization that had branches everywhere for more convenient business dealings.
“Welcome to Somar desert.” Antonio descended from the plane. His white shirt was stretched tightly by his fat body. The chunk of meat could be seen clearly as if he was topless.
“Why did you follow?”
“Haha, the chief in charge of the Somar branch was killed in a recent battle. Therefore, I am here to take care of some administrative matters. Also, it has been a long while since I travelled.”
Han Xiao nodded. He was not shy at all and asked, “I need a map indicating the different military groups that are active. Also, can you lend me a desert jeep?”
“I’ll get someone to make the arrangements.”
Somar desert spanned a large area. Even if he drove the jeep continuously without sleeping and followed the correct route, he would need at least ten day to travel across the desert. Since it was hard to navigate through a desert, a radar was definitely required to accurately tell the direction. Furthermore, there were many military groups active in the region.
Han Xiao felt confused as he could not understand what the different groups of forces were fighting for in the barren terrain.
“To find Felonia.”
“What’s that?” Han Xiao was very curious. He did not have any recollection about that word. It was probably a hidden mission that had not been activated in his past life.
Antonio yawned. “I am equally clueless.”
Han Xiao realized that Antonio was trying to hide something from him. He raised his brows, collected his gear, and walked toward to jeep without saying another word. He was ready to check out the active areas of Rose Militant.
“Bon voyage.” Antonio waved lazily at Han Xiao to bid farewell.
Han Xiao drove the jeep into the desert through an opening in the barbed wires.
…
Through the information on the radar, Han Xiao managed to reach a location, quite a distance away from the area occupied by Rose Militant, where he could observe the activities of the member of the organization using a telescope.
The campsite of Rose Militant was heavily guarded. It had concrete walls and barbed wire on the walls. The metal gate was the sole entrance and exit to the base.
Within the base, there was a tall sentry post. The sentry guard on the post observed the surroundings while the sentry post was also equipped with a huge search light that would be switched on at night.
Han Xiao came to a conclusion—unless he could burrow into the sand and dig a tunnel into the base, it was almost impossible for him to infiltrate the base.
Furthermore, Rose Militant consisted only of women. They had big breasts and perky asses. Han Xiao had a perky ass, but he could not squeeze out any breasts. Even if he could disguise himself as a woman, it was highly likely that he would be discovered.
The infiltration was bound to fail.
Han Xiao glanced at the weapons on the sentry post. There were several grenade launchers and dozens of heavy machine guns in addition to the tough concrete walls encircling the base.
An assault of the base was also bound to fail.
It seems like the only way to achieve success for the mission is to lure the snake out. I need to employ traps in my upcoming battles. I need to create some new items, Han Xiao thought to himself as he left.
He started his journey back to the Somar headquarters of the Fabian company. He wanted to ask Antonio if he could use the garage.
There were still seven remaining potential points. He raised [Basic Electromagnetism] to level four and [Basic Spatial Sensing] to level three, using a total of four points.
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 4 Basic Electromagnetism + Lv. 3 Basic Energy Theory + Lv. 3 Basic Spatial Sensing)
This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
_____________________
Fusion
Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Electromagnetic Combat Scanning Visor]!
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Oh?
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. The product from the fusion was not what he had anticipated. However, the visor was of great use to a sniper since it offered greater accuracy compared to using the thermo-scope. The new visor enabled vision through the internal compartment of concrete walls. If it was mounted onto the scope, it would allow for more accurate shots through the concrete walls at the stipulated target.
Let me try it again.
_____________________
…
This fusion will cost you 30,000 EXP!
_____________________
Fusion
Success!
Congratulations, you have discovered [Electromagnetic Pulse Interference Machine]!
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That’s the one. Han Xiao nodded.
The EMP Interference Machine was a common blueprint. It was very likely to appear, and other than the EMP Interference Machine, there were a couple of other machinery blueprints that could meet his expectations. In fact, he had actually set aside sufficient EXP for a third fusion. However, he was no longer required to use the additional EXP and could save it for future tasks.
The powers of the EMP Interference Machine were known far and wide.
There was no shortage of vehicles available in the desert. However, since Han Xiao was a sniper, maintaining the distance between the target was of the utmost importance, and he needed to have some distractions for vehicles if they approached.
He was still short of some highly destructive explosives, mines, and traps.
He touched his chin, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He had a new idea.
I guess I can try creating the items and skip the fusion process!
Previously, the players could hardly utilize self-creation skills. However, they were able to absorb the knowledge from the other blueprints and fuse their knowledge and the information from the other blueprints together to create new ones. They were able use their knowledge gained to add on to the details of their concepts. Through self-creation, they were able to skip the arduous research and development process of the new machinery, and they could even create powerful new machinery ahead of the expected progression.
The core concept behind the highly explosive rounds was flammable gas. By compressing flammable gas into a container, its power would be escalated to an extent that was no lesser than the Mines of Shattering Shards.
Since he needed to create an explosive mine, he needed additional gunpowder and ball bearings. He started to consider the use of flammable gas.
He decided to split the explosive round into different sections. The flammable gas became less reactive upon coming into contact with the atmospheric gases, and they were sealed up. There was a switch in the round that also acted as a timer. Once the time was up, the switch would click, and as the flammable gases came into contact with the gunpowder, an explosion would be triggered.
Since he was going to utilize his prototyping skills, Han Xiao felt that it was a good opportunity to increase the power of his product by equipping it with additional effects. Therefore, he decided to incorporate the theory behind the Hayme bullet into his new creation.
Han Xiao quickly finalized the blueprint in his mind and started crafting the new equipment with his hands. A prototype was required to be tested in order to determine whether the new creation was a success or not. Most players employed the creation process—they merely set the blueprint and selected the materials and tools required. They did not participate in the manufacturing process, and the success of the creation depended a lot on luck.
However, Han Xiao was involved in every phase of the production process, including the hands-on manufacturing. Hence, he was able to fine tune the steps in each stage of the production, and that greatly increased the success rate of his creation.
After a while, a circular mine with a thirty-millimeter diameter emerged from Han Xiao’s production. He operated the interface and did an automatic scan to determine if his creation was successful.
_____________________
Scanning to determine success of product…
Failure!
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It failed? Han Xiao raised his brows and frowned.
The reason behind the failure had to be due to the fact that the mechanical components were unable to attain the projected effects, or there were some obvious loopholes.
He found a spot to test out the power of his new creation, and he discovered that the ignition process involving the highly flammable gas, gunpowder, and the poisonous gas was awry. Although an explosion still took place, the damage caused was far below what was projected, and modifications were required.
The gases were very hard to control. A slight mistake meant that the entire process had to be repeated and modifications of the mechanical parts had to be made. The weapons-testing area of the Fabian Organization’s camp was completed charred, and venomous gases were everywhere. Han Xiao had to vacate the ground, else he would suffer continuous deductions of his HP.
Finally, after thirteen failures, an angelic line emerged on the interface.
_____________________
Success!
You have successfully created a new prototype blueprint!
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A new explosive’s blueprint emerged in his mind, and the interface recorded all the theories behind the machinery. After witnessing the effects of this new weapon, Han Xiao whispered, “It’s too conventional to call the explosive the Highly-Flammable, Poisonous, Delayed-Explosion Mine. I shall call the mine ‘Flaming Poison’.”
_____________________
The naming is successful.
You have gained the blueprint of the new creation [Flaming Poison Mine]!
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After the newly-created blueprint was recognized by the interface, the usage of the explosive became a skill, and EXP could be utilized to increase the level of the explosive. Furthermore, the various requirements to create the explosive were also recorded on the interface, and by referring to the interface during the creation process, the manufacturing of the explosive could take place at a faster rate.
Han Xiao’s eyes lit up brightly. Indeed, just as I expected, the self-creation blueprints can meet my needs for adaptable weapons during battle situations, and there is a huge potential in this area that has yet to be unraveled.
The next step will be to create a sufficient inventory of explosives.
…
Night soon fell.
Han Xiao drove his jeep into an empty and spacious sector. He then arranged rows of fireworks on the ground and put them on delayed ignition. After that, he prepared the Flaming Venoms and EMP Interference Machine along the path that Rose Militant had to take in order to reach the specified sector.
How did Han Xiao predict the route that Rose Militant would take?
It was based on the shortest distance between the two points.
Obviously, one could not eliminate the possibility that the enemy would take a longer path instead of the predicted one. However, it was not much of a worry as there was always another opportunity to ambush the enemy.
The EMP Interference Machine was a circular piece of equipment with a base. Han Xiao had created a portable version with a height of merely one meter and a radiation radius of 300 meters that released high frequency wave signals. The machine could interfere with the abilities of other precision electronics such as communication devices, remotely-controlled electronics, and search radars. It was especially effective against vehicles and could paralyze their communications, signal receptors, controllers, and even their movements.
Although Han Xiao did not expect the vehicles operated by the Rose Militants to be equipped with anti-interference machines, he adjusted the interference machinery to a frequency that had the highest likelihood for success. As long as there was a slight opening in the vehicle that was not equipped with anti-interference metal, the vehicle would succumb to the effects of the interference.
The drawback of such a method was that it was very draining on the battery of the machine. However, it was not much of an issue as the machine was not required to release constant interference. As long as there was one successful penetration, the vehicle would be paralyzed.
After setting up the trap, Han Xiao parked his jeep at a sand dune that was around four hundred meters away from the ambush. He then silently lay prone on ground and looked through his scope like a patient hunter waiting for his kill.
At night, the temperature of the desert plunged, and the cold gusts of wind blew the sand into the air. Han Xiao was wearing a windbreaker and had thick leather gloves on his hands to prevent the freezing cold from immobilizing his hands and thus his accuracy.
Boom!
The fireworks shot up into the sky in the marked-out sector. The fireworks were especially glaring in the dark of the night. They could be seen clearly from even tens of kilometers away.
…
“There’s a problem!”
In the base of the Rose Militants, the sentry guards saw the booming fireworks in the sky and immediately reported the situation to Luo Qing.
“Dorothy, take your troops and check out the situations. Be careful of the other militias around and request for reinforcements immediately if you guys engage enemies,” Luo Qing quickly ordered.
Dorothy nodded. She selected twenty troops. They suited up, equipping themselves with a plethora of magazine cartridges and grenades. They then rode out in four desert jeeps.
In the Coutonian base-camp, Couton, who was the chief, also saw the fireworks and ordered his men, “Bring your troops and check out the situation. A fight is likely to take place.”
A couple of the armed jeeps drove out of the Couton base-camp into the wild.
The same scene also played out in a couple of other militant-camps.
…
The jeeps of Rose Militant were speeding through the desert. The rotating tires threw the sand into the air, and a long ‘dragon’ of dust trailed behind the vehicles.
“Dorothy, is this the appearance of Felonia?” a female trooper asked Dorothy.
Dorothy had a ferocious look. When she squeezed her lips, she looked like a black tigress that devoured anything in her way. She replied coldly, “If Felonia could be discovered so easily, I wouldn’t have wasted two years here. This is probably some smokescreen created by others. Everyone, stay on high alert. This is probably another trap the Coutonians planted!”
Hum––
Once Dorothy’s sentence ended, an eerie sound of electricity could be heard in the air. Dorothy and five other troops could sense that there was a special wave that originated from somewhere not far away.
Simultaneously, all the meters on the cars cracked, and the four Jeeps instantly lost control and collided into one another like drunkards. No matter how much the drivers stepped on the pedals, the jeeps were still out of their control.
“Enemy ambush!” Dorothy was shocked and started to scan the surroundings alertly.
What was the cause of the paralysis of the vehicles? Could it have been an EMP‽
The troops searched around, and they could only see the yellowish sand in the darkness. There was nothing strange.
The desert was spacious, and stars of the galaxy could also be seen in the night sky. The cold wind of the night howled.
The troops could feel the goosebumps on their arms. It was as if they were being choked by a gigantic hand and could hardly breathe.
Boom!
A Rose Militant was flung into the air by a large shockwave and landed hard onto the sand. She no longer had any breath, and there was a bloody hole in her body that looked ghastly.
“There’s a sniper. Hide behind the vehicle!” Dorothy was shocked and angry. She immediately gathered her teammates to move behind the vehicle and requested for reinforcements by shooting the flare into the air.
Rose Militant felt a small sense of security as their base was relatively close to their current position. Within fifteen minutes, their reinforcements would arrive!
Han Xiao, who was lying prone on the sand, saw the flare and muttered to himself, “This arrow into the clouds will bring tens of thousands of enemy troops.”
He then changed to the highly flammable magazine and fired a shot at the trap lined with the Flaming Poison Mines. Fire started burning at the point the bullet landed and ignited the Faming Poison Mines.
Boom!
After a thunderous sound, a sea of flames emerged, and it resulted in a chain reaction that lit up the other mines, causing continuous explosions!
The merciless flames swallowed four jeeps, and the poisonous gas was released everywhere. The damage to the enemies caused by the poison and burns appeared on the interface.
The Hayme Bullet was a poisonous bullet also known as ‘The Bullet of Justice’. The effect of the damage was much greater when the theory behind the Hayme Bullet was applied to the Flaming Poison Mines.
Coughs were heard everywhere. Dorothy felt nauseous, and her teammates looked as if they were suffering worse. Their heads were spinning, and they were vomiting uncontrollably.
If all of them continued to remain at their current position, they were bound to die from either the flames or the poisonous gas.
What a sly bastard! Dorothy tired hard to overcome the nauseating sensation in her chest and yelled, “Charge toward the sniper and kill him. That’s the only way we can survive!”
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The Rose Militants staggered toward the direction that the bullets originated from. The venomous gas had infiltrated their bodies, and they were clearly poisoned. Only Dorothy, who had the physical attributes of a pugilist, was able to withstand the poison. She led the troops in the charge.
Han Xiao calmly switched to the cartridge with the spindle-shaped penetration bullets. He fired the sniper, and the gunshots sounded as if they followed a steady tempo. Shot by shot, he wiped out the militants one by one. The bulletproof vests were unable to withstand the power of the penetration bullets. Coupled with Han Xiao’s personal attribute, a shot fired by Han Xiao could deal a theoretical damage of around 130 damage points. Moreover, the normal troops ranged from level five to level eight. They possessed around 150 points of HP. Therefore, a single shot was enough to kill them with the damage dealt by the poison and flames. A second shot was not even needed to kill the troops. The efficiency of wiping out the enemy was especially high.
Han Xiao deliberately made Dorothy the sole survivor of his attacks. Firstly, he killed all of Dorothy’s assistants, and he was only left with the strongest of them all, Dorothy, to fight.
After Han Xiao killed the last of the ordinary militants, Dorothy finally got close to him. She raised her modified machine gun and started firing hysterically at him.
Han Xiao ducked, and the bullets struck the sand dunes, spraying sand into the air.
Dorothy was running and firing her weapon ferociously at the same time. She finally came before Han Xiao after she exhausted the bullets of her magazine. She appeared to be brutal killer.
The sniper was bound to be dead if a pugilist managed to get close to the sniper.
Dorothy could not wait to smash Han Xiao’s skull into pieces, just as she had done to a couple of her other enemies.
“Hunting-tiger Axe!”
Dorothy wielded her axe and slashed it at Han Xiao’s head. The sound of the axe slicing the wind could be heard. She was confident that her strike was powerful enough to wreck Han Xiao’s brain into pieces.
Han Xiao dodged the strike and slide backward three steps like a mudskipper. Dorothy missed her strike.
“Strafe!”
Like a phantom, Han Xiao drew the Berserk Eagles from his waist. The continuous firing by Han Xiao instantly led to countless penetration bullets piercing Dorothy’s body.
Dorothy shrieked in pain. However, her eyes revealed a tinge of arrogance. She took out a shotgun from her back and fired at Han Xiao.
“Shotgun bullets are the deadliest close range. It is a sure kill—you’re a dead man!”
Dorothy expected Han Xiao to be dead, but the next moment astonished her.
The scale-like armor covered Han Xiao upper body, and the bullets from the shotgun struck the hard surface of the armor, resulting in sparks. With his current skills, Han Xiao was able to create a magnetically-controlled retractable armor that covered his entire upper body.
“I have armor, you fool!”
Han Xiao then fired all the bullets in his magazine at Dorothy’s body. A pugilist that reached Pan Kuang’s level was able to withstand the penetration by the bullets only if he focused hard.
Compared to Pan Kuang, Dorothy was much weaker, and it was impossible for her to withstand the penetration by the high-caliber bullets. Blood spurted out from her mouth, and her bloodshot eyes stared hard at Han Xiao. She was mumbling, as if she wanted to say something.
Boom! Han Xiao blasted Dorothy’s head with his pistol.
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You killed Dorothy (Lv. 25).
You gained 7,500 EXP.
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In the earlier stages, snipers possessed strong long-range combat power, and they were able to conveniently strike their targets from afar. However, snipers were trained solely by the Union. This was because of the fact that it was too expensive to train snipers. Even the lousiest sniper would require at least $10,000 of investment. Sniper bullets were expensive; every shot fried was liked to money being used up.
Furthermore, ordinary snipers did not possess the magnetically-controlled retractable armor; therefore, they were easily killed when their enemies moved up close to them.
Han Xiao search Dorothy’s body and discovered that her gun was modified. From the modifications, it seemed like Rose Militant had a skillful mechanic.
After wiping out this group of enemies, Han Xiao had gained 10,000 EXP. The endless flames from the Flaming Poison Mines would soon attract more enemies.
Han Xiao retrieved the EMP Interference Machine and returned to his jeep, quickly leaving the site.
A while after Han Xiao left, a group of Couton troops arrive at the scene. They were shocked by the sight before their eyes.
“They are from Rose Militant.”
“Who ambushed them?”
The Couton troops were just about to check out the scene when the reinforcements led by Luo Qing also arrived. They saw their comrades lying dead on the ground and the Couton troops standing over their bodies.
“Fire!”
The two groups had been in conflict for quite a while. Upon seeing their enemies, Rose Militant was instantly angered, and they started firing. Any form of explanation to prevent the fight was futile.
Luo Qing ordered the attack without hesitation. The Couton troops retaliated upon realizing the situation they were about to face. Instantly, a fierce battle took place, and the gunshots and explosions lit up the night sky.
Other militias also arrived at the scene. Upon seeing the ongoing battle between the Couton troops and the Rose Militants, they wanted a piece of the cake and joined in the fight. It turned into a complete chaos.
Even more militias that had bases further away from the site arrived, and they joined in the fun and started stirring more chaos before even finding out the reason behind the fight.
The fight went for almost half of the night. All the respective militias suffered damage. They retreated to their bases and started to count their losses. The last few militias that arrived at the scene did not even know why they had been fighting.
The Rose Militants brought back twenty bodies of their dead comrades. These bodies had grievous wounds created by the bullets of a sniper.
“Looks like Dorothy and the others were not ambushed by the Coutonians. They were killed by a sniper,” Ghostly Fox said.
Luo Qing’s face sank as she started thinking hard about the culprit behind the attack. Their enemies were all from the Somar Desert, and even if there was conflict, it was more likely to be a direct battle rather than an ambush. She immediately thought of the incident that had happened two years back. When the Rothschild family first put a bounty on their heads, many lone assassins had taken up the challenge and tried to kill them.
“Another bounty-hunter?” Luo Qing frowned. Rose Militant had not been approached by assassins for almost a year.
Perhaps after a year, some rash youngster had forgotten about the painful lesson the Rose Militants had taught the assassins.
Dorothy had suffered a painful death. She was murdered at a close range. This indicated that the sniper possessed some close-combat abilities.
A petite woman approached. She was wearing an oil-stained coat and said, “I found the killer’s vehicle tacks. He headed toward the southeast. There are three distinct camps based there, and the nearest one belongs to the Fabian Organization.”
“Good job, Su Li.”
Su Li was the mechanic of the Rose Militants, and she was in charge of maintaining and modifying the guns, vehicles, and defensive gear.
“I found some shards of the exploded mines at the site, and I presume the incident was a well-planned ambush. The outer shells of the mine belonged to the Fabian Organization. It is highly likely that the killer is residing in the camp of the Fabian Organization. I tried to piece back the mine that was used, and it seems like a new type of explosive. The explosion involved the use of several gases.”
Luo Qing squinted. They had met a tough foe this time, but she was determined to take revenge. She made an encrypted phone call to their secret sponsor.
“Mr. Sebastian, a team of twenty of our troops were hunted down by an unknown assassin.”
An old raspy voice emerged from the other side of the line. “I will send someone to handle it.”
Every time an assassin emerged, the sponsor behind the Rose Militants would send out other ‘Professional Assassins’ to punish the culprit. That was the reason Rose Militant had managed to wipe out so many assassins in the Somar Desert.
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A helicopter landed on the helipad within the compound of the base camp of Rose Militant. Three cold-looking men alighted from the helicopter. They seemed to possess an air of mystery that prevented others from wanting to go near them. Furthermore, they looked almost the same, like they were made from the same mold.
Code 3, Code 5, and Code 9 were all the assassins trained in the same training camp.
“How’s the situation?” Code 3, who was the captain of the team, asked directly.
Luo Qing gave him a brief of the events that had occurred.
Code 3 squinted and said, “The enemy is a sniper, and his ambush on your men was to scout on your abilities. He wanted to lure all of you out. The enemy possesses detailed information about you guys, and based on the latest information provided, the enemy is probably residing in the camp of the Fabian Organization. However, the Fabian Organization is not a party you want to mess with. We are unable to conduct assassinations in their territory.”
“What are you guys planning to do then?” Luo Qing asked.
“You guys are the target of the killer. Therefore, we are going to use you as bait to lure him out. After that, the three of us will ambush him and secure the kill.”
“Ghostly Fox, you will be responsible for taking our teams out over the upcoming few days,” Luo Qing ordered.
Ghostly Fox nodded.
…
In the Fabian Organization’s campsite, Han Xiao was scratching the unshaven stubble on his chin in his room. He was still puzzled.
It seems like Rose Militant can no longer fight as well as they did in the past…
The combat skills of Dorothy made him feel strange. If that was what Rose Militant was capable of, there was no reason the bounty had yet to be collected.
Once again, the suspicion in Han Xiao was activated, and he felt like he was missing some critical information. He then went to find Antonio to clear his queries.
Han Xiao knocked on the door of Antonio’s office and looked into the room from the tiny available gap. Antonio was looking through files on his study table.
“What are you here for?” Antonio laughed.
Han Xiao sat in front of Antonio and faced him directly. Han Xiao then asked, “I want to know more about the different militias active in the Somar Desert.”
“I passed you the report previously. You can find all strengths and territories of these militias on it.”
“I want something not on the report.” Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “You know what I mean.”
Antonio lit a cigar and laughed. “I guess you realized it. All these militias are merely tools used by the rich families who act as their funders. They sponsor these militants to help them search for Felonia. If these backers are not wiped out, there will only be endless streams of militants pouring into the desert.”
“The troops of Couton are sponsored by the Rothschild family, who put up your bounty. Haha, don’t be too surprised, the bounties for the Rose Militants are all public.”
Han Xiao was not surprised. If that was the case, in order for him to complete his mission, he had to wipe out all of Rose Militant, especially their chief, Luo Qing.
Antonio took a puff and said calmly, “Rose Militant is funded by the Ordifina Organization. The organization controls various political lobbying groups. It also manages secret facilities to train mercenaries and assassins. It is headquartered in the Western Continent, which is relatively less powerful in the Southern Continent. However, it is definitely not a small organization to be trifled with.”
Han Xiao had a sudden realization. No wonder all the Dark Net assassins sent to kill the militants did not return. Rose Militant had a powerful supporter that provided them with reinforcements.
“What’s so special about Felonia? How can it draw the attention of so many different forces?” Han Xiao felt that the mystery of Felonia had something to do with the rewards of his assassination mission.
Since a large number of reinforcements was expected to arrive, Han Xiao had to plan out his next steps carefully.
At first, Han Xiao had two ideas in mind. The first was to wait for the target to arrive at his doorstep, and the second was to lure the enemies out of their camp. Both methods required Rose Militant to leave their base. The reinforcements sent by the enemies were bound work out the tactics he was going to employ. Therefore, it was highly likely that they had ordered the Rose Militants to move out of their base to lure Han Xiao out and eventually ambush him.
What shall I do? Perhaps take an unexpected path?
Han Xiao massaged his temples as he contemplated his options. What if he set up a trap somewhere then acted as if he did not know about the enemy ambush? Once contacted, Han Xiao would lure the enemies into his trap and turn the situation around to his advantage.
I will need more weapons.
…
Ghostly Fox took her team out for their third patrol. They were wandering aimlessly in the desert. She felt a tinge of frustration and asked through the communication line, “Why is the assassin not appearing? Is he afraid or what?”
From the other side of the line, Code 3 replied, “Assassins are meticulous individuals. The successful ambush means that he will wait to observe your movements before making the next move.”
…
It was night again. Recently, Han Xiao had often been busy at night.
He hauled the new equipment that he had created into the jeep before he drove out of the camp to the site where he would set up his tap.
The jeep moved out of the gates of the camp. The light emitted by the jeep dimmed as the vehicle moved deeper into the desert.
…
At the same time, there was a telescope that could be seen far away from the scene.
On the sand dune a kilometer away, Code 9, who was clad in yellow cloth, was observing the movement of the jeep with his telescope. He broke into a cold grin.
“The target has left the camp. He is heading north. I suppose he wants to set up his trap. He has probably discovered our existence and wants to employ reverse psychology to lure us into his trap instead.”
Since they knew that Han Xiao was hiding in Fabian Organization’s camp, they were naturally spying on him.
“The enemy is pretty amateur.” Code 3 looked confident. He expected the upcoming mission to be an easy one since everything was under their control.
…
At dawn, Han Xiao back to the base and went to look for Antonio.
“You want me to help you drive?” Antonio looked shocked.
“Yes, I need you to drive since my hands will be tied up with firing the shots.”
“Wait… This is your mission; how does it concern me? Why must I help you?” Antonio was puzzled.
“It is rare for you venture out, so how can you just stay here and do nothing? Come out with me and experience the beauty of nature.”
Antonio pointed to the barren desert and asked, “What nature is there to see here?”
“This is all just on the surface. Maybe we will see a magnificent mirage? Maybe there will be hidden mountains and rivers? The desert is very big; I am sure these sights can be discovered if you explore the area with a devout heart.”
“I don’t think we are close enough to travel together,” Antonio replied in an awkward manner.
“Then give me a chance to be friends with you.” Han Xiao laughed out loud.
“… Did anyone ever tell you that you are very thick-skinned?”
Han Xiao touched his face mask. He was obviously thick-skinned. His mask alone was two layers thick.
Although Antonio looked obese, Han Xiao could sense the immense combat power that he possessed. Han Xiao had selected Antonio to be his driver as he knew that Antonio would be unlikely to commit any screw-ups or die so easily.
If it was an ordinary driver, the driver would die almost instantly upon contact with the enemy, and he would be left to fend for himself.
Antonio thought for a moment and said, “If you want me to participate in the mission, I want a share of your earnings.”
“How about five percent?”
“No way! That’s too little.” Antonio shook his head.
“Don’t argue with me. You are just going with me to drive the vehicle. Five percent is already a generous offer.”
“If we meet any enemies, the driver will surely be the first target. At least twenty percent.”
Han Xiao widened his eyes in disbelief. “Why don’t you just go and rob someone?”
“That’s precisely what I’m doing now.” There was a hint of cheekiness in Antonio’s tiny eyes.
After arguing for quite some time, Han Xiao finally decided to appease Antonio with $20,000. Paying Antonio with hard cash was more reliable that just making a verbal contract. The collaboration between the two became an employment contract. $20,000 for a one-time driver was no doubt an extravagant spend.
Antonio squeezed his fat body into the driver’s seat while Han Xiao sat at the back of the jeep. He then handed the radar coordinates to Antonio and briefed him on the plan.
Antonio chuckled after he heard the plan.
“Interesting.”
…
It was late in the morning. The sun was scorching, and mirages started forming under the intense heat of the desert.
The team that Ghostly Fox was leading only operated two jeeps. They were wandering around the desert and searching the surroundings.
“A jeep is approaching!” a trooper exclaimed.
An armored jeep appeared at the sand dune not far from their position. The jeep was travelling in parallel to their jeeps. It was the jeep with Han Xiao and Antonio.
“Enemy is approaching!” Ghostly Fox was delighted.
An eerie voice sounded from the communication device. The voice was cold and had the vibes of a killer. “The prey is finally in the trap!”
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Han Xiao stuck his rifle barrel out of the car window. A high-explosive bullet spun out of the chamber and reached accurately on one of Rose Militant’s jeeps. The bullet exploded, engulfing the car in massive flames.
However, all these desert jeeps had a specially-made protective exterior that offered protection against the high heat. The destruction caused by the high-explosive bullet was limited. Han Xiao assessed the situation before he decisively changed to the penetration bullets and fired them at the bullet-proof windows of those vehicles, causing numerous cracks.
“Surround it!” Ghostly Fox’s team turned around immediately, and two other vehicles followed to encircle the place.
“Where is the ambush?”
Since Han Xiao was undeterred by the dangers ahead, he was naturally vigilant about his situation. All of a sudden, he covered his face with his magnetic armor, and it deflected a sniper round that was aimed at his forehead. He raised his eyes and saw a new enemy jeep charging toward him from the side. On the back of the vehicle, a foreign enemy was operating a sniper rifle. A person who could fire such an accurate round on a fast-moving vehicle had the thirty percent chance of being a Mechanic or a sixty percent chance of being a sniper-type assassin. The last ten percent accounted for the possibility of it being sheer luck.
The shot had come from Code 3. He was slightly surprised by the fact that he did not succeed. “The target has a special protective method—could be an Esper power or machinery,” he uttered in a low voice.
Han Xiao believed that there were more to this ambush. He slapped on the back of the front chair and said, “Go faster, don’t slow down. Drive to our destination.”
Antonio skillfully changed gear and stomped on the accelerator. The car drifted before it changed direction and sped to escape.
All of a sudden, another jeep, as if it had been waiting in place for days, appeared right in the direction of their new escape route. This time, it was driven by Code 5. He fired his bazooka at them.
The anti-tank war head, driven by the flaming rocket propeller, approached them rapidly.
Antonio’s face slightly paled, and he immediately turned the steering wheel forcefully to make a sharp turn. The rocket brushed past the rear end of the car and landed on the sandy ground.
A loud blast was heard, and sand was flying all over the air.
The shockwave smashed onto the back of the vehicle, tilting it thirty degrees upward before it fell hard onto the ground. Han Xiao, who was sitting on the backseats, was bumped up and down heavily. His butt was in great pain as a result.
“Eh. They dodged it.” Code 3 squinted and said, “Code 9 is waiting for them in front on Thorns.”
Thorns was an armored battle vehicle modified by Su Li. It had extremely strong firepower, massive horsepower, and an ultra-thick armored exterior. It was the perfect fusion of a tank’s attack and defense capability and a jeep’s mobility.
Last night, Code 9 had discovered Han Xiao’s tracks, and they had set up the ambush with the three assassins. Code 9 was their final insurance. He drove Thorns in the direction that Han Xiao placed his trap. They had even discovered the rough coordinates of the trap, so it was impossible for them to fall into it. They then purposefully waited in the direction of Han Xiao’s escape to dash the little hope he had when he so desperately tried to escape!
“He is already dead,” Code 3 whispered.
The battle caused many explosions on the road; countless bullets and rockets were chasing Han Xiao’s vehicle wantonly. Han Xiao fired back as many times as he could, barely slowing the four jeeps’ pursuit. The Red-Falcon sniper rifle complemented the powerful spindle bullet, causing a substantial threat to the Rose Militant. But as his vehicle was now scrambling to escape from the scene, coupled with Code 3 and Code 5’s suppression, his shooting accuracy was undermined to a great extent.
Ohmmm…
A distinct engine sound thundered on the battlefield, like a tiger roaring in rage.
Han Xiao felt his heart tighten, and he quickly looked forward.
A modified battle jeep was blocking their way. Its armored exterior, thick and bulky, was covered with sharp spikes like a hedgehog.
Different kinds of large-caliber barrels were sticking out from the sides of the vehicle. Based on the sizes of the barrels, they were grenade launchers and small missile launchers. On the roof, there was a four-barreled rotating Gatling machine gun— oh wait, it must be a Gatling-type canon with that kind of caliber—powerful enough to be used on air fleets.
Thorns!
The battle jeep was right in front of their final path, circling them with the other four cars. They had no way to escape!
“We definitely cannot withstand the firepower from that damn thing.” Antonio had a grievous look.
They were blocked by the enemies from all sides and surrounded. They were on the brink of death.
“Drive south. You don’t have to worry about the firepower from that vehicle. I will handle it,” Han Xiao said solemnly.
There was only Code 3, armed with a sniper rifle, on the southern path. He was the lowest threat.
Antonio had no choice but to have faith in Han Xiao, and he quickly turned the steering wheel to run Code 3 down.
“Too late.”
Code 9’s expression was icy cold, and he was about to fire the canon on Thorns to blow Han Xiao’s jeep up in the air. Suddenly, Han Xiao turned around and fire a shot in his direction. The round hit the glass window and instantly flashed a blazing light.
Code 9’s eyes were blinded by the light and started tearing. He shut his eyes in the moment of pain.
Flash Bullet!
Hoommmmmm…
A massive volume of flames and smoke was coming out of the Gatling canon on Thorns, but it was fired in the wrong direction. The explosive rounds landed more than ten meters away from Han Xiao’s jeep.
“Crap. How did Code 9 flounder that shot‽” Code 3 was dumbfounded, and he quickly ordered the driver to block Han Xiao’s vehicle.
Antonio was fearless. He stomped on the accelerator, and the vehicle collided with the side of Code 3’s jeep front unyieldingly.
Both vehicles vibrated violently. However, Antonio chose an excellent angle of collision—he was able to force a path out, creating an opening for them to escape the encirclement.
“Pursue them!”
As they had fallen short of success at the last moment, Code 3 was infuriated. However, as he reassessed the situation, his mood eased up again.
They still had the upper hand in the current situation, so he had nothing to worry about. Although Han Xiao was running away frantically from the ambush that they had laid, they would soon catch up with him and blow his vehicle up with Thorns’ firepower and horsepower!
Han Xiao looked behind the vehicle through the glass window—the Rose Militant motorcade was chasing them relentlessly. They were merely two hundred meters apart, and both parties were driving more than a hundred miles an hour. Additionally, Thorns was firing nonstop, erupting waves and waves of sand behind his car. The aftereffect of the Flash Bullet was still being felt by Code 9. His eyes were red and sore, and his vision was blurred. As a result, his shots had zero accuracy.
Han Xiao was not at all flustered. He peeked at his coordinates on the radar and said with great composure, “Antonio, start the nitro boost in 48 seconds.”
“47… 30… 16… 3, 2, 1!”
When the moment arrived, Antonio opened a small cover beside the gearshift, which exposed the button for the nitro boost. He then pressed hard on the button.
Blue flames were gushing out of the exhaust pipe at the back of the jeep, and its speed soared, pulling their distance apart rapidly. The resultant force pushed the two in the vehicle into the back of their seat, restricting their movement.
“A futile struggle.” Code 3 thought nothing of it. He believed that the nitro boost would run out sooner or later. It was just a last-ditch effort to extend their lives. They would eventually be caught up by Thorns and be blown up.
The nitro boost was exhausted when the distance between the two parties extended to four hundred meters.
“They are slowing down.”
Code 5 loaded a new rocket, and he stood up through the roof window and aimed at Han Xiao’s jeep from a distance.
All of a sudden, his car braked at once. The sudden momentum threw Code 5 into the backseat.
“What the hell‽”
Code 5 was shouting when he saw the driver changing gears frantically. However, the vehicle was not responding at all. His heart sank, and he turned around and looked out the window. All their jeeps had stopped moving, including Thorns. They had all lost their driving power.
“All the cars are paralyzed!”
“What is happening?”
Everyone from Rose Militant was frightened. They were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered now that they had lost control of their vehicles. Han Xiao’s jeep parked a distance away.
Ghostly Fox wanted to contact the base for backup only to realize that their communication devices were malfunctioning.
“This is the effect of EMP!” she screamed.
Ghostly Fox felt a chill down her spine as she recalled how Dorothy had died.
“Run!”
The next moment, a high-explosive sniper round flew over from a distance, targeting an area beneath Code 3’s feet. Then, the landmines buried underneath the ground exploded. This time, the explosives included not just the toxic explosive mines but also the good-quality ordinary landmines from Fabian Company’s warehouse.
The blaring sound of the blast was heard nonstop. Glaring flames shot up into the air, creating a dazzling mixture of orange, red, and white in Han Xiao’s eyes. Flames and explosions engulfed the whole hundred-meter radius of Rose Militant. There was not a single figure in sight.
Han Xiao lifted his sniper rifle on his shoulder and gave an evil chuckle. “Are you surprised? Are you shocked?”
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Antonio alighted from his vehicle and stood beside Han Xiao as he watched the explosion. He lit a cigar and took a puff before he chuckled heartily. “It has been a while since I last saw such beautiful scenery. I almost forgot what an explosion looks like after sitting in the office for so long.”
“Go ahead and enjoy the scenery.”
Han Xiao stretched his neck to relieve some of the fatigue as a result of the pursuit.
The flames eventually diminished. Antonio and Han Xiao cautiously approached the scene of explosion. A pungent stench, created by the mixture of smells from burning bodies and toxic gas, blew toward them.
Crap. I forgot that there is some toxic gas remaining!
Han Xiao was dumbfounded as he watched his HP drop on the Interface. He had no choice but to retreat the place, and he could only go back to sweep the battlefield after the toxic gas dispersed.
“Ugh…” A faint moan was heard on the battlefield. It came from Code 3, who was already half-dead. His four limbs had been shattered in the explosion, and his body was covered in red and dark burn marks. He raised his head laboriously and leveled Han Xiao a deadly gaze.
“You… Why….”
Han Xiao gave him a glance and used his Berserk Eagle to silence him before he could even finish his sentence.
Good guys could win battles with their words, and bad guys would always lose and die because they talked too much. There were countless similar lessons in the past. Han Xiao had wanted to try and talk to Code 3, but he believed that he did not belong to the good-guy category, so he had killed Code 3 without saying a word.
This kill has given me quite a lot of EXP. Code 3… what kind of lousy name is that?
Han Xiao looked at his interface while insulting the enemy’s name.
Hold on. There seems to be an enemy missing from my kill history.
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed and immediately surveyed his surroundings. He suddenly fired at the ground twenty meters away.
Fwoosh.
A shadow jumped out from beneath the sand—Ghostly Fox. She dashed rapidly and stabbed her dagger swiftly toward the nearest person, Antonio.
Her Pugilist training had taught her simple ground tunneling techniques. She had escaped the devastating explosion by tunneling into the sand the instant before the explosion. She had intended to continue hiding until all the enemies were gone, but since she had been spotted by Han Xiao, she had to fight for her life.
Sunlight was reflected off the surface of the dagger, emitting an icy glare. Antonio’s eyes narrowed, and he slammed his massive arms rapidly toward Ghostly Fox. His palms were almost as large as those of bears.
Ghostly Fox ducked as her petite build allowed her to do so easily. She circled to the back of Antonio and stabbed her dagger toward his heart. Suddenly, a dark shadow zoomed in before her eyes, and a bear-like palm followed and grabbed her head. The palm was so large that it almost wrapped around her entire skull.
Antonio threw her more than ten meters away as if he was shot-putting. The sheer amount of force created wave-like tracks around her on the ground. She was badly injured from the throw. However, she gritted her teeth hard and dived toward Antonio again. With Han Xiao watching on the side, she would be sniped down if she attempted to run away. She had no choice but to continue the fight.
Poomb. Poomb. Poomb.
Antonio was about to strike back when Han Xiao fired a few rounds with his double pistols, which turned her into a sieve.
[You killed Ghostly Fox (LV29). You have gained 9,400 EXP.]
Eh. Her level was quite high. Why was she so weak? Han Xiao looked at the battle info and realized the reason: Ghostly Fox’s main job was only Lv.8, and the rest of her levels were in her secondary jobs, which were mostly useless.
“You should have given me the opportunity to exercise my rusty body,” Antonio groused.
“The body is still warm. You can use it for some exercise.” Han Xiao nonchalantly picked his nose.
“You really are a jerk.”
Once the toxic gas dispersed, Han Xiao stepped into the explosion site to retrieve his EMP Disruptor.
Han Xiao had been unaware that Code 3 knew his whereabouts, but he was used to making multiple plans at once. He had planted not just one but four traps that night, each on a different position of the road that he was circling. Unless the enemy did not pursue him, they would have fallen into at least one of the traps.
As long as you dare chase me, I will eventually kill you.
After collecting his EMP Disruptor, Han Xiao started scavenging loot from the bodies. He found a substantial number of firearms and ammunition, which could be sold for a handsome amount of money. However, his greatest loot was the modified battle vehicle—Thorns. He would be able to use it after he fixed its internal electronic components.
Next, it is time to borrow some help.
…
“Ghostly Fox lost contact‽”
They had three assassins ambushing and better intelligence, yet they fell into the enemy’s trap!
Luo was heavy-hearted. She had just lost two teams and the modified battle vehicle, Thorns. Now, the base was void of any defense, which was another huge loss.
She contacted her secret sponsor again and explained the situation.
“You guys retreat first,” the person said slowly over the phone.
“… Understood.”
After hanging up the phone, Luo immediately organized her troops to load all the valuable assets onto vehicles in preparation of discarding the base and retreating temporarily. It was not the first time Rose Militant had faced a crisis of this magnitude. All they needed to do was seek shelter somewhere else for a few days before their secret sponsor sent down more personnel. They would gain a firm foothold again by then.
However, only half of the assets were loaded up when a blaring alarm was heard all over the base.
“Enemy attack!”
The sentry was shouting as loud as she could. Luo was astounded. She quickly climbed up the sentry post and looked far ahead, and that was when he saw a wave of sand inching closer. It was a motorcade of the Coutons approaching menacingly.
“Damn it. They are here too soon!”
Rose Militant had suffered great losses, so they were bound to fall prey to other powerful factions at this opportune time, and the Coutons were the prime candidate. The primary purpose of discarding the base was to avoid the hostility from other factions. However, the Coutons came too quickly. Someone must had had tipped them off.
Luo was enraged. Those Coutonian mercenaries were attacking the base from the frontline. If they were to brashly attempt to escape with their vehicles, it would surely become a battle in pursuit, which would make it all the more dangerous for them.
They were in a dilemma!
“Commander, what should we do now?”
“Let’s strike back. Strike them hard!” Luo said unyieldingly.
The militants dropped the supplies in their hand and quickly got back into their defense positions. They began bombarding the Coutonian motorcade with machine guns and grenade launchers. However, the mercenaries were undeterred and struck back.
One could only see rounds flying back and forth between the two sides, forming a curtain of death.
Countless cartridges fell into the yellow sand, and the grenades left numerous darkened sand craters on the ground, making the place resemble the surface of the Moon. Rose Militant had excellent defenses in the base; they shouldered the attack even with insufficient manpower.
Behind the four walls of the base, Luo was seen commanding the militants tirelessly. Su Li walked over and whispered into her ears, “Due to insufficient manpower, one-quarter of our defense system is unmanned. Furthermore, as we are walled inside the base, we will face serious danger if other factions decide to butt in.”
As soon as she finished her sentence, a roaring engine sound was heard from a distance. Luo and Su Li’s hearts both jolted. They recognized that distinct engine hum.
On the other side of the battlefield, Han Xiao was driving the ferocious Thorns. The car jumped down from the sand-hill like a fearsome tiger, drawing a parabolic path on the sky. The repaired exterior reflected a glaring beam of sunlight, and the vehicle’s tires sped furiously.
The vehicle smashed onto the ground, splashing heaps of sand to the side before it charged furious toward the base. It was unstoppable.
Don’t the Thorns only belong to Rose Militant?
Couton’s eyes narrowed, and he quickly ordered his subordinates to pull back their positions. He thought that the Thorns operator was from the enemy side, and he was well aware of the firepower of the vehicle. Thus, he wanted to prepare his defense before the enemy was able to destroy them from their flanks.
He did not know that Rose Militant was even more anxious than him. They were even clearer about the real firing capability of Thorns.
“Quickly stop him. We cannot let Thorns near the base!” Su Li screamed.
Luo was wailing in her heart. Thorns used to be their trump card, and now, it had been taken and was being used against them. What a despicable act!
It was like having your girl snatched by another guy, and he still dared to bring your girl… ex-girlfriend… to show off in front of you. How could anyone endure such humiliation?
Luo could never tolerate such an act. She hated the killer so much that she wished that she could grind him into sand!
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All the machine guns and grenade launchers in the base were immediately adjusted to face the fast-approaching Thorns.
Upon seeing their reaction, Couton knew that Thorns was an ally right away. He then shouted, “All vehicles on the flank, make a path for the unexpected guest!”
The Coutonian motorcade changed its formation, emptying a path on its flank that led directly to the front gate of the base, which allowed Thorns to conveniently charge forward.
Han Xiao was alone in Thorns. After they killed Ghostly Fox’s team, they had gone back and repaired Thorns at the Fabian base. This time, he came alone. Other factions in the Somar Desert would not allow such a great opportunity to pass. The main fighting force of Rose Militant had been wiped out. Han Xiao passed this piece of information to them. It gave him the ability to fish in the troubled waters.
The grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small-scale missile launchers had to be controlled manually using the aiming system beside the speedometer. An automated firepower control system was not installed in the vehicle.
There were many incoming rounds. Han Xiao managed to escape some, and the armored exterior absorbed the impact of the rest. He then aimed one of the cannons at the wall of the base and fired. As the vehicle vibrated violently, a few small-scale missiles and grenade explosives blasted promptly on the wall, triggering a glaring flame.
The canon exploded into thousand pieces, lingering in the air.
Inside the base, Luo was livid. She had a hunch that they would not be able to guard the base. She called in Su Li and gave her an orderly softly. “We will give up the base and evacuate using the secret passageway. Bring five people with us.”
Su Li nodded her head, agreeing with the plan.
The mercenaries left guarding the base would be the sacrificial lambs while they quietly evacuated the base using the passageway. As long as they survived, they could get as many mercenaries as they wanted from their secret sponsor.
The Rose Militant mercenaries who were defending against the incoming attack did not know that they had been abandoned. They were still operating the canons assiduously to defend again the Coutonians and Thorns. The blasting sounds of canons filled their ears; smoke and flames engulfed their sight. They could not hear a word from one another. Everyone was fighting as if they were the only reef there against the ocean wave, fighting a lone battle.
Hoooomm…
After more than ten rocket rounds were fired at the scarred metal gate, it finally gave in and blew up. The gate was open!
“Charge!” Couton was overjoyed.
The motorcade entered in a single file. Following which, the Coutonians, equipped with automatic rifles, swept through the entire base. The mercenaries from Rose Militant could not set up an effective counterattack the moment the enemies charged into the base. They were shot into sieves when they tried to escape from the canon emplacements.
Han Xiao drove Thorns in. He took out his two Berserk Eagles and acted independently. The Coutonians gave him a glance him but did not hold him back.
Han Xiao’s movement was as swift as could be, his black windbreaker flying like a cape. He was like a dark specter scouring the battlefield. Soon, he finished searching the entire base. In the process, he encountered two mercenaries from Rose Militant, who he pre-emptively shot in the head. One of them was rather beautiful—she would have turned many heads if she wore a bikini and walked on the beach. Han Xiao secretly regretted his decision to shoot her in the head.
After a round of searching, Han Xiao did not spot the leader of Rose Militant. His brows knitted as he knew the whole situation was not so simple.
There must be a secret passageway.
Wars were daily affairs in the Somar Desert. It would not be surprising if the Rose Militant kept a secret passageway for their evacuation.
Han Xiao soon discovered their tracks. Luo and her gang had left in a hurry; thus, they had left some footprints behind. He followed the trail of the footsteps and entered a hidden cellar beneath the ground. The cellar was dark and filled with a moist, humid smell.
A secret underground river?
Han Xiao ignited a fire pack before he threw it down. The depth was about five meters. He ensured that it was safe before he jumped down.
Beneath the base was a rocky mountain, and the cellar was actually a path dug within it. Like the passageway in a regularly mine, the walls of the path were held up by wooden frames. It was completely dark at the front of the path as there was not a single source of light. There were clear footprints in the soil.
Han Xiao raised his hand to feel the rocky walls, and he felt a patch of moisture. He suspected that there might be a secret underground river nearby.
The situation of the path ahead was uncertain. Han Xiao pondered for a moment. He then took out his spider detector and laid it on the floor. The mechanical spider stood at attention like a soldier awaiting orders as Han Xiao started controlling it with his tablet.
I will call you Spider No.1.
After coming up with an amazing name as usual, Han Xiao quickly controlled Spider No.1 to move further into the path. The vision of its camera was shown on the tablet—Spider No.1 was equipped with a night-vision camera.
After moving for a while, Spider No.1 suddenly ran into a rocky wall; it had reached the end of the path.
As the path was clear of danger, Han Xiao took out his torchlight and walked briskly to the end of the passageway. Unsurprisingly, he spotted a secret door on the ceiling. Heaps of sand fell as he opened the door.
Han Xiao stuck his head out of the opening, and he looked out of the cellar—it was a slanted cave. Sunlight was shining in through the opening of the cave along the slope, and the ground was covered in tire tracks.
Han Xiao swiftly moved out of the cave, and his view suddenly brightened. The place was a complex of weathered rocks. The silhouette of the base could be seen from a distance. A vehicles’ tracks had been left in the desert, heading away from the base.
The remaining members of Rose Militant escaped using the vehicle. I’d better chase them quickly.
Han Xiao retrieved Spider No.1 and went back to the base hastily. He prepared to chase them using Thorns.
The Coutonians had eradicated Rose Militant’s presence within the base. They were now unloading all the supplies to take them away. They slowed down their movement and focused all their attention on Han Xiao as he walked out. They were looking at him warily. Han Xiao’s heart sank.
Couton brought a bunch of mercenaries and surrounded Thorns. Han Xiao touched his gun in secret before he walked over to them and said, “Move away.”
“Who are you?” Couton looked Han Xiao up and down, thinking about something.
“Not important. Please get away from my car.”
“Your car?”
Couton glanced at Thorns before a wicked smile appeared on his face. He gave his men a signal, and they quietly surrounded Han Xiao, ready to draw out their guns anytime.
“Are you sure this is your car?” Couton stared at Han Xiao and chuckled.
He was clearly threatening Han Xiao.
If Han Xiao’s answer was not to his liking, he would have his whole gang of men beat him up.
Phew.
Han Xiao attacked without saying a word. He swiftly dashed three meters forward, and his Berserk Eagles were already pointing at Couton’s forehead, like an unsheathed sword. His movement was as fast as that of a fox, and his gun moved rapidly like lightning.
“That was too fast!” The surrounding mercenaries were shocked. They then hurriedly raised their guns and aimed at Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s sudden specter-like movement made them extremely nervous. Furthermore, their boss’s head was right against Han Xiao’s pistol, so they did not dare fire at him. They were in a deadlock.
Although there was a gun to his forehead, Couton was surprisingly calm and unafraid—he had always been living his life on edge.
“If you want to threaten me to disarm my men, you can save yourself the effort.” He smiled coldly.
“You know who I am. Your master would not want his people to fight against each other,” Han Xiao replied calmly. He seemed oblivious to all the guns pointing directly at him.
Couton’s expression turned gloomy. He frowned and pondered for nearly one minute, the tension on the ground increasing all the while, before he suddenly waved his arms to ask his men to drop their guns down. He gave a half-hearted smile and said, “It seems like it is really your car.”
Han Xiao held his Berserk Eagle up and remained unmoved.
Couton moved sideways to open a path for Han Xiao.
Only then did Han Xiao start moving. He brushed past Couton before going up to the Thorns and saying in a hostile manner, “Good try.”
He then stepped on the accelerator and drove away.
The smile on Couton’s face disappeared as he watched the car vanish in the distance. He turned around and realized that his men were all watching him.
“What are you guys looking at‽ Hurry up and carry the items away,” he shouted snappily.
Although he was eyeing Thorns, he did not want to bear the possibility of infuriating his master. Couton reckoned that Han Xiao was an assassin hired by his master, so he was on his side. Thus, after Han Xiao pointed this fact out, he could no longer provoke him. If he messed up his master’s plan, he would suffer dire consequences.
Furthermore, Han Xiao was an assassin that he did not know enough background information about. So, after some consideration, he decided to control his greed and made peace with Han Xiao.
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The vehicle tracks left behind on the vast desert by Luo and her gang were like creases on a piece of white paper—they were as conspicuous as could be. Han Xiao followed the tracks without stopping.
His position was continuously shown on the radar coordinates in order for him remain on course in the boundless desert. He was now heading toward the outer edge of the Somar Desert. It was indicated on the weather calendar data that a sandstorm had just occurred in this place.
The plain and unchanging sight of the desert was making Han Xiao feel mentally tired. After half an hour of pursuit, a roving jeep suddenly appeared in the distance.
I am finally catching up! Han Xiao’s psyche was rejuvenated instantly.
Just as Han Xiao spotted the jeep, the members of the Rose Militant on the jeep also caught sight of Han Xiao.
“It’s Thorns!” Su Li cried out.
Luo’s face tensed up before she anxiously surveyed the surrounding and realized that the pursuing force consisted of only a single vehicle. She was immediately incensed.
How dare you pursue us alone? Do you really think we are this easy to defeat‽
“Make a u-turn…”
Hooommm…
Thorns was firing at its maximum firepower—grenades and missiles were chasing and bombing after Luo’s vehicle.
Luo was intimidated. “Cough. Cough. Let’s run until he finishes his ammunition!”
She was slightly embarrassed.
The two vehicles were in a high-speed pursuit as they drove past sand dune after sand dune, scorched sand marking the course of their chase.
…
Raggedly-dressed pilgrims were seen gruelingly trekking through the desert. The leader of the group, an elderly pilgrim, was panting intensively, and his clothes were drenched in his sweat. He unloaded a water bottle from the packhorse and gulped one sip with his trembling hand, but somehow, he could not relieve his exhaustion and thirst.
The elderly pilgrim turned around and glanced at the group—everyone else was in low spirits. He then thought back to the times when he was younger. There had once been tens of thousands of compatriots who escaped from the same conquered country and embarked on this journey together. However, after years of hardships, there were only two dozen people left. Some people had died on the journey, and some had given up half way through. This small group of people were the last pilgrims.
At times, the elderly pilgrim could not help but become skeptical about the existence of Felonia. However, if he gave up, it would render his years of perseverance meaningless.
An engine sound was heard from a distance—Han Xiao and Rose Militant’s cars appeared in their view, and mounds of sands thrown into the air by the vehicles.
The pilgrims were not at all shocked as such a scene was commonplace on this desert. As soon as they confirmed that the violent vehicles were not moving toward them, they released their worry. They stood at their position and waited for the two vehicles to leave.
At this point in time, a small-scale missile flew in the sky and landed on then sand.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened!
The ground vibrated abruptly, and sand fell downwards at the position where the missile exploded. As more sand fell downward, a pitch-black hole appeared in front of everyone. The hole expanded continuously, like a gigantic mouth being opened!
The appearance of the running sand implied that there was a huge, empty space beneath this desert!
…
_____________________
You discovered a hidden location [Felonia – 08]. You received 1,000 Exploration EXP.
Bounty Hunter (Rose Militant)] Hidden requirement completed.
——————————————————————
Eh? Han Xiao was so surprised that he almost overturned his car.
What the hell?
I completed the mission by accident. Am I that lucky‽
But how can I use my luck on this kind place? This is such a waste!
The sand hole was still expanding. Han Xiao reasoned that the sandstorm that had happened a few days ago must have changed the structure of the sand layers in this area. Following which, his explosions triggered a chain reaction that resulted in this opening.
Although he was very curious about what Felonia was exactly, his hunt for Rose Militant was more important at this juncture.
After he left the coordinates of this place on his radar, he continued to chase after Rose Militant.
The two vehicles soon drove into the distance.
The elderly pilgrim’s hands were trembling relentlessly. With a look of exhilaration, he called out to his peers who were stunned behind him.
“This… this must be Felonia. We have to go there quickly!”
The pilgrims were enlivened. They rushed toward the hole in the ground anxiously.
“Felonia’s treasures… Felonia’s treasures…” the elderly pilgrim could not stop mumbling to himself. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he believed that he was finally getting rewarded for all those years of determination and perseverance.
…
After a few kilometers of pursuit, Thorns eventually ran out of ammunition, an inevitability no matter how strong its firepower was. Yet, Han Xiao sighed in relief. He was glad that this straining pursuit battle was finally coming to an end.
This bunch of sissies should stop any minute now. If they don’t even stop running and strike back, they must be really cowardly.
“This guy finally finished his rounds!”
Su Li was the first person who spotted Thorns’ abnormal situation. She was the creator of Thorns.
Luo was immediately relieved. She then said ruthlessly, “Turn around!”
The two vehicles were four hundred meters apart. Han Xiao already stopped his vehicle. When he saw the jeep turn around decisively, he gave a sly smiled and started point firing with his sniper rifle.
A distance of four hundred meters allowed him eight to ten shots.
It took him four spindle bullets to shatter the bullet-proof window. The fifth shot flew directly at the driver.
Luo, sitting on the front passenger seat, suddenly raised her hand and shielded the driver. The bullet, as if it had hit an invincible wall, generated a wave of reflective white light before it was squashed into a metal cake by the deflecting force and was left levitating in the air.
An Esper with forcefield type ability. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he felt that the situation had become more difficult to handle.
Espers had all kinds of abilities, but some of them would awaken with similar or even the same abilities. Forcefield was a major type of ability for Espers. Other common types included molecular control, strengthened body, and transfiguration.
The forcefield-related abilities included remote manipulation of objects, invincible walls, and invincible strikes. It was the natural counter to gun-fighting abilities.
As he finished his thought, Han Xiao quickly stuffed Hayme bullets into his gun and fired again. Luo deflected the bullet again with her forcefield. However, as the bullet was being compressed, it released a light green poisonous gas. Everyone in the vehicle was instantly poisoned. They started feeling dizzy, their chests tightened, and their HP dropped continually.
From the battle data, Han Xiao knew that Luo was the same level as him—level 30—so she had not mastered the skill to manipulate gases.
Han Xiao then fired a high-explosive bullet, which ignited the interior of the jeep. However, the fire was quickly put out by fire extinguishers. The vehicle was chiefly used for evacuation, so it was equipped with fire extinguishers to prevent fires from breaking out.
Han Xiao had no choice but to discard his initial plan to force his enemy to abandon their vehicle. Yet, he showed no signs of being discouraged. He fired two Hayme bullets again, and now, the jeep was engulfed by concentrated green poisonous gas as if the vehicle was consumed by a plague.
After these few rounds of fire, the distance from the enemy was only hundred meters.
Han Xiao put aside his sniper rifle and stomped hard on the accelerator. He was fearlessly trying to collide with the jeep head-on!
Su Li expression changed, and she anxiously instructed the driver, “Quickly dodge. The armored exterior on Thorns is extremely thick. We cannot best it.”
The driver quickly turned the steering wheel upon hearing the instruction and wanted to brush past Thorns. Upon seeing this, Han Xiao turned his vehicle in the same direction, but he was too slow; he only brushed past the rear of the jeep. He wanted to ruin the enemy’s jeep by smashing into it. If he had succeeded, he could then have used Thorns to hit the enemy and run. However, Rose Militant reacted too quickly and dodged the attack.
Luo just realized that even when Thorns ran out of ammunition, it was not a vehicle to be reckoned with easily. She had no choice but to suppress the anger in her heart. “Never mind. Let’s not be badgered by him.”
The jeep turned around and drove for tens of meters before Luo realized that Thorns did not chase them. As she believed, for a moment, that Han Xiao had given up, she heaved a sigh of relief. She then gnashed his teeth in anger.
I will let you go for now. Your time will come once our backup is here!
Just as she finished this thought, an invisible wave travelled from Thorns in a circular motion. Their jeep suddenly lost all its power, and the vehicle skidded a few dozen meters due to the remaining momentum before ground to a halt, paralyzed. The people in the vehicle were all thrown out of their seats.
In the backseat of Thorns, Han Xiao had started his EMP Disruptor, meaning that Thorns had also lost its power.
Han Xiao sighed. That was the last resort to prevent the enemy from running away, which he did not intend to use, but he realized that Luo did not have the guts to stay and battle it out. Thus, he had been forced to resort to such a mutually-destructive method. Even if he attempted to fix Thorns, it would take him more than ten minutes.
Next, it would be human versus human!
“EMP Wave! The car is wrecked!” Luo was dumbfounded. After being repeatedly plotted against, she could no longer contain her rage. She walked out of jeep and started the forcefield under her feet, which allowed her to move a few meters with a single step. She charged toward Han Xiao rapidly like an incoming missile, and the forcefield around her was rather erratic.
“Are you so eager to die‽”
Before Luo even reached Han Xiao, her ravings thundered in Han Xiao’s ears.
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Han Xiao turned around and started to fall back. He repeatedly fired Hayme bullets at Luo in an attempt to lure her closer.
Luo raised her hands and started pushing to release an energy shield in front of her body. The bullets were blocked by the shield, and as they collided with the shield, there were beams of white light.
Superhumans of the ‘Fortified Type’ possessed the innate ability to counter the powers of a sniper. However, the poisonous gases emitted by the Hayme bullets were depleting Luo’s HP. Furthermore, the impact from the collisions onto the energy shield also impacted Luo’s body and decreased her health. However, the impact was relatively low after a reduction of 95%.
Luo could sense the fury building up in her body. The killer in her was overflowing like water from a fountain.
After Han Xiao fired the thirteenth shot, Luo moved closer toward him. The shots fired along the way managed to reduce Luo’s HP by 100 points.
If the superhumans did not possess the special defensive powers, they would have been very brittle to the attacks. The force that Luo possessed granted her the ability to both attack and defend. However, when challenging hardy magnetically-controlled retractable armor, Luo’s body would be wrecked from the battle.
Once they started fighting, Luo realized the weakness of her physical body.
Han Xiao suddenly drew out his retractable machete. He held the blade in his right hand and wielded the mechanical arm in his left hand. He was unafraid of fighting Luo head-on. Luo focused on using all her strength to smash Han Xiao’s head; however, she realized that Han Xiao was clad in a think metallic armor.
At that instant, Han Xiao’s retractable armor extended to up to his head, protecting his face and skull. Han Xiao moved his head back slightly, and with the help of the armor, he managed to withstand the shock from Luo’s strike. Han Xiao used his machete and mechanical arm to continuously penetrate the energy shield of Luo. The battle was fierce, and white sparks were emitted with each contact made.
Pan Kuang, who was Level 40, had problems defeating Han Xiao in close-range combat; therefore, Luo’s close combat powers were not much of a concern for Han Xiao.
Instead, the abilities she possessed as a ‘Fortified Type’ superhuman were greater threats to Han Xiao. Luo was able strike suddenly at the target from almost all angles, and therefore, her attacks often disrupted the flow of Han Xiao’s attack.
“Force push!”
Han Xiao could feel an invisible impact to his knees.
Luo made use of the opportunity to pull backward and created more space. She could feel tightness in her chest, as if her lungs were being scorched. The high-intensity combat had taken its toll on her body. Her stamina was running low. Superhuman abilities often required the use of huge amounts of energy. In order to replenish her energy, Luo exhausted her stamina. She was deeply fatigued and looked at Han Xiao in disbelief and shock.
How on earth is this sniper so powerful? He can fight better than pugilists!
Tu tu tu!
The last few remnants of Rose Militant finally were finally approaching Han Xiao. They immediately concentrated all their firepower on him. To retaliate, Han Xiao fired his Berserk Eagles wildly, and the militants bled uncontrollably as they collapsed to the ground.
Su Li was the only one that managed to dodge Han Xiao’s attacks. She was nimble and swift. She had the swag of a pugilist. She was wearing a pair of special gloves. There were a couple of circuits on the gloves, and the gloves emitted blue light. Han Xiao sensed impending danger.
Mechanical pugilist!
Su Li was approaching at high speed. Her hand pushed toward Han Xiao. It seemed like her push was weak and flimsy, but Han Xiao focused his attention and managed to recognize the gloves Su Li was wearing. The level of threat of Su Li increased, and Han Xiao quickly rotated his body to dodge Su Li’s attack. It was unwise to fight Su Li head-on. Han Xiao decided to use the firepower of his pistols to suppress Su Li. However, Luo came toward and managed to repel the bullets with her energy shield.
The three were engaged in an intense battle. The pair of gloves that Su Li was wearing managed to suppress Han Xiao’s power. Han Xiao was at a loss how to counter them. The two ladies realized that and made use of the opportunity to gain the upper hand in the battle. The situation gradually turned disadvantageous for Han Xiao.
If I don’t make some sacrifices, it will be almost impossible for me to kill both of them.
With a look of determination of his face, Han Xiao approached Su Li suddenly and pressed his body had on her gloves. The sudden collision shocked Su Li. The gloves were touching Han Xiao’s armor. An uncontrollable current was flowing through the scorching hot armor!
The endurance of the armor depleted exponentially. It reduced by almost 100 points. In fact, it was the first time the endurance of the armor had faced such a huge reduction!
Han Xiao felt a burn to his chest. The high temperature exceeded the threshold of the armor, and the heat scorched his body. Han Xiao had no time to look at the new messages that were flashing on the interface. He employed the wind-slicing slash and stabbed the machete hard into Su Li chest. An eye for an eye!
Su Li’s eyes expanded in astonishment. Han Xiao pressed the Berserk Eagles to her forehead and started firing hysterically. A Mechanic without any form of armor was very vulnerable.
Boom boom boom!
“Kill the enemy!” Luo yelled in anger and attacked Han Xiao back while he was busy taking of Su Li.
There was a sharp pain in Han Xiao’s spine. He could feel his back shattering. Han Xiao endured the pain and glided forward. He turned around and fired the last of the remaining bullets. Han Xiao focused his attention on Luo’s legs.
Luo used too much of her stamina in her ambush on Han Xiao. She forced her last bit of energy, but she no longer had the energy maintain the energy shield that protected her from the bullets. A bullet penetrated her knee.
There was a change in the Luo’s expressions. She understood the fact that she was facing a sniper, and the reduction in her mobility would lead to fatal consequences. In her state of panic, she wanted to use all her energy and deliver one final blow to Han Xiao.
She was attempting to paralyze Han Xiao’s movement by blowing up his legs!
Once Han Xiao succeeded in his attacks, he quickly pulled away from the two of them. As the energy shield collapsed, it created an explosion that resulted in a huge crater at his original position!
Luo’s heart sank. Her legs went limp, and now she really was reduced to sitting duck for Han Xiao’s attacks. Han Xiao fired his shots from afar, and all she could to was forcefully repel the bullets. Her energy was on the verge of depleting completely, and desperation filled her heart.
Sh*t! I’m done!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Han Xiao, who had retreated quite some distance, fired his rifle on a stable platform and expended all of Luo’s energy. Finally, a bullet pierced through her head. She collapsed with fury and unwillingness in her eyes.
_____________________
You killed Luo (LVL 30).
You gained 12,000 EXP.
̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄
Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. He could finally relax his senses. He did not have time whine about the pain from his burns. He immediately moved toward Su Li’s body and retrieved the pair of black gloves form her hands.
_____________________
You have gained two [Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves].
——————————————————————
The functioning of the gloves was based the theory of [Basic Thermodynamics], which Han Xiao had not yet mastered. There was a ‘micro electricity to heat transformer’ embedded within the gloves. The power source of the gloves was a high voltage battery since the gloves needed a huge amount of electricity to be powered. The gloves had immense power and was able to deal multiplied damage to metals.
Han Xiao held onto the gloves for his own use in the future. Speaking of that, Su Li was his first enemy from the mechanic class. It was also the first time he had revealed his gear to his mechanic counterparts.
Mechanical Pugilists made use of one type or a few types of close-combat machinery. They were able to add special effects and abilities to their machines. From the fighting style of Su Li, Han Xiao could infer that she was a mechanical pugilist of a lower level that relied solely on the performance of her equipment.
Some mechanical pugilists also possessed weapons that had special abilities themselves. Once they met the prerequisites, they were able to activate the use of such weapons. Out of the four machine blueprints that Old Man Lu had created, one of the blueprints created a machine that had innate abilities.
With the mission finally complete, it was time to return and collect his rewards.
The image of Felonia suddenly flashed in Han Xiao’s mind, and he decided to take a closer look at Felonia before returning. Han Xiao switched off the EMP interference machine. He did a rough check of the broken components of his vehicle and estimated that the repairs would take him fifteen minutes. He started the repair job immediately.
There was a bunch of wanderers near Felonia just now. I wonder how they’re doing,Han Xiao thought to himself.
…
Half an hour ago…
The entrance to Felonia was a crack in the cliff. The pilgrims scaled the cliff and managed to reach the crack. It was pitch dark in the crack, but it seemed like the crack had a passageway that lead somewhere.
A young pilgrim switched on his torch and shined the light into the alley. The scene before their eyes shocked all of them. Their mouths collapsed in disbelief, and all of them were dumbfounded.
“This… this is…”
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As Han Xiao was repairing his vehicle, he was reflecting on the weaknesses that he had revealed in his previous battle.
His current fighting style heavily relied on his sniping abilities. The best tactic he employed was to use his shots to lure his opponents in. However, the speed of his movements was not yet up to standard; thus, he wanted to manufacture some small gadgets to increase his speed.
A mechanical leg seemed like a pretty good idea. However, Han Xiao felt that it was too bulky. Also, Han Xiao had gained new knowledge and experience to create gadgets that were more mobile.
Han Xiao was still trying to improve his fighting abilities. He wanted to create a robot army to provide him sufficient cover fire so that they could help mitigate his weakness, allowing him to fire at a relatively lower rate.
Since mechanical parts could be easily obtained by members of the mechanic class, Han Xiao could find the raw material and replace the missing parts easily.
Upon completing his repairs, Han Xiao drove the vehicle along the path, as directed by the radar coordinates, up to the entrance of Felonia. Instantly, he saw the trail of footsteps that disappeared along the edges of the cave. After a short moment of contemplation, he predicted that a group of wanderers had entered the cave.
If Han Xiao was an ordinary individual, he probably would have been worried that the valuables housed in the cave had been taken away by others. However, Han Xiao was also unique in his thinking. He felt that having others to explore the unknown territory first was in fact beneficial to him.
Han Xiao stood at the edge of the cave. He looked down and could see the distinct layers of rocks and cliffs. At the boundary between sunlight and darkness, Han Xiao could see a rusty metallic chain extending downward.
There are signs of mining on the rocks of the cliffs. There’s a smell in the air… the smell of rust. I haven’t explored this place before, so I should head down now.
Han Xiao grabbed all his gear, holding his torch in his mouth.
As he scaled down the rocky cliff, he shone his torch downward.
Nearer to the bottom, the sunlight gradually disappeared, and he could feel the curved edges of the rocks.
The sunlight disappeared quickly, and darkness enveloped the surroundings. The only source of light was the torchlight. The eerie atmosphere alarmed Han Xiao. He could feel a chill in his bones that was creeping toward his heart. He wanted to slow down his heart, which was thumping so quickly, so that he could ease the sense of nervousness within him.
After descending for about three minutes, the light from his torch finally hit the ground. At the bottom of the ravine was a dusty metallic floor. There were thick cobwebs in the tracks, and the place seemed like it had not been explored for a long time.
Han Xiao landed on the ground with a ‘thud’. The pitch-black environment made the sound especially eerie and creepy.
The surroundings were specious and empty, and the light from the torch seemed like a lonely island in a sea of darkness. There was a mixture of sounds in the darkness, similar to the sound of his landing. That caught Han Xiao’s attention.
After sweeping the area with his torchlight, Han Xiao found himself in a metallic corridor that had a design similar to a military base. There were reinforced concrete structures everywhere, and the walls were also caked in rust. There also seemed to be some weird bugs moving about on the walls.
The metallic flooring on the ground was covered with dust. A trail of fresh footsteps could be seen extending into the darkness. The footsteps probably belonged to the pilgrims who had arrived at the spot shortly before him
There probably some more compartments and spaces beneath the metallic floor.
Han Xiao pointed his torchlight in another direction and shone at his foot. He saw what was beneath him.
Below the hollow metallic flooring, there were countless dense red lights that seemed like they were emitted by the eyes of insects.
Holy shit!
Han Xiao could feel the tension in his head. He immediately dimmed the torchlight and marked out the bottom layer as a prohibited sector.
With that in mind, Han Xiao carefully followed the footsteps of the pilgrims forward. It was dead silent apart from the occasional faint sounds of crawling insects. However, if one tried to pick out these sounds individually, they would just disappear. It was very creepy and made Han Xiao uncontrollably nervous.
After walking for long while, a junction appeared in front of him. The footprints of the pilgrims led toward the path on the right.
While Han Xiao was in a dilemma over which path to take, he heard footsteps from the path on the right. He could see many people running toward him hysterically.
Han Xiao immediately moved to the other side of the junction. He switched off his torch and put on the night vision visor that Fabian Company had provided.
“Run, quickly run!”
“A monster!”
The frantic pilgrims ran out of the junction as if they were escaping from some creature. Their clothing had many blood stains. Also, the size of the group was much smaller.
What are these guys hiding from? Han Xiao was puzzled.
Suddenly, from the nearby path, there was a deep growl that originated from a beast. The growl was raspy and deep, like the sigh of a giant. The instant he heard the sound, Han Xiao felt his pulse running wild, and an uncomfortable sensation began to build up in his heart.
This is a threat from a high-level beast. It is definitely above LV 40!
The pilgrims looked fearful. It was as if they had seen something unimaginable. Using their hands and leg, they were crawling hysterically backward.
However, the beast never walked out of the dark. The pilgrims fell to the ground. They were relieved that they had managed to escape from the clutches of the beast.
There were no sounds of footsteps made by the beast.
“Joel was eaten by the beast…”
“This place is too scary.”
The pilgrims were shivering, and shock was clearly written on their faces. It was as if all their energy was being drained away. They said, “This place is not Felonia. We will not find the things we want here. Let’s leave and continue the hunt for the real ruins.”
According to legend, the magical ruins were supposed to be mysterious and archaic. There were supposed to be countless incomprehensible carving. The ruins were also a city made from rocks and boulders. However, they were in a man-made metallic base. On the walls, there were symbols that looked like the coat of arms of the ancient kingdom. The place was probably the secret military facility of the ancient kingdom.
The pilgrims calmed down. A young pilgrim said, “Maybe this place is indeed the Felonia we have been searching for. Our former country found the ruins of Felonia and decided to build a facility to study the treasure of the ruins.”
The treasure of the desert was the treasure mentioned in the legend of Felonia. As long as one possessed the treasure, one would be able to control the Somar desert.
The old pilgrims shook their heads and said with a bitter laugh, “Impossible. If the ancient kingdom had the treasure, why would the regime be destroyed?”
“This is not the place we are looking for. The real ruins of Felonia must be hidden in some other corner of the desert!”
The old pilgrims sounded assertive and firm.
The pilgrims helped on another up and left the place.
After Han Xiao heard their conversations, he was also confused. Based on his knowledge, there were no magical elements present on Planet Aquamarine. The so-called treasure of the desert was probably some advanced technological weaponry.
However, people would often overthink scenarios or incidents they did not understand. They would therefore create unrealistic stories. Furthermore, they would be very firm and confident that their unrealistic imagination was in fact the reality. Han Xiao thought of the story of a man who did not escape when his home was flooded. Instead, he waited atop the roof of his house for God to send him an ark.
He could not understand why the pilgrims were so adamant about linking Felonia with magic. However, that seemed to be none of his concern… unless it was the hint for another hidden mission?
Han Xiao regained his senses, and he revealed himself after the pilgrims left. He was also unsure which path to take at the junction.
The pilgrims said that there was a monster on the route at the right. However, the path on the left was unknown territory, and it could very well be more dangerous. How should he decide?
Based on my experience, these pilgrims are bait to lure me into the Instance Dungeon. They hinted that there was a monster on the right. There are two interpretations of their words. The first is that they are right. The second is that they are leading me to the path on the left on purpose.
Han Xiao ground his teeth firmly and chose to walk the path on the right. The unknown was definitely scarier than the monster. He then remembered the bugs he had seen during his descent and their dense red eyes. If he was to run into those creepy crawlies, his skin was bound to shed from all their bites.
Han Xiao wore the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. He was not using any torchlight; he only had his night-vision visors on. After entering the path on the right, there was dark green filled his vision. He could barely see the road ahead.
There were abnormally large footprints on the ground. The footprints were the work of the monster. Like humans, the monster had two legs and five toes on each foot. The monster was estimated to be three meters tall.
Han Xiao walked for a while, and he came across a room its door wide opened. The footprints of the monster stopped there.
Han Xiao nudged closer to the door, and he could smell a disgusting stench that seemed like rotting meat. There was also a faint odor of blood.
He raised his head and looked inside of the room.
A pair of eyes, which were as large as bronze bells, was staring at him. He was only half a meter away from the monster!
Han Xiao was both shocked and frightened.
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The magnetically controlled retractable armor was ready to be activated. Han Xiao was either going to fight or escape.
However, the monster was merely staring in the direction of the door. It was as if the monster had not noticed the existence of Han Xiao. It was standing there without moving.
Night-blindness?
Han Xiao felt a tinge of elation in his heart. Luckily, he did not switch on his torch, else he would have suffered the fate of the pilgrims before him.
Standing three meters tall, the monster had a human shape, and layers of muscles could be seen on his body. The muscles stacked together like little hills. However, the muscular body did not look aesthetically pleasing. Instead, the elongated muscles turned people off. The muscles were also rotting. There were even holes at certain areas, and plump maggots could be seen crawling around the rotting meat.
Compared its massive body, the head and neck of the creature were especially small. The skin of the monster was stretched tight by the muscles. The face of the creature also looked disproportionate. Looking at his face, one would automatically think of other abnormal individuals, like the Deformed Devil and the Sun Knight.
Han Xiao scanned the layout of the room. There was a bunch of medical equipment and four pods that were probably used for experiments. Two of the pods had been crushed. One of them was closed. There was only one free pod available for use.
There were liquid-delivery tubes on the pods. They were attached to a transparent container that only had stains of the neon-like liquid left.
Han Xiao moved backwards carefully. When he realized that the monster was still not moving, he heaved a sigh of relief. He walked down the corridor and quickly reached the second and third metal gates. The rusty gates were all locked up tight by another metallic barrier. The card-reader was so rusty that it could no longer be used.
Han Xiao did not give up because of that. He took the card-reader apart to check out its model.
Hmmm… I can’t tell.
That’s not important!
This place was a secret military facility decades ago. However, the facility was abandoned a couple of years back, and it was probably a site used for biochemical experiments. The experiments probably failed… or could they have succeeded? The muscular creature really doesn’t look like a normal biological organism. Wait, the corridor can’t be so long. How big is this base exactly?
There was silence throughout the dark corridor. The deeper one ventured into the corridor, the darker it got. Even the night-vision visor only had a visibility radius of five meters. The surrounding environment beyond that was a mystery to Han Xiao. Fortunately, he was lucky to not have claustrophobia or a phobia of darkness.
Han Xiao felt like he was walking on the edge of a knife; danger seemed imminent. Although Han Xiao was no chicken, he could feel cold sweat breaking out from all areas of his body. That was the innate reaction of any living being that was going to face an upcoming, unknown danger. Han Xiao knew that being too nervous would affect his ability to make good decisions quickly at stressful moments. He started chanting something under his breath to keep his nerves at bay.
“Stay calm even when the sky collapses. The breeze is so soothing. The waves are not choppy. The height of the mountain does not matter. There will be a fairy. A horse may be old, but it is still ambitious…”
In actual fact, Han Xiao was also unsure of what he was mumbling. However, after his chants, he no longer felt so nervous.
Along the way, he saw more than ten gates, but only the one leading to the room housing the beast was opened. The rest of the gates were all shut tightly. Eventually, he reached the end of the corridor, and a larger gate stood before his eyes. That was probably the main room. The metallic barrier was lower by a third of the distance, and he was able to enter the room.
That was the second room that one could enter. Based on the logic behind the Instance Dungeon, there was probably some useful information there.
The room seemed to be a gigantic lab. There were rusty machines everywhere, and experiment pods were sitting in the center of the room.
It seems like there is no danger.
The dust in the room choked him, and the pungent rotting smell filled his nose. There was a corpse on the table, and it was shriveled up. There were torn fragments of fabric on the body, and Han Xiao could faintly tell that the pieces of cloth belonged to a white lab coat.
Han Xiao found a book at the table near the body. He wiped the dust from the cover of the book in an attempt to find out some useful information. After taking a closer look at it, he realized it was a diary.
“13 July. The professor modified the Felonia serum for the 67th time and injected it into the lab rat. The effects are amazing and have exceeded our expectations. It there are no negative reactions, we can proceed with human trials.”
“17 July. The lab rat is dead. It is a failure. The cause of death is organ failure. The professor is disappointed. He locked himself up in his room. I could hear him smashing things in his office. The lab report for the experiment was missing.”
“20 July. The professor insisted on carrying out human trials. The higher ups approved the professor’s request. This is insane! Have they all forgotten about Experiment 000? The lab report for the experiment was torn and missing.”
“26 July. The base released a new set of regulations. All researchers are supposed to submit their electronic devices. We are not allowed to connect to any external networks. Are we going to be defeated?”
“5 August. This is the 7th day of experiment 008. The human subject is in a stable condition. There are no special changes in the subject. The professor is dejected.”
“11 August. The higher-ups sent out orders for us to retreat. The battle is not going well for our side, and we have to preserve whatever resources are left. Everyone is feeling scared. As usual, the professor is unwilling to face the reality that we have been defeated. I have prepared myself mentally for this outcome. I noticed that the guards protecting the base have become sparser over the past few months. That is probably due to the fact that most of them were being deployed to the frontline as reinforcements. Damn it, if I did not leave my post as a military doctor, I will not be stuck in this depressing facility. Everyone looks so gloomy here. There is no life! I hate his place!”
“14 August. We will be retreating tomorrow. We are heading to Base 03 to seek shelter. There is not much time. We backed up all data related to the Felonia Serum. The guards are so rough. They want to blow the entire facility up. The professor took some serums with him. The rest of the serums were all destroyed.”
The entries in the diary stopped there. Han Xiao flipped back to the front, but he could not find any more valuable information. Many pages were torn away from the diary.
The corpses at the side evidently showed that the people in the facility did not manage to escape. An accident must have happened between August 14th and August 15th that resulted in the deaths of the researchers and guards in the facility. Also, most of them had died in the basement. That explained the countless red-eyed Necro-worms active in the basement that Han Xiao had seen—the worms fed on the dead bodies!
What’s a Felonia Serum? Han Xiao was intrigued by the serum. He suddenly remembered the dried-up liquid in the previous lab’s experimental pod. That must have been what was left of the serum. The diary also noted that the “professor has the serum”. The body of the professor was most likely in the basement. Han Xiao had no interest in entering the restricted area. Therefore, it was probably impossible for him to obtain the serum.
Seems like there will be no interesting discoveries this time round. Han Xiao shook his head in disappointment. He then looked up and took a deep breath.
He saw a block box in the center of the table. He walked toward it hastily and opened the cover of the box. There were three tubes of a fluorescent serum in the box.
At that instant, an ancient saying flashed in his mind— In times of desperation, there will eventually be light. What you search so hard for can actually be obtained so easily. In fact, it is just right before your eyes if turn back and take a closer look.
Han Xiao looked at the body on the table. He bit his lip and wondered to himself, Could the dead body be the professor?
Han Xiao grabbed the three serums and scanned through liquid in the tubes.
Where on earth do you find a serum of such a weird color?
_____________________
You gained [Felonia Serum (Incomplete)] x 3.
Felonia Serum (Incomplete): It is a serum with the medicinal ability to improve one’s physical capability. The formula has yet to be perfected. After the usage of the serum, mutation is a distinct possibility.
Note, these are the last three remaining Felonia Serums.
——————————————————————
Ah a biochemical serum. A serum without a tested and proven formula is highly dangerous. The serums I possess are incomplete products. It is highly likely for mutations to occur if I injected the serum into my body. I will probably become the muscular beast I just saw…
Han Xiao felt a cold shiver up his spine.
There is probably nothing else left here. I am going to leave this place as soon as possible. This place is very creepy.
Han Xiao turned around and met the gaze of the muscular monster standing there silently.
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The monster raised it muscular arm and slammed his hand down at Han Xiao as if he were a fly. There was a change in the air pressure from the immense force exerted by the hand, suffocating Han Xiao.
As the rotting stench filled his nostrils, Han Xiao quickly slid to dodge the attack like a mudskipper. The monster’s strike missed him by a few millimeters, the strong wind blowing his hair into a mess.
When the monster’s palm hit the ground, there was a huge boom. A dent was created in the ground, and dust could also be seen rising into the air. Han Xiao immediately held his breath and squinted to prevent the dust from entering his body.
He fired the Berserk Eagles violently at the rotting flesh of the monster, sending smelly puss spurting into the air.
_____________________
You dealt 57 points of damage to Subject 002!
You have entered combat mode. Based on your current level, you will have access to the following information:
Subject 002:
Level: 42
Main Class: Low-level mutated organism (Endurance to HP conversion ratio is at 1:100)
Attributes: 65 Strength, 20 Dexterity, 60 (90) Endurance, 1 Intelligence, ? MYS, ? Charisma, ? Luck
Energy: 0
Energy Rank: 0
Health: 1854/7800 (Constant decomposition)
Status: Intense decomposition—Defense -25, Endurance -30—All traits are in serious decline.
Specialties:
– Physical Improvement: Strength +5, Endurance +10
– Mid-level HP Boost: Additional increase in HP from the conversion of endurance. The ration is 1:30.
– ???
Skills:
– Silent Movement LV 12
– Heavy Smash LV 8
– Collide LV 5
– ???
——————————————————————
Although for normal players, the professional level was usually capped at LV 10, there were some professions that allowed for higher levels. Low-level mutated organism was one of such special cases.
As Han Xiao fired both his pistols continuously at the target, the large diameter bullets slammed into the body of Subject 002, forming holes in the monster’s body.
With every shot, a bang resounded through the base.
The commotion is too much for me to handle. I need to end the battle fast. Han Xiao had a heavy heart. Luckily, Subject 002 was in a rather poor physical state. If the monster had full HP, it would have been tough for him to escape.
Subject 002 seemed to be unable to feel pain. It lowered its head and barged toward the target. Han Xiao felt like a steam train was barging at him!
Swiftly stowing his pistols, he took out his blade. He slashed the retractable machete hard at the skull of the monster. With a ‘Dang’, the blade pierced hard into the skull. Puss spilled out from the monster’s head. Han Xiao was also hit by the monster’s charge. He only had the time to put his hands before him, and it felt like he was facing a wild rhinoceros. He was unable to keep his balance and moved backward. While moving back, he crashed into two experiment platforms and could feel a sharp pain in his hip bone. There was also an acute pain in his chest that made him short of breath.
Multiple injuries suffered by Han Xiao flashed on the screen of the interface.
Han Xiao’s blade was still stuck in the bones and flesh of Subject 002. The yellowish puss was flowing out of the wound seamlessly. The monster attempted to growl in anger, but it could only make shrieks since its vocal chords were also decomposing. The monster’s fists fired out rapidly, creating strong gusts of wind that brought the dust along. However, the motion of the punches thrown by the monster was easily discernable for Han Xiao.
The collision he had experienced previously was definitely a skill of the monster that could not be used repeatedly. Han Xiao also wanted to observe if the enemy had any specific weaknesses. The conclusion was clear. The monster really did not have a brain and could move its body even when its brain was being hacked.
Han Xiao dodged the fists of the monster. He quickly moved to the back of Subject 002 and activated the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. He pressed the gloves hard on the enemy, and a glaring pale-blue light was released in the darkness. The gloves were scorching, and the heat burnt through the rotten muscle tissues of the monster. There was an intense charred smell in the air.
Han Xiao managed to grab a sticky internal organ of the monster. He tried to rip it hard with his hands, and white smoke emerged in the air. Subject 002 was constantly trying to wave its hands and attack Han Xiao, but Han Xiao managed to evade the attacks.
The thermo-electrical incisor gloves were able to cause high damage to the enemy continuously. In less than ten seconds, it inflicted a total damage of around 800 HP. The heat from the gloves managed to scorch the body of the monster.
After flashing for a few times, the light from the gloves disappeared, indicating that the battery providing power to the gloves had been depleted. The battery powering the gloves could only sustain the gloves’ activities for a few minutes. Su Li had used the gloves before Han Xiao snatched them from her, and Han Xiao had managed to deplete the last bit of energy left in the gloves’ battery.
Han Xiao retreated quickly, and by utilizing his nimbleness and agility, he managed to evade the attacks of the monster. The monster was like a low-level creature with almost zero intelligence. Although it was physically strong, it was no match of Han Xiao’s quickness and intelligence. Only the monster’s charges were considered threatening.
Han Xiao made good use of the terrain and obstacles around to evade the monster’s attacks and finally defeated the monster with his never-ending gunshots.
The monster swirled unsteadily on the spot like it was drunk before collapsing to the ground. The monster stopped breathing, and the puss flowed out of the monster’s gunshot wounds.
_____________________
You killed Subject 002 (LV 42).
You gained 32,000 EXP.
_____________________
As you killed an enemy that is ten levels higher, there will be an addition gain of experience by 280%. The total experience gained will be 89,600. Your rate of contribution: 23.7%
You gained an additional 21,235 (23.7%) experience points.
——————————————————————
A shuffling sound could be heard. It grew louder. The sound surrounded the entire area. Limbs started to protrude out of the cracks in the metallic flooring.
Han Xiao realized that something was wrong. His expression changed drastically, and he started fleeing toward where he had come from.
There was a huge boom from afar that sounded like the collision between metallic objects. There were also roars from a beast, and they sounded as if they were heading in Han Xiao’s direction.
All signs indicated that although he had successfully wiped out Subject 002, he had triggered the activity of something else.
Han Xiao had managed to kill Subject 002. However, as recorded by the diary, the last subject of the series of experiments was Subject 008, and that meant that there were a couple more monsters like Subject 002. Perhaps, these monsters were even stronger and wandering about the various corners of the base. Since Han Xiao had already obtained what he wanted, it was time for him to flee.
Ignoring all sorts of creepy sounds, Han Xiao fled the base at the speed of light. He managed to leave the area safely and started crawling back up the cliff. The light from the sun hit his body, and he could finally relax his senses. The abandoned facility had an atmosphere that was too creepy. It was as if danger was everywhere. He had felt like he was walking along a tightrope in midair.
Fortunately, he had managed to obtain the three tubes of Felonia Serum, and Han Xiao could not imagine the value of these serums. However, he had no time to check out his loot. The different military groups in the Somar desert would quickly arrive after discovering the events that had occurred in the area.
With that thought in mind, Han Xiao left the area on his jeep.
About an hour after Han Xiao left the scene, the fleets of vehicles arrived at the entrance to Felonia. They all looked at the entrance of the cave in shock. They subsequently informed their wealthy sponsors about their discovery. The different military groups were all eyeing the hidden treasure of Felonia, and they were willing to fight it out to achieve their goal.
The leaders of these militias sent out orders for their troops to explore the facility.
The militants eventually put their battles on hold and sent reconnaissance groups into the facility. The huge amount of people entering the facility made it seem less creepy and frightening.
“There are Desert Necro-worms in the basement.”
“Tell someone up top to bring the flame-throwers down.”
The flamethrowers started spitting fire through the metallic flooring into the basement compartment where the worms were active. The worms squealed as they were engulfed in the flames. The mixture of the smell of the burnt worms and the rotting stench of the facility was nauseating.
The Desert Necro-worms were relatively short, less than ten centimeters, and they looked like centipedes with beetle-like shells. There were antennae on the worms’ heads, and their red eyes could also be seen. They had pincers that could slice one’s bones and could also be used for the ingestion of their prey.
There were tens of thousands of such worms in the facility, and the waves of worms started to retaliate. The worms crawled up and approached the militants from two directions. The various militias decided to team up in a defense against these worms. They used their flame-throwers and bullets to push back the waves of worms.
Just as the situation stabilized, the worms suddenly dispersed, and a few rotting creatures barged out. They did not care about the bullets or flames and penetrated the formation set up by the troops.
The militants were all astonished.
“What’s that? They look so fucking disgusting!”
“Maintain formation.”
“Fuck, the worms are invading our positions!”
“Kill the monster first… wait, there are three monsters!”
“We need back up. I repeat, we need back up!”
The gunshots went on for a while before the scene fell silent.
There were burnt worms and their shells everywhere. The monsters had been battered to death by the bullets and embers. The militants had also suffered substantial losses. The only consolation was that they had won the battle.
Couton kicked the corpse of the dead monster and muttered, “They look like experimental subjects of a series of biochemical experiments.”
The troops started clearing the battlefield. They ventured up and down the base to explore the area. They blew up the gates to check out the locked rooms but unfortunately did not find anything. There was only rusty equipment and a couple of documents in the facility that the troops found valuable and kept.
The most valuable discovery were the last dregs of the dried-up neon-colored serum left in the experimental pod and the dead body of the experiment subject. These items led to the secret that the leaders of these militant groups were looking for. Perhaps they could test the effects of the serum in their own labs. However, looking at the monsters that the experimental subjects had turned into, it seemed that the serum was not yet complete.
The militants went into the lab that Han Xiao had discovered no long ago, and they found another dead experimental subject—Subject 002—with fresh wounds.
“Someone came ahead of us!”
Couton looked into the case that housed the three tubes of serum, and it was empty. There were signs that someone had tampered with the case.
His eyes instantly lit up.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The trip to Somar Desert was concluded.
The allocated time for the quest was fifteen days, but Han Xiao took only six days to complete it.
As Fabian Company’s carrier aircraft landed in Morning Wind City’s airport, Han Xiao rushed to Hotel Victoria without a break to complete his quest at the Blood Pact Society’s floor.
The server quickly reported it to the higher management level. Soon, the person in-charge came to receive Han Xiao.
In a private VIP lounge, Han Xiao was leaning comfortable on the sofa as he waited for the person in-charge to confirm his quest details.
On an unknown floor, a Dark Net recorder opened the bounty page for the Rose Militant and updated the activity log.
“688.4.1, Code Name – Mr. Black (Scorpion)
“Date: 688.4.7
“Assignment completed.”
This report was sent to the database, so at the same time, all assassins of the Blood Pact Society received a text message about the removal of the Rose Militant assignment.
…
“Mr. Black, your bounty assignment has been verified. We will immediately transfer the funds into your account.”
Ding!
Han Xiao looked at the computer—his Dark Net account had just received three million dollars, which amounted to five million dollars in his account. He realized that the rate of profit from doing bounty hunter assignments was way faster than making machinery.
It was a killing.
In the old days, this assignment was completed by a fifteen-member team, so the profit was divided equally between everyone. This time, Han Xiao took the profit alone, making it a colossal windfall.
_____________________
You have completed the quest [Bounty Hunter (Rose Militant)].
You gained 15,000 EXP.
Hidden Quest Requirement: ‘Discover the Felonia Plan’ completed. You gained 25,000 additional EXP; you gained a special reward [Mid-grade gene-blending potion (4.37% Low Concentration) x 1
Reputation with the Blood Pack Society increased by 550 points. Currently Neutral (550/1000) – [Scorpion-level Assassin]
——————————————————————
Han Xiao’s eyes shimmered. Gene-blending potion was a very powerful game item—it was chiefly used to reduce the failure and mutation rate of biochemicals!
Biochemicals were a common type of drug for increasing character stats, but any use of biochemicals came with inherently risks, which included the possibility of a decrease in stat points and malignant mutations. Additionally, different biochemicals would have conflicts that resulted in further side effects. Gene-blending potion could remove these inherent risks of biochemicals to a certain degree.
No wonder. If I did not risk going into the abandoned base and discover the Felonia Serum, this special reward would not have been useful.
Han Xiao suddenly understood the crux of the matter. The rewards of this quest were linked closely to his actions. This potion was the extra reward for exploring the place, and Subject 002 was akin to a mini-boss that guarded the blood serum.
His cautiousness during the exploration helped him avoid many more difficult barriers. The footsteps of the pilgrims were secretly hinting the player in the correct direction. If he had ignored the hint and walked in the opposite direction, he would have been surrounded and attacked by a bunch of test subjects and Desert Necro-worms.
If he feared the monster and moved to the left side, he would have missed discovering the blood serum.
And if he had moved to the right side while using a torch, he would have triggered the battle with Subject 002 at the first gate. The small passageway would not have allowed him to evade and move forward properly. He was highly likely to have retreated.
Lastly, if he had continued exploring greedily after getting the blood serum, he would have suffered the same consequences as the first scenario.
The reward was really a pleasant surprise; Han Xiao could not wait to research it. After submitting the assignment, he got up and was about to leave. However, the person in-charge suddenly said, “Mir. Black. May I ask you to stay in the Morning Wing City for two days? An important guest wants to meet with you.”
“Important guest?” Han Xiao was puzzled.
“An emissary from the Rothschild family, the client for the Rose Militant assignment. He hopes to meet up with you.”
Could it be to do with Felonia? Han Xiao’s eyes flashed before he said, “Please inform him that I will be glad to meet up with him.”
The person in-charge was delighted. “Alright then.”
Han Xiao left Hotel Victoria and went back to Antonio’s base. He immediately entered his temporary workshop and took out the Felonia serum and the gene-blending Potion.
The Felonia serum had a yellow fluorescence. It was sealed nicely and thus did not go bad after so many years.
The gene-blending potion was as dense as mercury, and it had little shiny star-like sparkles that made it glitter.
To use or not to use? That was the question.
The Felonia serum was a secret game item that he had never seen before this. The gene-blending potion would greatly reduce the risk of using it, so it was rather safe.
After Han Xiao calculated his chance of success, he decided to roll the dice. With the help of the gene-blending potion, even if the serum failed, he would not become like the muscular and ugly-looking test subjects.
He took out a syringe and a catheter. He then poked the syringe into the vein on his arm, injecting the gene-blending potion first.
A cool and refreshing sensation was carried by his blood circulation and distributed throughout his body. He felt as if he had just taken a refreshing bite of ice-cream in the blazing summer heat. His mind was simultaneously calmed. The gene-blending potion was not harmful to the body, and if it was not activated by a biochemical, its effect would gradually disappear.
Han Xiao took a deep breadth before he started injecting the blood serum. The fluorescent serum passed through the catheter and entered his bloodstream.
The feeling of his body swelling was instantly felt!
“Hiss…” Han Xiao gritted his teeth. He was spasming due to the overwhelming pain he felt throughout his entire body. He felt as if the interior of his body had been blown up into a paste—bones smashed into ashes, blood vessels broken apart, and muscles melted. The insufferable pain hit his brain without a stop, and he almost fainted!
‘Real’ players had only needed to rely on progress bars for using in-game items and making machinery. Therefore, the maximum pain they could feel was limited.
But Han Xiao had to experience the pain in reality!
Of course, being able to experience the reality was more advantageous to him. He had already gained a lot of benefits from it. True pain was just the required cost of the deal.
After some unknown amount of time, the overwhelming pain gradually subsided. Han Xiao’s eyes were filled with blood vessels, and he exhaled a heavy heap of murky air. He felt his nerves had suffered a horrifying torture.
He took a look at his body and was glad to find that it did not change. He did not become a muscular monster. It was still the same old handsome-looking body.
He did not have the energy to read his interface during the process, but now that it was over, he realized that it was flooded with lines and lines of information.
_____________________
You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).
Mutation Progress: 12%.
Mutation succeeded! (Failure rate was reduced by Gene-blending Potion)
_____________________
You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).
Mutation Progress: 46%; Mutation succeeded!
_____________________
You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).
Mutation Progress: 73%; Mutation succeeded!
_____________________
You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).
Mutation Progress: 100%.
Mutation Completed! Compatibility: Good
You gained 3 Strength and 5 Endurance!
You gained the ability [Basic Strengthen Life]!
_____________________
Han Xiao was dumbfounded. He glanced at his stat board with a look of disbelief as the new ability [Basic Strengthen Life] appeared.
I possess a Molding ability! Han Xiao was utterly shocked.
There was a special type of ability called a Molding ability. As far as he knew, he had not heard about any ‘real’ player obtaining this type of ability as it belonged exclusively to NPCs and Bosses, and it had very powerful effects. It was even rare for NPCs to have it.
Just by looking at its effects, one would immediately realize how powerful this type of ability was. [Basic Strengthen Life] would turn Endurance into extra Health Points with a conversion ratio of 1 to 15. This meant that with the 60 Endurance Points that Han Xiao had right now, he instantly gained 990 more Health Points to reach more than 2000 Health Points, almost doubling his existing HP.
Furthermore, the effect of this ability would increase as his Endurance increased further, providing him even more HP.
Han Xiao was only LV 30, and his HP had broken the 2,000 mark. The LV 38 Pugilist Pan Kuang did not even have as much HP as him.
If a ‘real’ player used the Felonia serum, they would probably only gain stat points, without the Molding ability.
This ability, my magnetic armor, and all the future mechanical armors will together make my tank ability so powerful that my enemies will vomit from trying to kill me.
Han Xiao was pleasantly surprised; he was very satisfied with the new ability as it gave him additional insurance.
He had benefited greatly from this quest.
From quest rewards, rewards from killing the enemies, and rewards from producing machinery during his free time, he had accumulated over 700,000 EXP on his interface!
He then counted the number of blueprints he had—19—just one more away from finishing the job advancement quest. Han Xiao contemplated for a moment and decided to produce some equipment that would boost his movement speed.
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Lv. 4 Basic Electromagnetism + Lv. 4 Basic Energy Theory + Lv. 4 Basic Mechanical Engineering + Lv. 2 Basic Bio-engineering)
This fusion will cost you 20,000 EXP!
——————————————————————
The range of blueprints he would get from this fusion was quite large. Han Xiao was uncertain whether he would get the equipment he wanted or not. He prepared himself to fuse three times, and if he did not succeed after three attempts, he would try to invent it by himself.
On his third try, Han Xiao obtained the blueprint for the item that he needed—the Skating Shoes.
Han Xiao scratched his head. He had saved the time needed to invent the shoes by himself by successfully obtaining the desired blueprint on the third try, but one of the two other blueprints was a totally useless blueprint. He was not sure whether he should consider himself lucky or unlucky.
The Skating Shoes, also known as the Electromagnetic Hover-boots, could be worn by an individual or armed on a small robot, and they could greatly enhance movement speed without hindering evading capability.
The other two blueprints were named Swarm and Heart, respectively.
_____________________
You have completed your Job Advancement Quest.
Job advancement successful!
You gained a new job [Mechanic (Trainee)]
+50 Energy, +1 Dexterity, +4 Intelligence; +1 Endurance, + 3 Unassign Stats, +1 Talent Point
You learned [Meticulous Repairs]!
You learned [Medium Enhancement]!
——————————————————————
Repair and Enhancement, the two core skills of a Mechanic, had finally evolved.
Mechanic (Trainee) was the third stage of a Mechanic’s job, but the EXP required to reach Lv.1 was not much since the job had a maximum level of 15.
Han Xiao gained three stat points at once.
His total level was at 34, and as usual, he threw all the stat points gained into Intelligence.
Han Xiao still had some leftover EXP. He thought for a moment before he decided to upgrade [Continuous Gliding Shots]. This skill had helped him numerous times, and Mechanics lacked battle skills, so every single active skill was important to them. Additionally, he was not in a rush to upgrade [Overload] as its Lv.1 effect was powerful enough for now.
[Continuous Gliding Shots] was raised to Lv.4, and its effect was strengthened. However, at the same time, it would consume 8 Energy. Han Xiao now had close to 900 Energy, more than enough to spend on this skill.
He had once again spent all his EXP.
He had spent a large sum of EXP in exchange for an improvement in his fighting capability. His character’s bare Energy Rank exceeded the 500 mark, and when he coordinated with his machinery, it would reach up to 700. He could now beat Pan Kuang easily if they were to fight again without the help of Norsa’s Character Summoning Card.
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With a huge sum of money in his wallet, Han Xiao could spend extravagantly. He purchased a new batch of mechanical parts from Fabian Company.
In one day, using the skills from his job advancement, Han Xiao upgraded all his equipment and made blueprints for new items.
The Electromagnetic Hover-boots looked like a pair of metal boots. The heels and soles had a special device that could utilize the electromagnetic field to reduce surface friction. The power for which was generated by the high-energy battery inside the boots. The user could glide and coast on any type of surface, as if ice-skating, at an extremely high speed that was comparable to that of a car. The battery could supply enough energy for the boots to run at maximum power output for twenty minutes.
Han Xiao then painted the boots in silver and black stripes, and they looked stylish. Also, he conveniently added breathable knitting, a spongy cushion, and leather exterior for the boots. The boots were now comfortable for every day wear. One did not need to change into them only during battles.
Soon, the Rothschilds’ representative visited him.
In Hotel Victoria, Alphonsus was seated in the VIP lounge. He rested his hands on his knees while he waited for his guest to arrive.
As the door opened and Han Xiao walked in, Alphonsus got up and held out his hand elegantly as he said with a deep and magnetic voice, “I am Alphonsus from the Rothschild Family. I want to discuss some matters with you.”
Han Xiao went on to shake his hand. He felt Alphonsus’ thumb pressing firmly on the area between his thumb and index finger while he steadily shook for a moment. It was the type of handshake that was habitual for a person of authority, mostly used to exert dominance over the other person. This kind of handshake was easy to recognize for Han Xiao as his grandfather used to do it.
The principle was rather simple: just like how perverts would lightly scratch a girl’s hand when they shook her hand, a person of different status, job, or identity would have different habits. Handshakes would differ greatly depending on the people executing and receiving it, such as a subordinate seeking a favor from his boss, a male trying to seduce a lady, a person meeting a stranger, or two people of high-status fighting against each other.
Alphonsus was clearly not just a simple envoy. Han Xiao could already guess at the Rothschild Family’s purpose for meeting him.
As both were seated, Alphonsus said, “The assignment for Rose Militant has been on the list for nearly three years, and many assassins failed miserably. You, Mr. Black, actually completed it alone, much to my surprise.”
“You flatter me. This was just a standard operation, nothing to praise.”
Yet, your tone does not sound at all humble, Alphonsus quietly thought.
The two made some small talk before Han Xiao cut straight to the point. “Our relationship is only limited to that between a client and an assassin. Since the assignment is completed, we have no need for any further association. You clearly came to visit me for something else.”
“You are right. I am here to ask you some questions.” Alphonsus nodded. His body suddenly leaned forward, creating a hint of tension. He stared right at Han Xiao and said solemnly, “Did you visit an abandoned base in the Somar Desert?”
Alphonsus continuously observed Han Xiao’s expression and eyes whilst he spoke. He would immediately know that Han Xiao was lying if he showed any hint of hesitation. The Rothschild Family knew about the research project from the experiment diary taken from the base, and they highly valued it. If they could obtain the Felonia serum, they might be able to produce unique items from it.
Much to his surprise, Han Xiao actually took out a tube of yellow-fluorescent blood serum and place directly on the table.
“Name your price,” he said nonchalantly.
Alphonsus was startled—he did not expect Han Xiao to be so frank.
“This item is useless to me. Since you want it, you can pay to buy it.”
Alphonsus glanced at the serum. He did not worry that Han Xiao was lying to him—those who dared to scam the Rothschild Family had all died.
“How much do you want?”
“It depends on your sincerity.” Han Xiao grinned and looked unfathomable.
This attitude gave Alphonsus a headache. He had been hoping that Han Xiao did not know the value of the blood serum, but based on his behavior, it was unlikely. He hesitated for a long while before he made an honest offer, but it was not a high price considering the item’s rarity.
“One million.”
Every negotiator would always start low. Since they were all civilized gentleman, there was no such thing as killing and robbing; therefore, Alphonsus was ready to spend a fortune on it.
Han Xiao stared at Alphonsus for a moment before he slowly moved his lips. “This price… you didn’t show any sincerity at all.”
Alphonsus was just about to prepare his negotiation speech.
“I accept.”
“This blood serum has been kept for a few dozen years, and I don’t even know if it still works. So, the value is greatly reduced, I…”
“Hold on. You agree with this price‽” Alphonsus looked shocked.
Han Xiao pushed the blood serum toward Alphonsus and smiled. “This is for making a friend.”
Alphonsus started to take a liking for Han Xiao as he had originally planned to spend a fortune on this.
He tucked away the serum and recollected himself. “The funds will be transferred to your account as soon as possible. Also, you will gain the friendship with Rothschild and myself personally.”
_____________________
You unlocked a new camp reputation!
Reputation with the Rothschild Family increased by 1,800 points
The Rothschild Family: Friendly (1,800/3,000)
——————————————————————
Han Xiao smiled lightly; earning reputation points with the Rothschild Family by giving up some money was a very good deal for him. He could always earn money from other places, but the opportunity to unlock a new camp would be fleeting.
Some family conglomerates and corporations existed since the Old Age. After the baptism of war, some families died out while some became even more deep-rooted, for their influence could reach every aspect of their country, including the military, politics, economics, and mafias. Rothschild was one of such families, and Han Xiao knew that he could reap many benefits. To players, this was a support-type camp. They could buy rare items and services from such camps.
The Rothschilds were one of the Dark Net Organization’s allies, and he could use their backing in the organization, which would yield him more advantages.
Without the gene-blending potion, the Felonia serum would not yield him benefits. So, he would rather sell it for some profits. Anyway, he held onto one last tube of the serum.
With another million dollars in his account, his current stash reached six million dollars. They might just be digits in his account, but to put them in context, LV 30 players in Version 1.0 were considered wealthy if they had more than twenty thousand dollars. Anything above a million dollar would be considered astronomical; only major guilds had that kind of money.
After the deal, the atmosphere became more harmonious.
“What exactly is Felonia?” Han Xiao was curious.
He was puzzled by the fact that a simple serum like this was eyed by so many different factions.
Alphonsus was in a happy mood, so he explained, “There was a country in the Somar Desert that was entangled in the wars of the Old Age. They initiated a large-scale research project called the Felonia Project. The name was taken from a legendary tale of the country, and the project involved building many military bases to conduct research in a dozen different branches of technological development. The serum was one of their research directions. ”
“It turned out to be this. I really thought there was some sort of magical ruins.” Han Xiao finally understood the whole thing.
Alphonsus chuckled. “There is no magic in this world. You thought too much.”
Han Xiao laughed and touched his chin. Planet Aquamarine should not have any magic, but why do I have a weird feeling about this?
…
In a pitch-black cavern deep underneath the earth, fine sand dropped through the gaps of the rocks occasionally.
A gush of wind that came from nowhere echoed in the cavern, as if someone was exhaling it. Faint sounds of thunder-like thumps were heard in the background.
Suddenly, six large oval-shaped lamps lit up in the dark. They were golden in color and were divided into two neat and symmetrical rows. From the look of it, each lamp’s radius was more than ten meters.
‘Large lamps’ started flashing rapidly, like eyes blinking.
Eyes.
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Alphonsus passed his phone number to Han Xiao. “This is my number. If you need something, just give me a call.”
Han Xiao knocked on the table for a few times before he said, “It just so happen that I have a question. I want to quickly raise my rank and authorization level in the Blood Pact Society. Do you have any good suggestions for me?”
Alphonsus pondered for a moment and decided to do Han Xiao a favor. He asked a sever to bring in the Blood Pact Society’s laptop, and he opened a document to show to Han Xiao. The top of the document was clearly stamped with ‘No Unauthorized Access’.
Han Xiao’s brows furrowed as he read on.
“Internal Call-up (Not Public)
“Call-up Objective: Blood Pact Society Assassins (Dark-level and above), Contract Mercenaries (Two-star and above)
“Current Participants: 18 Assassins, 245 Mercenaries
“Assignment Location: East Stardragon, 20km North of Seagull City, River Valley Manor
“Assignment Details: Defend River Valley Manor, Protect (Redacted)”
“Internal call-up?” Han Xiao questioned.
“Only assassins of dark-level and above will receive this call-up. You are not supposed to participate in this assignment since you are only a scorpion-level assassin. However, I could give you backdoor access to this assignment, and upon completion of this assignment, you can immediately rise to dark-level. Once you arrive at the location, someone will brief you in more detail.”
With so many participants, this assignment is definitely not a small-scale battle,Han Xiao thought silently to himself.
He remembered a reward-pool quest he could do in the Seagull city that was easy and yet could yield him high rewards. It was conveniently on the way.
I will go there and take a look first, Han Xiao decided. Can’t believe I am going back to Stardragon so soon. Luckily, I will not be identified.
Han Xiao’s brows knitted together. Although he left Division 13, the relationship status between Division 13 and him did not change on his Interface. This meant that Division 13 still did not treat him as an enemy.
There was still some time before heading off. He went back to the Fabian Company base and made some machinery that he had been planning to make for some time.
_____________________
Second-Generation Rover (Combat)
Type: Robot
Grade: Dark Green
Basic Stats: 2,200/2,200, 37 Defense, 168 Power Output, 83 Max Speed, 640/640 Energy
Height: 2.1m
Weight: 300kg
Mode of Control: Low-Level Smart Chip (Programmed for automatic enemy identification)
Energy source: High-power energy pack (x4)
Energy Usage: 6/min (low output), 15/min (full output)
Power Capacity: 310/320 Ona
Brain Module: Intelligent Enemy-Seeking Firepower System (occupies 30 capacity units)
Eye Module: Electromagnetic Scanner-Scope, Obstacle-Penetrating Enemy Seeking-Vision (occupies 15 capacity units)
Arm Modules: Large-Caliber Triple-Barrel Machine Gun—70-85 Damage, 3.5 Fire Rate, 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 75 Power Output (occupies 80 capacity units)
Skeleton Module: K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System—30 Strength (occupies 40 capacity units)
Legs Module: Triangular Wheel System and Shock-proof Suspension Frame—reduce impact of treacherous terrain, increase movement speed (occupies 15 capacity units)
Chest Module: Small-Scale Honeycomb Rocket Launcher—equipped with small-scale rockets (180-230 Damage, induces additional explosion damage), 6-round capacity (occupies 110 capacity units)
Abdomen Module: Magazine Storage—small-scale rockets x 12, additional magazine belt x 200 rounds (occupies 20 capacity units)
Skills:
– Furious Fusillade
– Titanium Armor: Reduces physical damage taken by 11%
– Self-destruct: Self-destruct to inflict 340-510 explosion damage in a 40m radius.
Note: A human-shaped tank.
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This Rover was made with much better technology; it was equipped with a smart chip, titanium armor, a high-power battery, and a firepower that was much more fearsome. Han Xiao was a lot richer compared to when he first entered the Western Capital, so he no longer needed to budget carefully. The cost of the second-generation Rover Robot was more than 20,000 dollar—already a discounted price with his more specialized skills in making machinery. It was a price that players of the same level could never afford. The second-generation Rover could be used as a mobile fort. However, it could not be used to work on an independent task as the processing chip did not possess the ability to make independent judgment and tactical analysis.
With such strong firepower, the combat Rover could provide firepower support and area strike. Even after the ammunitions were entirely consumed, the K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System would allow the Rover to have ample close-combat capability. It could charge at full speed to knock down enemies and had the ability to self-destruct.
I can now scale up the production of the Rover, but I cannot carry them around, so I should find a secret base to hide them. Although this type of Rover has great firepower, it does not allow for a quick and rapid change of battlegrounds. I can only use it for stationary battles, so its function is rather singular. The problems lie in areas of movement, core power capacity, and chip processing. I need more advance knowledge, which I have no opportunity to obtain as of now. Hmm, I still have to fight as a sniper for now. I should perfect my sniping capabilities.
As Han Xiao lacked money and the necessary technology, the idea of a robot army could not be realized yet.
Han Xiao stored all his larger equipment in Fabian Company’s warehouse to be transported by air. This time, he paid 50,000 dollars to use Fabian Company’s aero-transport service again. He reckoned no one would spend money as extravagantly as him.
…
The Western Capital was the capital city of Stardragon, and Seagull City was an important city in East Stardragon. It had a large area, and historically, it encountered a beast tide and suffered a great loss as a result. However, it had the aid of the entire nation, which allowed it to rebuild into an important city in the East today.
A monument tens of meters high stood tall in the city center. It was engraved with the names of all those sacrificed in the battle against the beast tide.
In the battle of the Old Age, when Seagull City was met with numerous large-scale terrorist assaults by the Germinal Organization, it received assistance from everywhere again, which made it into an even more prosperous city. The phenomenon was rather peculiar; numerous misfortunes actually allowed the city to develop more rapidly. People in Stardragon believed it was a good omen because it meant that even if Stardragon faced setbacks, it would only bounce back stronger. ‘The Seagull Spirit’ was repeatedly mentioned in every year’s national meetings and nationwide news.
The plane soon landed at the city’s airport. Anyone going in and out of each city in Stardragon had to go through the respective checkpoint. Similarly, landing from air required a permission from the air-control tower in advance. Fabian Company’s planes had private parking spots in the airports of the various cities in Stardragon, and thus, they were authorized to land in these airports. Players could also purchase such spots when their camp reputation was high enough.
“So, why did you follow me this time?” Han Xiao turned around and looked at Antonio at his side.
Antonio inhaled a puff of his cigar and chuckled. “Unfortunately, Fabian Company does not have any assets in Seagull City. We have no choice but to provide the cargo plane as your temporary workshop and warehouse.”
“I see.” Han Xiao understood. Suddenly, he became frustrated because he realized it meant that Fabian Company had no cars for him to borrow. He was tens of kilometers away from the River Valley Manor. Unless I should resort to some old tricks… Puh, do I really have to do the immoral and forbidden act of stealing cars?
He still had his Thorns, but if he drove the car on the streets, a few dozen police cars and special-ops vehicles would follow him in less than ten minutes.
As the old saying goes, when you have a problem, look to the public for a solution.
Han Xiao soon ‘borrowed’ a car from a benevolent member of the public. After he passed through the checkpoint and left the city, he headed straight toward the manor.
It was a small forest with a river twenty kilometers north of Seagull City. Only mid to small size gentle wild animals resided in this forest, so it was not particularly dangerous. Han Xiao located the manor on his map. River Valley Manor was situated in the forest by a river.
It was afternoon when the car drove into the forest. The lazy afternoon sun shone its light through the gaps between the trees, painting the forest with a peaceful ambience. The engine sound scared away a few spotted deer that were asleep.
Han Xiao suddenly snorted through his nose. He detected a light pungent smell. After quickly filtering away the scents of decomposition and bird droppings in his memory, he arrived at his memory of a similar scent.
A light flashed in Han Xiao’s eyes. This is the scent of gun powders. A battle occurred here not long ago.
To avoid a misunderstanding, Han Xiao parked his car and got out his equipment before he started walking toward the manor.
He appeared to be a depressed musician who was carrying a guitar case and wandering around, but in reality, his guitar case was storing his folded sniper rifle and lightweight mechanical arm. His Berserk Eagles and magazines were hidden inside his clothes, his magnetic-controlled armor around his body, his foldable machete under his shirt, the inactive thermo-electrical incisor gloves on his hands, and the silver Electromagnetic Hover-boots on his feet.
The boots looked like an ordinary pair of boots with its leather exterior—one would not discover the metal parts inside without pressing it with one’s hand.
Although he was seemed armed to the teeth, he did not bring along his Wind-slicing blade, Thorns, or the second-generation Rover.
After walking for a while, obvious signs of battle appeared in Han Xiao’s surroundings. There were explosion marks, empty cartridges, tire tracks, and even ashes of more than one burnt vehicle on the ground. It had been a devastating battle. Han Xiao could already see the manor.
Just as Han Xiao was ready to walk over, he suddenly halted.
At the next moment, a bullet hole appeared on the ground in front of him—it was made by a sniper rifle. If he had stepped forward before this, it would have shot his legs.
It was a warning shot.
The shot had come from the direction of the manor.
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Han Xiao bent down to dig out the bullet shell from the ground. It was an armor-piercing round.
The people in River Valley Manor were probably all friendlies, so this was just a warning shot. Otherwise, the sniper would have aimed for his vitals. As Han Xiao finished this thought, he took out an old brown coin, raised it, and waved it in the air. The sniper in the manor could definitely see it through their scope.
The coin had been passed to him by Antonio before he departed. He had said that it could be used to vouch for his identity.
After waiting for a minute or so, Han Xiao stepped forward again. Indeed, no one was firing at him this time around. He then successfully arrived at the gate of the manor and realized that the manor’s outer defense had been greatly reinforced. The outer wall had many metal plates, which tightly shielded the inside of the manor. There were marks of previous explosions on those metal plates.
Han Xiao walked in after the gate opened. The layout of the manor was presented before his eyes—it occupied a very large space and was divided into inner and outer layers. The outer layer consisted of all sorts of defense structures, and armed mercenaries were busy patrolling around the area. They talked and gossiped loudly and fervently, unlike regular soldiers who were mostly silent. They were clearly lacking in discipline.
The inner layer was just the center of the manor—a mansion with a garden and a fountain. Black railings surrounded the mansion, clearly demarcating the areas between the inner and outer layers. One could see, through the railings, that no one was in the mansion or garden; it was as if no one lived there.
“Newcomer? You are an assassin, right?”
A buff black man yelled over to Han Xiao from the side. It was the person who had opened the door for him.
Without waiting for Han Xiao to reply, the black man shouted into his walkie talkie, “Chen Li, there is a new assassin here. Quickly come and pick him up.”
“Wait for me. I’ll be there in a minute.” A person was swearing on the other side of the walkie talkie.
The mercenary named Chen Li soon arrived before the gate. He gave the black man a finger before he looked at Han Xiao to size him up. “Come, follow me.”
Han Xiao followed Chen Li to the south-east side of the manor. He got a brief explanation of the manor’s defense structure from Chen Li during this walk. The manor had three sides facing land, and the west side faced the river. Assailants could potentially attack using speedboats, but they would become easy targets if they appeared on the river. So, the river front was the easiest side to defend.
The other two sides of defense were at the South-east and North-east sides. The whole defense structure was triangular. Chen Li oversaw all the mercenaries stationed in the south-east side.
“What kind of assassin are you?” Chen Li asked.
“Sniper.”
“That’s good. We need a long-range attacker. Previously, an assassin who only knew how to sneak attack from close-range was sent here. He could not be more useless.”
Han Xiao turned around and glanced at the mansion in the center before he asked three key questions in his mind. “Who exactly are we protecting? How long will we defend here? Who are our enemies?”
Perhaps every newcomer asked the same questions; Chen Li answered quickly and smoothly. “Our boss did not say how long more we have to defend. In any case, if we cannot defend anymore, I will be the first to evacuate. I don’t care how much they pay me, I will not be cannon-fodder. I am not sure who the enemies are. Sometimes, we will get attacked in the day, other times, at night; we get attacked every few days. There will always be new enemies attacking us.
“And as for who we are protecting, heheheh…”
Chen Li suddenly laughed coldly before he continued.
“I heard that the target hides in the mansion, but they have never appeared before. The assignment forbids us from entering the mansion. It could very well be that the mansion is just an empty shell, and we are protecting no one. Humph! Whatever the motives of the employer, as long as he pays me, I’m fine.”
An empty mansion, protecting someone who had never appeared before, an ambiguous group call-up, enemies from unknown sources. All these factors, linked together, gave Han Xiao a strange feeling that could not be expressed in words. He felt a dense fog covering this whole situation.
“By the way, which level of assassin are you? Dark or Ghost?” Chen Li asked thoughtlessly.
“Mr. Black. Scorpion-level.”
Chen Li jolted his head around and looked rather surprised. “Scorpion? Why would you be here? Only Dark-level assassins and above would receive the call-up. You are not qualified, right?”
“I’m already here. My level is not important anymore.” Han Xiao had no interest in explaining himself to some mercenary. I can do whatever I want and need not explain myself to you. Basically, act like you own it.
“Although you are only scorpion-level, you are a sniper that we can make do with. As long as you can hit enemies with your sniper rifle, we are fine.”
Chen Li then frowned as he pointed to an area in the distance and said, “Can you see three fortresses there? You will go to the middle one. The Hornet Brothers will make arrangements for you.”
Han Xiao looked at the area. The three fortresses were at the intersection point of the south-east and north-east defense lines, and they were at the top point of the triangle defense structure. This position helped snipers maximize their field of vision and, therefore, sniping range. But the disadvantage was that the position was too conspicuous. When the enemy attacked, they would try to take down the sniper first. Fortunately, the walls of the fortresses were armed with numerous machine guns and rocket launchers; they were the most well-defended place.
Han Xiao did not object to the arrangement. Before he triggered any quest on his interface, he was quite indifferent to the whole thing.
Han Xiao walked to the middle fortress and climbed to the top floor. He then spotted two men who were carrying sniper rifles in their hands and snoozing by the wall. As they heard Han Xiao’s footsteps, they quickly open their eyes and looked over. One could tell that they were assassins from their ice-cold disposition.
One of them was tall while the other was short, and their faces looked similar. They seemed to be the Hornet Brothers as mentioned by Chen Li.
“Newcomer?” The tall one spoke nonchalantly. “Code Name, level, ability.”
Han Xiao’s brow furrowed. “Mr. Black, Scorpion, Sniper.”
“What is a Scorpion-level newbie doing here?” The tall guy frowned, and he became impatient. “Go to the left fortress and be the assistant sniper—you will be responsible for taking down all the small fries that escape our shots. Can you handle a simple task like this?”
“Sure.” Han Xiao nodded.
The short guy only gave him a glance before he went back to snooze. It seemed that he was prideful and not interested in talking to him.
It was only a dozen minutes in the manor, and Han Xiao had moved to three different locations. He had no choice but to walk toward the left fortress. This was the area he was in charge of, which meant that his job was to assist the Hornet Brothers.
There was already a person in the left fortress—an assassin with a large beard. He looked Han Xiao up and down, and after Han Xiao introduced himself, he cut to the chase. “Scorpion-level? You will take the left side while I take the right side.”
The left side had the most limited field of vision, and therefore, it was the easiest job. The bearded assassin did not trust his ability, which was normal. Han Xiao did not give it a second thought. He was fine with taking care of his own area.
_____________________
You triggered a chain quest, [Call-up (Protection)].
Quest Summary: “First, do not probe for the identity of the protection target; second, do not leave your post; third, do not let enemies infiltrate the manor; forth, try your best to become useful.”
Hint: This is a chain quest—please act according to instructions.
First Round: Beat off the first wave of enemies.
First Round Reward: 20,000 EXP
Other Causes for Quest Failure: 1. Unauthorized entry to the mansion; 2. Leaving the manor for more than two hours.
——————————————————————
Chain quest? Interesting, Han Xiao thought to himself.
A chain quest was the type of quest where the player had to complete the previous quest requirement before they would receive the next requirement. The difficulty and reward would get higher and higher with each round. Upon completing all the rounds in the chain, the player would receive an extra reward. Chain quests were usually a lot more tedious than normal quests.
I will see the reward for the next round of the quest before I decide to continue or not. If it isn’t great, I will just retreat from here, Han Xiao thought. He did not feel that he had to complete the quest no matter what; he would only continue if the rewards were substantially high.
After wandering around the manor for a few hours, he deciphered the manpower allocation in the place. The mercenaries were armed with heavy firearms and vehicles. There were also Superhumans around. Mechanics were in charge of repairing the equipment, providing ammunition, and rectify defense structures; assassins were the more elite force.
By casually chatting with the people there, Han Xiao learned that they had been stationed there for more than ten days. More capable personnel, such as the Hornet Bothers, Chen Li, Volcano, and Moonlight, had already made their reputation known in the place.
…
The sky slowly darkened. Leaves were gently swept by the night wind in the evening forest, making shushing sounds. Perennial water streams flowed in the river. The whole scene was rather peaceful.
An imminently-approaching engine sound broke the serenity in the forest.
Ohmmm!
Stationed at the fortress’s sniper position, Han Xiao looked through his scope. There were many headlights in the distant forest quickly approaching the manor. The mercenaries started to shout, prompting each other to quickly go back to their posts to get ready for the upcoming battle. The concentrated footsteps sounded like peas being fried.
Han Xiao stretched out his arm, and a crisp cocking sound was heard on his rifle. He was preparing himself, too.
“Here comes the first wave.”
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Just by looking at the headlights, Han Xiao figured out the enemies’ military composition—all armored vehicles, and they were fast-approaching. Troops armed with heavy firepower were running close behind.
The next moment, the mercenaries in the manor began firing. Heavy machine guns were blasting and roaring continuously. Flashes of flames on muzzles became an attention-grabbing source of light among the darkness of the night. Han Xiao glanced over for a moment, and soon, his mind was put at ease. The enemy had limited numbers and average firepower, so they would not be able to penetrate the curtain of machine gun rounds made by the mercenaries.
Pong!
Sniper shots were heard from the central fortress; they came from the Hornet Brothers. The two shots were extremely accurate, hitting right on the targets.
Han Xiao looked over at his area and realized that it had a limited range of vision and tough angles. Most likely, only those enemies who slipped through the net would accidentally barge into this area. However, it just so happened that a small team of enemies had infiltrated this place. He raised his Red-Falcon before he aimed through the scope and fired. The shot pierced through multiple enemies’ necks at once, pumping out masses of blood fog.
Big beard guy was initially skeptical of Han Xiao’s ability, but after taking a few looks at him when he was not occupied, he was secretly shocked and knew that he no longer had to worry about this Mr. Black… because Han Xiao had made every single shot. Therefore, he stopped turning around to supervise Han Xiao and left that area entirely to him in comfort.
The battle only lasted for half an hour, and the enemies suffered great losses. They did not even manage to get within two hundred meters of the manor. Han Xiao managed to take down nine enemies in total.
_____________________
First round completed. You gained 20,000 EXP.
Change in Quest Requirement
Second Round Requirement: Defend the River Valley Manor.
Duration: 3 Days
Reward: 80,000 EXP
——————————————————————
The first wave was too simple, and the EXP rewarded seems to be very little. But the increase for the second round is not too bad.
Han Xiao rubbed his chin. The first round gives 20,000 EXP; the second round rewards 80,000 EXP. Based on this increment, the third round may yield me 320,000 EXP, and the fourth round would be more than a million EXP. Stop, I am just dreaming here.”
But honestly, the third round would at least reward him more than 150,000 EXP.
Han Xiao felt it was a waste of time to do the second round, which would last for three entire days, but he quickly changed his thought. He could stay there and earn some EXP by borrowing the facilities and workshops from the Mechanics there to repair the mercenaries’ equipment for free.
Han Xiao had always been a doer. Once he made up his mind, he immediately went to the logistics area to find the local mechanics. They were mostly pseudo-mechanics who had learned some repair skills for their secondary job. There were only two proper Superhuman Mechanics there.
“You want to help us repair equipment?” One repairman was startled. “You are a Mechanic?”
Han Xiao began proving himself directly through actions. He took a pistol on the worktable and disassembled in just a few movements before he assembled it rapidly, like he was performing magic. The whole process flowed smoothly, lasting less than two seconds. He was no longer the newbie in the Germinal Organization who took forty seconds to assemble a pistol. With the add-on effect of his various skills, his ability in making and assembling machinery had reached a level beyond that of an ordinary person.
The group of repairmen agreed to Han Xiao’s request without hesitation—they were even slightly eager to welcome him.
The repair jobs were dreary and tiring, and they did not even get extra pay for it. When someone unexpectedly wanted to take on this tough job, they were all too eager to throw all the work to this legitimate Mechanic that appeared out of nowhere.
…
Before dawn, Chen Li walked into the logistics area while carrying a spoilt machine gun. He was looking for a Mechanic that he was familiar with to repair his gun.
“Wang Xi, help me repair this machine gun.”
Wang Xi was a skinny middle-aged male. He wore a vest and was napping at the side. As he heard the voice, he opened his eyes and gave Chen Li a glance.
“Leave the gun there. I will repair it when I am free,” he said in a rather laid-back manner.
“Would you please hurry up with this? I may need to use it in the day.”
Wang Xi was getting impatient. “Alright. Alright. I will repair it for you later.”
Chen Li had no choice but to leave it to him. Although Wang Xi was ill-tempered, he was a legitimate Mechanic Superhuman with excellent skills. Only he could help him since he did not want the machine gun to malfunction again at a critical moment during the next battle.
After Chen Li left, Wang Xi shut his eyes again and returned to napping.
After five minutes, he heard footsteps approaching once more. He opened his eyes impatiently before he realized it was Chen Li again.
“What are you so anxious for? Once I have time, I will repair it for you, so stop bothering me.” Wang Xi was clearly irritated.
Surprisingly, Chen Li shook his head and said, “Return the machine gun to me. I will get someone else to repair it.”
Wang Xi frowned. Although he was annoyed by Chen Li’s repeated disturbances, he did not wish for the weapon to malfunction again. After all, he was also housed inside the manor.
“Other people’s skills are not good enough. Once the sun rises, I will repair it for you, okay?” he replied.
However, Chen Li was adamant in wanting to have his machine gun back. “It’s fine. The other guy’s skill is better than yours.”
Wang Xi was instantly infuriated by the comment. Everyone knew everyone else in a small logistics area like this. The other legitimate Mechanic was not even as good as him, let alone the bunch of repairmen.
Who are you trying to bluff?
But Chen Li was very insistent. Wang Xi had no choice but to return his gun. When he saw that Chen Li was walking to the other side of the logistics area, he deliberated for a moment before he decided to follow behind. He wanted to see who this Mechanic, who was supposedly better than him, was.
As he arrived at the scene, Wang Xi was shocked by what he saw—the bunch of low-class repairmen were crowding around a man in black, and they stared at him attentively with looks of amazement, jealousy, and curiosity.
Wang Xi was dumbfounded after he took a proper look at the man.
The man in black moved his hands at lightning speed, like a phantom, to operate all sorts of equipment rapidly. By doing so, he was repairing several weapons simultaneously in a natural and flowing style. It was so smooth that he did not even need to pause and think. Wang Xi had never seen any technique like this—he was definitely a higher-class Mechanic!
Originally, the repairmen had only the mindset of pushing their repair jobs to Han Xiao so that they could relax. But when Han Xiao started his repairing process, his technique, which was extremely speedy, quickly grabbed all their attention. They were intoxicated just by looking at it and wanted to note down his every single step. Many details of the technique were massively inspirational for them.
If they possessed an interface, the follow message would have appeared.
_____________________
You gained insights from observing Han Xiao (LV 34) repair machinery. Repair skill proficiency increased.
——————————————————————
The other Mechanic, who was of a similar standard as Wang Xi, was also observing Han Xiao with a look of obsession.
To Wang Xi, Han Xiao’s technique was flawless; to be exact, his standard was not high enough to perceive any flaws in Han Xiao’s technique. He felt somewhat dispirited and wanted to walk away, but he could not make himself do it. He could not resist the desire to stay there and continue watch Han Xiao’s repair work. He was deeply conflicted.
Han Xiao was engrossed in his repair work and did not care about what others around him thought. As a result, his EXP increased speedily. The effect of [Meticulous Repairs Lv.1] was considerably better than ordinary repair skills—they were not skills from the same class. The more basic weapons and machinery could be repaired quickly and easily. Han Xiao could even have been more efficient if not for the lack of better equipment.
For the next three days, other than taking some rests in between, Han Xiao was continuously involved in battles and repairs. Four waves of enemies attacked the manor in this period of time through variety of methods, including a speed boat attack, an armored vehicle attack, and a stealth raid. One group of enemies wore frog-suits and attempted to infiltrate the place by diving through the river on the west side. They were spotted and killed by the snipers.
The enemy’s attacks were gradually increasing in intensity. Han Xiao could sense, with his perspicacity, that the guards in the manor seemed to be getting too weak at defending against the enemy’s attacks. Numerous days of continuous high-intensity battle were taking a toll on their psyche, and the effect of their accumulated exhaustion was erupting. As a result, errors and casualties started appearing on the battlefield.
The mercenaries’ struggle did not have much of an impact on Han Xiao. He was feeling at ease with handling his small area by shooting down all the enemies that went into it. At the same time, he realized that there were more and more ‘fishes that escaped the net’ and entered his area. It seemed that the Hornet Brothers were slowly showing their incapability in handling attacks with such intensity.
Three days passed without any problems. When the first light appeared in the sky, a message was sent immediately to the Interface.
_____________________
Round 2 Complete. You received 80,000 EXP.
——————————————————————
Not bad, but the third round is probably going to get really tough.
Han Xiao was awakened from his nap.
He had received a grand total of 180,000EXP from completing the quest, working on machinery, and killing enemies. He was rather satisfied with the efficiency.
_____________________
Change in Quest Requirement.
Third Round: Defend against the next wave of attack
Reward: 150,000 EXP
——————————————————————
Han Xiao cursed; he had a bad feeling about this round of the quest.
The next wave of enemy was most likely very powerful, and there was a ninety percent chance that the mercenaries would not be able to defend against them.
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Booooom!
It was a thundery shower. The dark sky was repeatedly torn apart by streaks and streaks of glaring lightning. Rain was pouring down in torrents.
The curtain of rain was limiting everyone’s field of vision, which in turn reduced their shooting accuracy. The mercenaries had to cover the weapons and equipment with waterproof covers against the violent storm as they were not waterproof, and they also sent their ammunition reserves to sheltered areas.
Heavy rain flooded the entire world, and its sound filled everyone’s ears. The fortresses were saturated with moisture. Han Xiao placed himself far away from the window to avoid getting soaked. He looked at the weather outside and frowned. Terrible weather like that is clearly generated by the system purposefully. I bet the next wave of heavy attack will come at this time, otherwise…
Han Xiao was only half way through his sentence before stopped that thought. How could he joke around like that and risk jinxing himself?
Ohmm!
A series of engine sounds were heard in the rain. The enemy was coming at them viciously this time. Hordes of armored vehicles were driving toward the manor in the storm. Countless rain droplets smashed onto the ice-cold metal armor.
“Fire!” The mercenaries in the manor yelled furiously, and the sounds of machine guns and grenade launchers followed.
The next moment, even greater firepower erupted from the enemy’s motorcade. More than a few small-scale missiles landed on the outer wall of the manor, which blew up the two machine guns and the gunner there.
Whilst Han Xiao was shooting his rifle, he heard Chen Li and the black dude yelling over the walkie-talkie.
“The enemy has rocket launchers; we must evade! Go and hit them hard with our machine guns and grenades!”
“Snipers hurry up and fire. Don’t make me prompt you! Hurry up and do something!”
“More than twenty speedboats just appeared on the river. Those stationed on the west side, quickly go and intercept them. Don’t let them get near the shore!”
“Shit. Helicopters!”
The sound of rotating wings was heard in the sky. Two Y5-Snake helicopter gunships were attacking from above. Flashing lightning in the dark sky highlighted the ferocious features of the helicopters. The gunner, wearing wind-shielding glasses, controlled a large-caliber six-barreled machine canon on the side of the helicopter and unleashed astonishing firepower.
The size of the canon rounds was almost like that of a small-scale missile. Their penetration capability and damage power were unmatched by the rounds of ordinary machine guns. They were even fired at a very high rate.
Da da da da da da.
The continuous canon rounds connected to form an orange line and swept the manor from above. The outer defensive walls of the manor were less than useless against enemies from the sky.
The mercenaries’ casualty number surged!
The sounds of swearing, yelling, crying, raining, guns firing, and engines roaring formed a symphony of battle—as grand as it was horrifying and as messy as it was fevered.
The helicopters were their biggest threat. Some machine gunners quickly aimed their guns at them.
However, by simply flying higher, Y5-Snake helicopters easily got out of the range of the machine guns. Those stray rounds that managed to touch the helicopters could not penetrate their armored exterior.
“Snipers! Kill the pilots!” Chen Li was yelling in exasperation.
“We will handle the helicopters. Other snipers, go and stop the ground troops from coming in!” The Hornet Brothers gave an order in the communication net from the central fortress. Thereafter, they started shooting at the helicopters.
Even with the dense curtains of rain, Han Xiao could see the sparks generated when the sniper rounds landed on the exterior armor of the helicopters. The pilot’s window was made high-grade bullet-proof glasses. It would require at least seven to eight rounds to penetrate.
Han Xiao suddenly felt something was wrong. He swiftly shouldered his gun and moved away from the sniping window.
“How dare you leave your post without authorization…” Big beard guy was infuriated by what he saw. However, he was only half way through his words when the sound of a violent explosion stopped him. The fortress wall exploded violently, and big beard guy was instantly struck flying by the shockwave and landed on the other wall. His arms were completely broken, and he cried in pain.
The two Y5-Snake helicopters were equipped with four airstrike missiles, which were used to directly blow up the three fortresses. The central fortress was hit the heaviest—it exploded into complete ruins, and as a result, the Hornet Brothers were killed instantly. Their flesh, together with dust and shattered bricks, was tossed out of the place by the shockwave.
The three fortresses had been blown up!
Without the threat of snipers, the helicopters became much more aggressive, like a horny wild dog. The massive firepower had the mercenaries hiding under cover, and they dared not even expose their heads.
Although Han Xiao successfully dodged the explosion, he was hit by the shockwave. He did not suffer much damage. However, the roof over his head was completely blown up, and the heavy rain poured directly into his area. As a result, he was directly exposed in the enemies’ field of vision. He was in a terrible situation.
The enemy had land, air, and sea superiority. The manor was being attacked in three different ways!
He turned around and glanced at the horrifying scene of the battle.
The mercenaries cannot hold on anymore.
His eyes were looking worried.
…
“The people outside cannot withstand the attack anymore.”
Two men were looking out the window at the battle from the living room of the mansion in the center of River Valley Manor. One of them had both of his hands pressing on the windowsill; he was a bald old man. He wore black-frame glasses, and his eyebrows and beard were complete white.
The other person stood behind the old man at an angle with folded arms. He appeared to be a middle age man. His short jet-black hair was slicked-back, and there was only a slight graying on the hair near his temples. The only unordinary thing about him was probably his disposition. He wore a gentle smile on his face, which made him look rather friendly.
The man with the gentle disposition chuckled. “Seems like it’s time for me to act.”
The bald old man nodded. “We have defended for so long. Xena should have eradicated all the traitors in the organization. My life depends on you now, my old friend.”
The gentle man nodded and prepared to walk out. Suddenly, he stopped his footsteps and noticed a sudden change in the battle situation.
“Seems like there is an interesting guy who just appeared. They don’t need me anymore.”
“Hmm?” The bald old man was startled and looked out the window.
…
Hiding inside the defense structure, Chen Li shouted loudly into his walkie talkie, “Is there any sniper who is still alive? Without taking down the two helicopters, we are all going to die here!”
Suddenly, a crimson bullet penetrated through the rain curtain and shot the ammunition belt on one of the helicopters’ machine canons with extreme accuracy. The crimson round then cracked, and a flame erupted from within it in the heavy downpour.
High-explosive round!
Homm!
The orange high-explosive gas filled every single gap it touched, and it travelled through the split between the armored exterior and ignited the ammunition belt. The helicopter, which had been acting all triumphant a moment ago, exploded in that instant as all the canon rounds exploded at once. The high-explosive round was not powerful by itself, but it ignited the fatal large-caliber canon rounds, which were as powerful as land mines. Those in the helicopter were all killed. The flying ball-bearings pierced through the pilot’s neck, and the blood splashed onto the side window.
The helicopter span out of control before it dropped from the sky onto the ground. Both parties could feel the violent vibration on the ground.
In the half ruins of the left fortress, Han Xiao, who fired that shot, cocked his sniper rifle to unload the cartridge that was still smoking hot. His eyes were serious and calm. In that critical juncture, he had pumped a large amount of EXP into [Sniping] such that it rose to Lv.9! This was the reason he had managed to shoot a round with such accuracy. He had hit the canon rounds on the helicopter’s ammunition belt from an extremely obscure angle!
However, this shot had also caused several bad consequences. The other Y5-Snake helicopter aimed all its firepower at the left fortress. In addition, the enemy ground troops knew that the helicopters were their trump card; therefore, they all cooperated and fired at the fortress together. A terrifying number of rounds smashed the rain curtain and exploded on the left fortress!
Big beard guy’s face turned ghostly pale as he thought he was going to be blown up in pieces. How could he run faster than the canon rounds with his two short legs? Right in his moment of desperation, he suddenly felt a large hand picking him up by the scruff of his neck and a great force that dragged him along to run away at lightning speed. The next instant, the entire left fortress blew up into ruins.
If it had been a second earlier, big beard guy would have been blown to smithereens.
After escaping from danger, big beard guy felt his collar being released. His butt landed right on the ground. He quickly turned around and looked at the person who saved him. The sight of Han Xiao, who was dressed in black, standing in the heavy rain appeared in his eyes.
Big beard guy did not bother with thanking Han Xiao for saving his life before he asked in shock, “How did you run so fast‽”
“Because I am as free as the wind.”
Big beard guy was completely dumbfounded. What kind of crap are you talking about‽
As soon as Han Xiao finished quipping, his both feet landed on the ground. His Electromagnetic Hover-boots then lit up with a dark blue glow, and electromagnetic force blasted out of them, causing Han Xiao to slide out swiftly as he was skating on ice. He was moving faster than a car, and so, with two to three slides, he reached the top of the raft of the outside wall. Much to the mercenaries’ astonishment, Han Xiao was dashing left and right rapidly like dark-colored lightning on the wall raft—no enemy could accurately lock onto him. He dodged all enemy fire.
“See my majestic skill!”
Han Xiao started sniping whilst he was moving around at high-speed. The field of vision for sniping was a few times greater there than that in the left fortress. His Snipe skill, which had just reached Lv.9, could control the entire battlefield. The movement provided by the hover boots was smooth and steady, so Han Xiao did not spend much of his effort controlling the boots. The difficulty in controlling the boots was only as high as those commercial electronic skating shoes; therefore, the high-speed movement did not affect the accuracy of Han Xiao’s shots significantly.
Rounds after rounds were fired at the enemies. High-explosive, Hayme, Flash, and Penetration rounds took turns to be fired from the sniper rifle. The most useful bullet was always used at the most appropriate time and place. For instance, when a vehicle was attempting to fire a grenade at one of the manor’s machine guns, a Flash bullet appeared at the most opportune time and made the enemy fire at the wrong angle.
_____________________
You are currently sniping while on the move.
You learned a [Moving Snipe] technique (1/100).
——————————————————————
Triggered the learning of a new skill? Han Xiao’s eyes brightened—this skill could only be triggered when the Snipe skill was above Lv.8. He fired a few more shots and realized, when he successfully shot a target, he gained a progress point. He immediately became more enthusiastic in sniping the enemies.
Han Xiao evaded the majority of attacks from the enemies with the help of the hover boots. However, the enemies recognized his area-control ability as a sniper. They would have much difficulty taking the next step without bringing him down.
Thus, Han Xiao soon felt their ‘intense enthusiasm’, and he once again received concentrated fire from the enemies. The pressure on him increased sharply, and he was frequently shot by stray rounds. He had no choice but to shield his body with his magnetic armor.
The last Y-5 Snake helicopter swayed left and right to prevent Han Xiao from sniping its vital parts. The machine canon fired consistently, causing much trouble for Han Xiao. Even with the magnetic armor, it was painful for him to take a few canon rounds.
To make matters worse, the canon rounds had a push-back effect, which already made Han Xiao miss quite a few of his shots.
The armor on his chest received three more large-caliber canon rounds. Han Xiao felt his chest tightening; he was pushed a few meters back and almost fell off the wall raft. However, the damage was not significant to him—his current HP count was more than 2000, and with the help of the magnetic retractable armor, he could suffer through much greater damage.
At this moment, the mercenaries in the manor started fighting back and actively complement Han Xiao’s battle tactics.
“Oi, sniper, stop daydreaming. Continue fighting like before; we will coordinate with your attacks!” Chen Li shouted in the communication device.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Someone once said that if one reviewed one’s previous life, one would realize that one’s wrongdoings in the past would come back to haunt one.
If those words were true, Han Xiao felt that he was bound to become a haunted house owner, surrounded by hateful specters, since every enemy that he killed stared hard at him with vengeful, angry eyes.
At the most critical juncture, Han Xiao used his amazing sniping skills to stabilize the battle situation. He gave the mercenaries time to regroup, and the rest of the surviving snipers also made use of the opportunity to head to new hideouts.
The mercenaries made Han Xiao the main fighter, and all of them provided support for him. The enemy’s plan to suppress Han Xiao with heavy fire failed badly. The troops working with Han Xiao managed to relieve his stress and pressure. In turn, this brought out the best of his strength and made his fighting easier.
——————————————————————
You are currently sniping while on the move.
You learned a [Moving Snipe] technique. (100/100)
You successfully grasped [Moving Snipe]!
Moving Snipe Lv.1 (0/4,500): Reduction of the loss of accuracy from shooting in motion, +2% explosive firing accuracy, +1% fire rate when equipped with sniper rifles.
——————————————————————
Han Xiao realized that [Moving Snipe] did not require large sums of EXP points. He channeled his additional EXP points into the skill and raised the skill to Lv.4. He became more comfortable with operating a sniper rifle and could use the weapon to the best of its ability.
After the enemy’s initial strong push, the situation was back in the defenders’ favor. The incoming enemy troops were fatigued. They wanted to use explosives to blow a hole in the exterior walls of the garden and follow-up by driving their vehicles into the compound. However, the tough steel plates and concrete with the urgent repairs going on made the exterior impossible to blow up.
The enemies then changed their plans and wanted to wipe out the guards of the base directly, but instead, they were stopped by the powerful Han Xiao, who suddenly emerged before their eyes. The enemies realized their assault was going down hill. They started their retreat and left piles of dead bodies.
The Y-5 Snake helicopter turned back and flew away from the site. The helicopter did not have the audacity to fly close to the ground. The pilots were afraid that Han Xiao could fire at its fuel-tank and ammunition storage, which would limit the helicopter’s fighting ability, making it less of a threat.
The battle is finally over. Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. His HP had dropped by over 600 points. The endurance level of the magnetically-controlled retractable armor was reduced by a great deal, but he had brought some mechanical parts with him, so he could conduct repairs on the damaged item.
The mercenaries by his side were all exhausted. They collapsed to the ground in fatigue. Chen Li walked toward them. He was curious about Han Xiao’s abilities. He wanted to find out Han Xiao’s full fighting capability and asked, “Mr. Black, are you alright?”
Han Xiao waved his hand to indicate that he was doing fine at the current moment.
Although Chen Li appeared relieved, he was in fact slightly shocked. He did not expect the Scorpion-level assassin to be more reliable than the Hornet brothers.
Shooting the enemies under such powerful concentrated enemy fire was not a feat that was attainable by a Scorpion-level individual.
Chen Li suspected that Mr. Black was a new member of the Dark Web, which would explain his rather low level. Based on his performance in the previous battle, as long as he survived, he could easily attain ‘Ghost’ level.
——————————————————————
Third round completed. You gained 150,000 EXP.
Change in Quest Requirement
Fourth Round Requirement: Defend against five waves of attacks.
Reward: 40,000 EXP per wave (Accumulated EXP will be kept if the mission fails.)
Special Reward: 100,000 EXP
——————————————————————
Han Xiao felt helpless. Why is it another defense mission? Can there be more variety?
Three forts have been destroyed, and many mercenary troops have also perished. Is the whole mission going to be an endless defense against enemy attacks‽
The only consolation is probably the experience and the special reward. Perhaps the special reward is the reason behind all the hidden requirements for the mission. What special tactics are they going to run this time round?
Han Xiao made his way to the logistics zone to start the repairs of the damaged equipment and replenish the exhausted ammunition. On his way there, he was met with looks of respect given by the mercenary troops. Their looks seemed like they had given the ‘green light’ to let Han Xiao be the leader of all the snipers in the force instead of the Hornet brothers.
Those troops with injuries spent the night having themselves treated while the troops who were not injured had a peaceful night of sleep.
The rain stopped at twilight. The ground was muddy, mixed with blood and bullet shells. A strange pungent smell was also emitted by the ground.
Han Xiao was prepared to close his eyes to take a short nap when he heard a commotion emerging out of the communication device.
“The targets have appeared!”
Han Xiao opened his eyes and looked toward the mansion.
The bald old man and a fine-looking gentleman appeared behind the fences of the mansion. All the mercenary troops were alarmed, and they stared curiously at the targets that they were supposed to protect.
When all the mercenary troops and assassins arrived before him, the bald open man started speaking. “Thank you for the protection you guys have offered for the past few days. I will now call out the names of some of the guys whom I want to speak with.”
The bald old man chanted out a list of names. The names belonged to the commanders of the mercenary troops and assassins with outstanding performances in the mission. Mr. Black, which was Han Xiao’s code name, was also mentioned.
“… please enter the mansion in ten minutes. I have something to discuss with you guys.”
——————————————————————
The condition for the mission to fail has changed.
——————————————————————
The condition of no entrance into the mansion, which would directly lead to mission failure, was no longer there.
The appearance of the two mysterious characters created an intense discussion between the curious and puzzled troops.
Waves of unease could be felt in Han Xiao’s heart instead. He managed to recognize one of the guys.
It is him, Bennett Anderson!
No flashy adjectives were required to describe Bennett. In fact, one simple sentence was enough.
Bennett was the main character of Planet Aquamarine!
Amazing, right? There was something even more amazing.
Bennett was another main character on Planet Aquamarine’s main storyline that could lead the players to access missions only available on the main storyline. With that said, it meant that Bennett was an important character that many players wanted to curry-favor with.
Furthermore, Bennett… was a hidden General Skills trainer.
Han Xiao’s eyes glittered. In less than ten minutes, he made a phone call to the Rothschild family.
“Alphonsus, I want to exchange for some items…”
“Er? Aren’t you on the deployment mission? What do you need?”
“The Silver Defender Leaders’ Saber and the Lock HOC Sniper Rifle.”
“… Alright, I did not imagine that you would have such a hobby. I’ll get someone to help you find the items. They will be sent to you in two days.”
_____________________
You requested to exchange for the [Silver Defender Leader’s Saber] from the Rothschild Family.
Minus 300 affection points. Current relationship status – Friendly.
_____________________
You requested to exchange for the [Lock HOC Sniper Rifle] from the Rothschild Family.
Minus 300 affection points. Current relationship status – Friendly.
——————————————————————
Han Xiao nodded and hung up on the phone. All the troops were looking at the selected individuals as they entered the mansion.
The interior of the mansion followed a minimalistic classical style. Other than a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, there were no signs of extravagance in the other parts of the room. The bald old man sat on his sofa, and the friendly gentleman was standing behind him.
“Sit anywhere you want.”
The selected individuals took their seats on the sofas and chairs in the different corners of the room. Han Xiao remained standing. He leaned against the glass cabinet that stored all the bottles of wine. He stared intently at the friendly gentleman. That was indeed Bennett. He might have looked like a middle-aged man, but he was in fact over sixty years old. He was a powerful superhuman; therefore, he looked younger since he aged at a slower pace.
The bald elderly man pushed up his spectacles and said in a deliberate manner, “Let me introduce myself; I am Wang Yuan, and I will require the protection of you guys for an extended period of time. Today, I called you guys here so that I could meet you all. Also, the mansion will be open for you guys to visit. If you guys want to, you all can even rest in the mansion. ”
“Wang Yuan… Never heard of the name before.” Everyone looked at one another in confusion. They were in fact puzzled by the fact that the two mysterious guys decided to seek refuge in River Valley Manor as Seagull City seemed like a much better place to do so. Also, who were the enemies that relentlessly hunted for them?
They realized that Wang Yuan had no intention the queries they had in their hearts, therefore they could not be bothered to ask these questions. Also, asking sensitive questions was not a good practice of their profession.
“You guys are the central force defending River Valley Manor, and once the mission is done,” Wang Yuan said, “I will hand out additional rewards to you guys in private.”
The eyes of many mercenary commanders lit up. The stipulated reward from the mission was supposed to be shared with all the fellow troops. However, an undeclared reward privately handed out to the commander need not be shared with their men. The commander could use the reward as they wished.
The meeting was a short one. The commanders moved back to take care of their fellow troops. Some ammunition supplies were also transferred into the mansion for storage. The mansion was very big with many empty rooms that were available for the troops to rest inside.
The hustle and bustle moved into the mansion, and soon, people began moving in and out of the mansion endlessly. Wang Yuan and Bennett stayed for a while before they made their moves.
Han Xiao moved quickly up to the two of them.
“Mr. Black, what’s the matter?” Wang Yuan gave a slight grin. He remembered the stunning performance by the sniper last night. It was still fresh in his mind.
Han Xiao looked at Bennett and said, “I want to speak privately with him.”
Wang Yuan and Bennett both looked shocked. They looked at each other for a moment. Wang Yuan smiled and made his way to another side of the room so as to give Han Xiao and Bennett their personal space.
“Why do you want to speak to me?” Bennett was puzzled. “Have we met before?”
Han Xiao took a deep breath and spoke softly at a volume that only both of them could hear. “Bennett Anderson. You are the legendary guy who was active back in the times of the old warring period. You previously trained in the Misihorot Training Camp, which was directly under the Ordina Intelligence Agency. You were one of their best agents and a cold-blooded killing machine. Halfway through the warring period, you became the captain of the elite team of Ordina agents that went by the code name [Blue Devil]. You carried out hundreds of infiltration, sabotage, assassination, and covert operations. You left Ordina and became a traitor eventually. You head is now worth a bounty of 15,000,000!
“After you defected, you disappeared for two years. Legend says that you were undergoing some tough training in the harsh terrain of the northern continent. You were supposedly hunting beasts in the Caroso mountain range. When you appeared once again, you became the strongest man on this planet. You entered the war again, but you did not help any of the parties involved in the war. Instead, you assisted the refugees in their escapes, and through that, you built a strong organization that was the predecessor of the existing Dark Web Organization.
“You appeared countless times in the war-ravaged regions, and as more people were saved by you, you gradually became known as the hero by the people of your time. Also, you left your mark by having an amazing and almost unbelievable battle record. As the war ended, you left the world stage. You covered you tracks and disappeared. From then on, you never appeared in the eyes of the public.”
All these words were the official description of Bennett that was given in the game. Han Xiao could no longer remember the nitty-gritty details and could only give a rough overview.
There were a couple of main characters on every planet. They were like the shooting stars in the sky, leaving bright trails for the people of their time and impressionable marks on the history of the planets.
Bennett was the ‘main character’ of Planet Aquamarine. Even Hila could not be compared to Bennett at an equal standing. The rise of the goddess of death belonged to later versions.
After listening to the words of Han Xiao, Bennett was astonished. Han Xiao was the first out of all his guards to actually point out his true identity.
Even after decades, someone could still recognize him. Bennett had looked really cold, like a block of ice, in the past, and he looked completely different now. He really did change a lot, so how was it possible for his true identity to be recognized?
The most probable speculation appeared in Bennett’s heart. He asked hesitantly, “So, are you my fan?”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Admire you‽ My ass!
Although Han Xiao wanted to say that, he reckoned that it would be no fun offending Bennett. He still wished to extract some benefits out of Bennett.
Be serious, be serious.
Han Xian made a dry cough. “I heard of your stories, and I have always wanted to meet you.”
Bennett gave a friendly smile and waved his hands. “Don’t mention the things in the past. What did you want to speak to me about? It can’t be for a signature, right?”
Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. Alright, enough showing off…
After regulating his breath, Han Xiao gave a stern expression and said, “I heard you are the strongest human on this planet…”
Bennett’s eyes flashed. He was too familiar with such an introduction. Perhaps it was another person that wanted to challenge him to a fight.
The war created power beings that emerged from the flames and bloodshed of the battles. Bennett took pride in his amazing battle record. Over the years, many strong individuals had wanted to challenge him. Bennett was too tired of the meaningless fights and his continuous victories from the easy battles. He appeared this time merely to protect his old friend, Wang Yuan. He never planned to reveal his true identity to his enemies—the traitors of the organization—else his enemies would not even dare lay their fingers on him. Precisely because of the fact that the traitors of the organization felt that the defense around Wang Yuan was weak, it allowed the baiting operation to proceed.
Bennett shook his head. If Han Xiao really wanted to fight him, he would definitely not agree to it since Han Xiao’s current strength was worthless in his eyes.
Yet contrary to his expectations, Han Xiao said, “I want to learn some combat techniques from you.”
“Interesting, you are the first person who has wanted to learn from me.” Bennett contemplated for a moment before shaking his head. “You are a sniper. It’s impossible for you to learn my combat tactics.”
As expected, Bennett used the same tactic again! It was Bennett’s standard line when he wanted to reject someone. As long as the pre-requisites were not met, the same line was thrown out to be used in rejections. It was always the same line.
“You are a mechanic, its impossible for you to learn my techniques.”
“You are a pugilist, it’s impossible for you to learn…”
“You are a superhuman, it’s impossible for you to learn…”
By merely changing the noun of the sentence, large numbers of players were rejected. Han Xiao was not going to fall for this same trick. Bennett was a hidden General Skills trainer, and gifts were required for him to actually teach the skills to a player. Previously, there were players that came with gifts with the intention of just currying-favor with Bennett. They did not expect themselves to actually pick up a skill or two from just handing gifts to Bennett.
Different gifts linked to different skills.
The two items that Han Xiao had requested from the Rothschild family were meant to be presented to Bennett as gifts.
Han Xiao chatted with Bennett to ensure that Bennett actually recognized him.
Bennett caught up to Wang Yuan, who was waiting for him not far ahead. Wang Yuan asked curiously, “What did he want from you?”
“He recognizes me and wants to learn some combat techniques from me.”
“What a strange dude.” Wang Yuan stroked his beard and said, “He has got some skill. He is a new assassin that just joined the organization’s Blood Pact Society. He has a mysterious background and is codenamed ‘Mr. Black’. He is definitely a character we should pull to our side. After this mission, I will ask Xena to increase his level to Dark.”
…
The mercenary troops were tidying up the rooms of the mansion. Chen Li went to look for Han Xiao and handed him a chain of room keys.
Han Xiao did not accept the keys immediately. He stared at Chen Li weirdly and stuttered, “Don’t tell me… these are the keys to your room‽”
“… I don’t have such an inclination,” Chen Li said as the veins on his forehead bulged.
“You sound like I like such kind of things.”
Chen Li coughed drily and explained, “These are the keys to the best rooms of the mansion, and I reserved one for you.”
It was only then that Han Xiao came to his sense. He received the keys and understood what was going on. “Who else are those singles rooms meant for?”
“They are allocated to Volcano, Moonlight, Hunter, and a few other commanders of the various mercenary groups.”
The names that Han Xiao mentioned were all the stronger fighters and leaders of the guards around the mansion.
Being allocated a single room was a privilege of the stronger individuals. The remaining ordinary troops and assassins could only squeeze into bigger rooms or sleep in the main hall.
In the fight the previous night, Han Xiao had replaced the Hornet brothers, who were killed in action. He was the core of all the snipers and was the backbone of the defense. His outstanding performance gained the respect of the fellow mercenary troops, which was also why Chen Li went over to pass him the keys. As long as one had the power and capability, one would be bestowed with special privileges.
Han Xiao gladly accepted Chen Li’s offer. Han Xiao’s room was on the second floor, and it had a balcony.
When he reached the corridor on the second level, Han Xiao saw the rest of the powerful figures. They looked at one another and nodded as a form of friendly gesture. Hunt left a deep impression in Han Xiao’s eyes. Hunter was a firearms expert from the Mechanic lineage. His weapons were a pair of very powerful hand-held cannons. It was said that the hand-held cannons did not have any recoil when fired.
Since Bennett is here and the mission has to be carried out, as long as I can get close to Bennett and in turn come into contact with the main server at the hideout, I will be able to gain the favor of the Dark Web Organization and access its huge network of intelligence. The gains from the move will be so great.
Being on good terms with the main character of the planet could bring so many benefits.
Han Xiao used his fingers to scratch the stubble on his chin. His eyes lit up like a shrewd thief.
…
Over the next two days, the enemies carried out raids each night, as if they were a bunch of crazy monsters that could not have enough of night attacks. They extended their devilish clutches toward the manor.
Han Xiao took over the role of the Hornet brothers and was in charge of holding the ground. He used his strong sniping abilities to control the situation. While his great accuracy was one thing, what was more impressive was his astute acumen in battles.
Having previously fought in the inter-planetary wars of the galaxy, where the scale and density of the firepower was just too overwhelming, this battle was like a leisurely stroll. The two were not on the same level, and their differences were just too great.
In the madness and mess of inter-planetary wars, a minor mistake could lead to planes crashing and deaths. Every small mistake was infinitely escalated. Therefore, Han Xiao developed his acumen and instinct to search for opportunities through the slim cracks of the intense situations. That was the mark of a true master. Although Han Xiao was not humble at all, rather shameless even, he was no doubt a true master.
It was a piece of cake for him to handle battles of such a small scale that adopted low-tech equipment. His shots could always hit the targets at the right spots.
With the help of Han Xiao, there were great reductions in the casualties faced by the mercenary troops. It was shockingly amazing. Previously, the Hornet brothers had been more focused on killing the enemies, and they could hardly help the rest in the firefights. However, Mr. Black employed an all-around sniping style, which enabled him to execute the enemies and also take time to carry out defensive actions. It was like a one-man show that handled that entire southeastern and northeastern battlefronts.
Reliable and stable were the perceptions that the troops had about Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s fire support allowed them to have easier fights.
A sniper who could control the entire situation of the battle was of indescribable threat. It was natural for the enemies to concentrate their firepower on Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao managed to neutralize the threat with the mobility provided by his hover-boots. Also, the low-level health strengthening module provided him with the ability to withstand attacks made by the enemy. He had almost double the HP that normal mechanics at his level would have.
Even super-humans and pugilists that exceeded LV 40 might not have more HP than him. Therefore, it was not necessary for Han Xiao to fear the enemy’s attacks like the other snipers. It was also the first time that the troops saw a sniper that dared face the direct fire of the machine guns of the enemies and take on the enemy up-front. That changed the troops’ initial perception that a sniper only dealt out attacks silently, away from the enemies’ attention.
In those two days, Han Xiao became more respected in the eyes of the troops.
Deaths were bound to happen in a battle, and new troops and assassins arrived to replace those that were killed in action. That was to ensure that new blood was being injected and a robust fighting force was constantly present.
Golden Fox was one of the ‘new blood’. She was a Dark-level assassin. Once she entered the manor, there was someone to receive her.
Golden Fox was a tall, pretty lady. She looked good and carried a sniper rifle on her back. She asked in a serious tone, “How is the situation?”
The mercenary leading the way took a glance at the perky ass of the Golden Fox. From the look in his eyes, one could tell he was aroused.
The Golden Fox had long gotten used to the perverted stares of men, so she simply ignored that mercenary’s action.
“The situation is looking good. Although the enemies are attacking more frequently, our defenses are very strong and tight. Also, all the ammunition and logistical supplies are replenished daily. Plus, there are new troops joining the force. The southeastern and northeastern sectors are managed by Mr. Black, so nothing will go wrong.”
The trooper laughed.
“Mr. Black?” The Golden Fox was very sure that she had not heard of such a codename. She asked curiously, “Who is Mr. Black?”
“Mr. Black is a Scorpion-level assassin. His sniping skills are unbelievably amazing.”
“Only Scorpion-level?” Golden Fox felt uneasy. She locked her brows. She did not trust the ability of Han Xiao and said in a confused tone, “Isn’t it too brash and unwise to let a Scorpion-level assassin to be in charge of the battle?”
After she finished that sentence, Golden Fox realized that the mercenary leading the way was no longer friendly or attracted toward her. His eyes turned cold. He pointed in the direction ahead and asked Golden Fox to go to the place by herself. The man then turned around and walked away.
Golden Fox was astonished. She had only questioned the ability of Mr. Black; was it necessary for the trooper to make such a big reaction? Was Mr. Black really that reputable?
That night, when the enemies approached, Golden Fox finally saw Mr. Black’s performance and his ability to control the situation of the battle. She was shocked. It was as if Mr. Black possessed the legendary Eagle eye and could see every corner of the battlefield. There were almost no missed shots. Even if some of the shots did not injure or kill the enemy, they played other vital roles such as to limit the enemies or to support the allies.
Golden Fox realized that she had nothing to do on the battlefield. All the work was already settled by Mr. Black. The work of Mr. Black impressed the Golden Fox more than the total number of enemies he killed. As sniper, the Golden Fox realized how much work Mr. Black was actually doing.
Mr. Black took all the work away from the other snipers. One Mr. Black could replace a team of snipers.
She finally understood why the mercenary troops let a Scorpion-level assassin take charge of battlefield.
That is the surely the strongest sniper I have seen!
…
——————————————————————
You defeated a wave of attackers. (3/5)
——————————————————————
After seeing the enemies retreat, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.
It is the third wave of enemies, and the attacks are becoming stronger. However, there are also more guards in the manor. With me around, as long as there are no strong individuals in the subsequent attacks, the mission is likely to be completed. However, what is the requirement to obtain the hidden reward?
Han Xiao had zero clues about the hidden reward.
The next morning, Chen Li called out to Han Xiao through the communication device.
“Mr. Black, someone from the Rothschild family is looking for you.”
Upon hearing that, Han Xiao immediately shot up from his bed and raced to the gates of the mansion. He received the items from the delivery man… or rather, the courier from the Rothschild family. The two items were the Silver Defender Leader’s Saber and the Lock HOC Sniper Rifle.
The two items dated back to a few decades ago. They were no longer in production, and the countries that manufactured the items no longer existed. The two items were considered antiques. Bennett was an avid collector of antique weapons, and these items were the necessary pre-requisites to learn the new skills.
There was a total of more than ten items that could activate the learning of new skills. The types of gifts were different; therefore, they led to different skills. However, the total quantity of these items was limited, and it meant that the number of players that could learn skills from Bennett was also limited. The hidden instructors usually transferred skills to their disciples in such a manner.
For instance, there were only about a hundred of such sabers left, and with the saber, one could master a very powerful attacking ability known as [Flaming Will]. In the late stage of Version 1.0, the price of the saber was inflated to millions of dollars, and Han Xiao was able to obtain it by sacrificing some of his relationship points with the Rothschild family—it was a pretty good deal.
Han Xiao longed to master the ability of [Flaming Will], something he had failed to do in his past life.
After Han Xiao got the items, he immediately went to find Bennett. Since the mercenary troops and assassins were allowed into the manor, Bennett and Wang Yuan often appeared. Everybody knew that they lived on the highest floor.
The staircase of the villa was made of mahogany and gave out a special scent. Han Xiao walked up the staircase to the top floor and knocked on Bennett’s door.
“Sit anywhere you want.”
Bennett was holding a cup of herbal tea in his hand, and after opening the door, he sat on the sofa and looked at Han Xiao happily. He liked Han Xiao as Han Xiao was the first to recognize his true identity. He then asked, “What do you want? Oh wait, let’s not rush into the talking. I made a pot of herbal tea; do you want to try?”
He then pointed to the cup in his hand.
The herbal tea in the cup was so thick. The tea was green in color and had freakish bubbles.
Han Xiao closed his mouth, but he finally could not withstand his urge to speak. He pointed to the herbal tea and said in a breathless voice, “So what is the tradeoff I need to make?”
Bennett had confusion written all over his face. He did not understand what Han Xiao was saying.
Han Xiao coughed and put the conversation back on track. “I want to learn fighting techniques from you.”
Bennett did not know whether he should laugh or cry. “I thought I said no… eh, is that the Sliver Defender Leader’s Saber?”
The Silver Defender Leader’s Saber was manufactured in an ancient country that no longer existed. That country’s weapons’ manufacturing techniques had a history of more than hundreds of years. Every weapon manufactured was considered as a prized piece that displayed great craftsmanship. There were only about a hundred of such sabers left in the world.
The saber was truly a classic. There were carvings of scriptures on the blade of the saber. The words inscribed were aesthetically pleasing, and every saber was carved with a different paragraph. The paragraphs were joint together to form a saga of the ancient country.
Bennett stared hard at the saber. One could tell from the look in his eyes that he liked the saber a lot. However, he did not stretch out his hands to reach for it. Instead, he looked at Han Xiao in astonishment. “You want to give the saber to me? How did you know that I like collecting antique weapons? You must be my admirer!”
“I…” Han Xiao was speechless. Indeed, what he was doing to Bennett was a little out of the ordinary. It was hard to explain why he wanted to give the saber to Bennett. He thought to himself, As long as I can learn new skills, I can accept any form of misunderstanding. Maybe my actions can even improve relations with Bennett.
It’s fine as long as you’re happy.
After receiving the Silver Defender Leader’s Saber, Bennett could not take his hands off that prized possession. He was also feeling pretty tangled up. Han Xiao had handed him a gift that he had always longed for. Also, Han Xiao seemed like a hardcore fan of his, so he could not bear to reject Han Xiao’s request.
Bennett thought for a while and then raised his head. He smiled at Han Xiao and said, “Let’s do it.”
Han Xiao could feel his goosebumps rising, and he immediately retreated backwards. He held his hands in front of his body. His body was tensed up and prepared to face the upcoming move he expected from Bennett.
“What are you thinking about‽ I meant that I am willing to teach you some skills.” Bennett slapped his hand on his forehead.
“Can you say the full sentence next time‽”
“… you should clear up all these filthy thoughts in your mind.” Bennett did not know how he should react. He shook his head and contemplated for a moment. He eventually confirmed the skill he wanted to teach Han Xiao.
“In the early days when I was weak and young, I experimented and discovered many fighting techniques. One of such techniques gave me the power to make a comeback when I was down. I named the technique [Flaming Will].
“The brain is the protector of one’s body but at the same time a limiting factor. If one can remove the limiting factor, even an average individual without any form of training will be able to release an immense amount of power.
“However, such a method takes a heavy toll on one’s body. Once, when I was faced with danger, I unexpectedly unlocked the limiting factor, and with a few tries, I managed to uncover a way to remove the limiting factor for a short period of time without hurting my body.”
Bennett started to explain the theory behind the technique and patiently highlighted the key factors behind mastering the technique.
——————————————————————
Bennett Anderson (LV 60) taught you the skill [Flaming Will]. Your intelligence exceeds 100 points and met the pre-requisite to learn the skill. Your current progress is 3%.
——————————————————————
The lesson lasted all the way from morning to afternoon. The soothing voice from the interface highlighted Han Xiao’s progress up till the point when Han Xiao mastered the skill entirely.
——————————————————————
Flaming Will Lv.1 (General Skill)
The young Bennett Anderson was previously mastering his skills in the extreme wilderness of the Northern Continent. Seven Northern Leopard-Bears tried to attack him, and one of the creatures was as large as a small tank. Nobody wants to hear the roars of a Leopard-Bear. Once the creature roars, it means that it has locked onto you. Their thick skin, muscles are impenetrable even by bullets.
Bennett only had a small dagger with him when he was faced with the impending attack. He did not have any thermal weapons. In such a time of desperation, Bennett mastered the technique and used his small dagger to deal damage that was comparable to that dealt the by High-frequency Wave Blade!
The skill has both passive and active abilities.
Active ability: When the upper limit of 10% of energy and stamina is exhausted, the next attack will deal 130 to 150% of damage. There is even a small likelihood of 180 to 200% damage and a minute likelihood for 250 to 300% damage. Lastly, although super-rare, there is a microscopic chance of 500% damage being dealt! The cool-down for the ability is ten minutes.
Passive ability: When HP is less than 20%, the ability will be activated. The cool-down time is thirty minutes.
The increased attack is calculated from the damage dealt by the basic attack. It is similar to the concept of defense. The original damage received is then converted into the true damage dealt after taking damage reductions into account.
Note: Cooldowns for the active and passive abilities are calculated separately.
——————————————————————
What a solid move. Han Xiao was feeling very excited. He had longed to master the skill since his past life, and today, he finally accomplished the feat.
There was another name given to [Flaming Will] by the players. The ability was also known as the ‘Explosion of the Little Galaxy’.
The skill was a general skill that could be mastered by players of all professions. The pre-requisite was that one’s intelligence must exceed 100 points. There were a hundred Silver Defender Leader’s Saber; therefore, about hundred individuals could master the skill.
Han Xiao was one of them.
[Flaming Will] was a perfect complement to his sniping abilities. The damage depended on his intelligence and luck. The two attributes when combined could mask the weaknesses of each other and average out.
Once the skill was activated, there was a minimum increase in damage dealt of 1.3 to 1.5 times. Together with the sudden strike, sneak attack, and sniping shots, the ability could elevate the strength of the sniper rifle to a greater extent. If there was an energy surge, it could mean 3 to 5 times additional damage. In his previous life, Han Xiao had met players who used [Flaming Will] against him. One shot from the opponent completely shattered his shied. There was no way he could continue the fight.
The ability had a relatively long cool down time so was more suited for the final shot to secure victory. There was another line of skills that a sniper could use that involved firing secret shots to ambush the enemy. Such ambush snipes hit the enemies at their weakest spots without them even knowing.
The other item that Han Xiao had, the Lock HOC Sniper Rifle, could activate more missions for the side profession he was planning to take up. His side profession involved more secretive and covert operations. Han Xiao did not plan to activate the side missions with the item yet. He wanted to do so only after he completed his mission of defending the manor so that he had sufficient time to focus on it.
After seeing the excitement in Han Xiao, Bennett felt puzzled and asked, “You finished learning?”
“Fast right.” Han Xiao beamed with pride.
Bennett was shocked and could not believe what he heard. He moved backwards and said, “Give me a punch, and I will know if you have really mastered the skill.”
Upon hearing that, Han Xiao, who could no longer wait to test out his new ability, threw a powerful punch at Bennett.
——————————————————————
You used [Flaming Will].
Initializing…
Initialization complete. Your next attack will deal 136% of the basic damage.
——————————————————————
The punch landed on the left side of Bennett’s face. Bennett’s face felt like an indestructible wall that was harder than steel. A -1 damage was shown above Bennett’s head.
——————————————————————
You entered combat mode.
Based on your level, you have access to the following information.
Bennett Anderson
Level: 60
Profession: ?
Type: ?
HP: ?
State: Hidden injury (Reduction of all attributes)
Energy: ?
Energy Level: ?
Stage: D+ (C)
Strengths:
– Lucky Glow: What you wished for will come true and adversity will be turned into opportunity.
– Legendary battle techniques: With twelve attacks, there will be additional damage of up to 40-70%.
– ???
Skill:
– Strike the weakness Lv.8
– Instant shadow charge Lv.9
– ???
Bennett stroked the cheek that had been hit by Han Xiao’s punch and said helplessly, “Don’t hit my face.”
“You are lucky it was just your face.”
Han Xiao stared silently at Bennett for a moment.
Bennett suddenly felt a cold wind breeze past the area between his legs. He gave a cold shiver and was puzzled. Was it an illusion?
Most of the critical information about Bennett was unknown. However, Han Xiao knew that Bennett had more than fifteen special skills, and most of them were standard skills! The scariest skill was not those that allowed for additional attacking power, HP, or attributes but [Lucky Glow]. The name of the skill probably would not convince one that it was powerful, but once the effects of the skill were revealed or the name of the skill was changed, it could probably scare one to death.
Glow of the Lead!
Galaxy was very large. The different planets and civilizations that made up the world of Galaxy would always have one of the thousands of the heroic epics. Lucky Glow was a standard skill that the main characters possessed.
For instance, if Bennett used his [Flaming Will], there would be gains in the attributes every round. That was the ability that ‘Lucky Glow’ bestowed upon him.
Bennett is probably secretly hurt at the current moment and will only recover in the future. Han Xiao remembered that the first time Bennett appeared before the eyes of the player, he possessed the energy of an active dragon and tiger combined. He could be described as a T-Rex forced into a human body.
At his peak, Bennett was at C stage, but he was merely D+ for now.
The energy requirement for C stage was 2,000 points, and a D+ stage meant that the character had an energy level of 1,600 points and above. The character was still very strong.
Han Xiao’s current combat power was stuck at stage D, which was around 800 points. Only after the additional gains that he could obtain from his equipment was he able to reach stage D.
The stage of a character did not represent their combat power. Ultimately, different characters with different skills had different strengths in certain types of terrain and environments. However, as long as a character had a high energy level, it meant that they definitely had an aspect they were very strong in.
After bidding farewell to Bennett, Han Xiao went back to his sniper post. He suddenly felt a weird sensation in his heart and turned back. The female sniper beside him was staring deeply at him. Han Xiao did recognize the lady. She was known as Golden Fox and was a new assassin that had arrived at the site only yesterday.
Han Xiao felt his face a few times to confirm that he had a mask on his face. He was really confused. There is no way that she can see through the mask. How can she be attracted by my handsome face even when I have a mask on?
Golden Fox walked forward to him. She had a pretty smile on her face and said cheekily, “Mr. Black, I was wondering if you can teach me some sniping skills.”
As she was speaking, Golden Fox surreptitiously squeezed her breasts with her hands to reveal her deep cleavage.
She’s trying to seduce me? Han Xiao squinted his eyes. Regardless of her intention, Han Xiao had no interest in such seductions. He raised his hand before his body and said sternly, “Miss, please have some self-respect!”
Golden Fox’s eyes flashed. She realized that Mr. Black was very resistant to sexual seductions. She immediately changed her strategy. Her expression turned from a sexy one to that of a helpless little girl who was seeking help. The sudden change was even faster than a Sichuan mask-changing show. She crossed her hands in front of her breasts and said breathlessly, “I… I just want to ask you for some guidance; I don’t have any other intentions.”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes and said, “Miss, don’t waste your energy. I don’t like ladies.”
The expression on Golden Fox’s face stiffened up, and she looked at Han Xiao in astonishment and stuttered, “You, you like…”
“No, I don’t like men.” Han Xiao touched his china and said, “Actually, I am not even interested in humans… er… or anything that is living.”
Golden Fox was completely dumbfounded. She lowered her head and said, “Sorry, sorry to disturb.”
She then turned around and ran away without hesitation.
Han Xiao laughed heartily. Can’t believe she tried to seduce me. She is just a greenhorn. Speaking of which, I was so popular with women back then. But that is all in the past, and it really meant nothing.
After laughing to himself a couple more times, Han Xiao suddenly stopped. He then gave a deep sigh and took out a cigarette and popped a light.
At that moment, a car neared the manor. Han Xiao looked over and was instantly shocked.
The car was painted black. It had an emblem on the car’s door. The emblem was a dragon that surrounded three stars.
It was Division 13’s vehicle!
Why is Division 13 here?
…
Heeding the instructions given by Wang Yuan, the mercenary troops opened the gates and directed Division 13’s car into the manor.
A leg wrapped in a combat tight suit emerged out of the doors of the car. The leg was slender, and it drew plenty of the troops’ attention. Once the boot landed on the ground, the first person to emerge out of the car was his old friend Di Su Su.
Di Su Su had an air of arrogance, and it was as if she did not want to be approached by anyone. The other members of the team followed behind her.
Some of the boorish troops were attempting to tease her with their wolf-whistles, and they were checking out the beautiful figure of Di Su Su.
A middle-aged with wrinkles at the edge of his eyes alighted from the car. His firm presence could be felt. It was obvious that he was the leader of Di Su Su and her fellow agents. The group headed toward the mansion.
Di Su Su could feel a chill up his spine. There was also a cold feeling emerging within of her heart. She knew that she was locked onto by a very dangerous individual. She turned her head and saw a middle-aged man suited up in complete black leaning against the wall with his sniper staring at her. His look was actually pretty calming, but even with that, she could feel herself on edge and the chill in her heart as if she sensed some sort of impending threat.
Who is that person? Di Su Su was alarmed. She then felt a sense of familiarity about the man in black. Before she could even think about the issue, she entered the mansion. The doors shut, and her view was blocked.
At the edge of the wall, Han Xiao saw the agents of Division 13, and his eyes brightened up.
…
The agents from Division 13 went straight up to the highest floor of the mansion, where Wang Yuan and Bennett were waiting for them.
“Wang Yuan, long time no see,” the old man leading the agents said. Although, he said it with a poker face, the tone of his voice sounded like he had finally met his long-time friend.
“Mo Ran,” Wang Yuan said, “it has been more than ten years. You are one of the trump cards of Division 13, and I am the leader of the Dark Web Organization. If not for the situation this time, we probably would not have met again.”
“Yeah.” Mo Ran nodded. He saw Bennett at the side, and although his face was still expressionless, one could tell the astonishment in his voice. “This fellow is also here‽”
“You still want to challenge me?” Bennett replied in an unfriendly tone. “I have no interest in beating you again.”
“It’s all in the past, Bennet. There is no point bringing it up again.” Mo Ran immediately put an end to this topic of conversation.
Bennett‽
Di Su Su and her fellow agents were shocked. Bennett was very well-known among all intelligence agencies. He was not only a hero of the old-war era but also an individual with an amazingly powerful fighting prowess. He was commonly listed in the top three threats in all case files. Upon hearing the name of Bennett, Di Su Su found it hard to keep her nerves under control.
Mo Ran frowned and asked, “In the battles of the past ten days, although they all took place outside the city, it also resulted in negative influences. The sounds of the canons and the gunshots are too obvious. What are you guys doing?”
Wang Yuan shook his head. “We, the original leaders of the Dark Web Organization want to maintain our neutral position, but some of the greedy higher ups want to give up the neutrality as they are keen on the powers they might get if they take sides. They are eyeing for our leadership positions and want to replace us to gain control of the Dark Web Organization. The attacks are all planned by these traitors.
“Xena is trying to track the location of these traitors through any clues she can find. Many of the attackers were wiped out, but we expect the traitors to make their last stand within these two days.”
“Find me in Seagull City in two days. We need a proper catch-up,” Mo Ran said. With Bennett around, he was not worried about the security of Wang Yuan.
After settling the important matters, Mo Ran turned and left—efficiency was Mo Ran’s style. Di Su Su and the rest followed behind him.
The Covert Ops agents from Division 13 were the best of the department but definitely not the most elite of the entire country. There was a smaller elite team that was the secret weapon of the nation. They were usually guarding the outposts and commanding the situation from behind the scenes. They rarely revealed themselves and were known as trump cards. Mo Ran was one of such individuals. There were such figures in every nation.
What an intense period with so many occurances at once, Di Su Su thought to herself.
About three months back, Stardragon had faced a several important events. First, they managed to destroy a hidden base of the Germinal Organization within their own borders. After which, Stardragon made an expedition for Dark Crow Valley. The source of the critical intelligence reports was very mysterious.
Also, the response from the Germinal Organization was also very weird. The organization seemed like it was searching for someone. After the Dark Crow Valley operation, the agents of Germinal Organization were more blatant with their actions. It seemed like they did not care if their identities were exposed. They were searching hysterically within the borders of Stardragon. The situation was most intense in the Western Capital. More than a hundred of the agents from the Phoenix Eye Society—a subsidiary organization of the Germinal Organization—were caught. They were mostly small fries that did not offer any value for the interrogators.
Since the disappearance of Han Xiao, Division 13 sent out many agents to all parts of the world to look for him, but they all returned without any substantial results. All the CCTV cameras, airline records, and border entry records were monitored, but there was still no clue. Agents were even sent out to the wilderness, but none returned with a single piece of information.
The result was unbelievable in the eyes of the higher ups of the department. It was as if Han Xiao had vanished into thin air.
Where did he go?
Where could he go?
What was he going to do?
Di Su Su knew Han Xiao and had interacted with him for a period of time. In her eyes, he was a man enshrouded in mystery. She was also curious of Han Xiao’s whereabouts.
After heading out of the mansion, Di Su Su tried to look for the man in black who she felt was dangerous; however, the man had already disappeared.
The agents of Division 13 boarded the car and left the manor.
After leaving the forest, Mo Ran asked the driver to pull over. He then stepped out the vehicle alone and said to the agents in the car, “Di Su Su, get some agents to monitor the battle situation together with you. Report back to me later.”Bian Lian (literally: “Face-Changing”) is an ancient Chinese dramatic art that is part of the more general Sichuan opera. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music. They also wear vividly colored masks, typically depicting well known characters from the opera, which they change from one face to another almost instantaneously with the swipe of a fan, a movement of the head, or wave of the hand. (Wikipedia)
Within the manor, Han Xiao scratched his chin and thought hard in silence.
The mask changed his facial appearance so much so that if one did not approach close to him, it would be impossible for the person to uncover his true identity.
Although he had escaped from Stardragon, the interface did not indicate a decrease in affection for him. Since his relationship with Stardragon was still relatively friendly and both parties were not reduced to enemies, there was chance for him to turn the situation around.
Han Xiao had a deep impression of Di Su Su. Although Di Su Su always teased Li Ya Lin and Li Ya Lin always tried to put her down, Di Su Su still unintentionally nudged closer to Li Ya Lin. Even the clothes she wore resembled those of Li Ya Lin. Han Xiao, who was great and very experienced at observing people, could tell with a single glance that Di Su Su and Li Ya Lin shared a very close friendship.
…
Two days later…
The bullet leapt out of the barrel of the sniper rifle and killed the final enemy sniper who was a few hundred meters away. The burnt smell of the smoky battlefield was very pungent. The enemy forces, which suffered a lot of casualties, retreated like a huge wave. Han Xiao let out a deep breath and leaned against the wall to sit down. He closed his eyes to ease the tension in his heart.
The enemies were getting stronger one wave after another. There were helicopters, armored vehicles, and small tanks; there were also a couple of strong super humans and elite soldiers that appeared on the battlefield, which posed huge threats.
The past two days in the manor had been very hectic and dangerous, as if they were all on a little boat stuck in a massive whirlpool. Han Xiao used all his effort, and together with the cooperation of the mercenary troops, the defense managed to pull through.
——————————————————————
You defeated a wave of attackers. (5/5)
The fourth round completed. You gained 200,000 EXP points.
The hidden request to prevent the appearance of Division 13 has failed.
You activated the additional fifth segment of the mission.
——————————————————————
Han Xiao was completely stunned. He did not expect the hidden request was to prevent the appearance of Division 13. He really had not thought of that possibility. After pondering for a while, he then realized why he missed out the hidden request.
If every one of his battles ended fast and decisively and created less commotion, perhaps Division 13 would not have entered the picture. However, such a request was too difficult. Even if he was able to find out about such a request, it would be very hard to accomplish it. Han Xiao was not particularly upset about such a result. Ultimately, the odds of completing a hidden request were fifty-fifty. There were times of success and times of failure. It was pretty normal for failure to occur after all.
The original mission only had four segments. However, since the hidden request was not completed, the fifth segment has been activated. Is it supposed to be blessing in disguise? What is the fifth segment exactly?
Han Xiao felt curious.
——————————————————————
Change in Quest Requirement
Fifth Round Requirement: Tag along with Wang Yuan and handle the incoming danger.
Failure Condition: Your death.
Reward: 30,000 EXP
Special Reward: 300,000 EXP
——————————————————————
At that moment, Han Xiao was shocked. He felt that the fifth segment of the mission was really confusing and weird.
The normal reward was not compatible with the current stage of the mission. Also, the special reward was ten times larger than the normal reward, which meant that there was a great deal of flexibility in the mission. What exactly was the danger that the mission offered?
The condition to fail the mission was targeted at the fact that some players could revive themselves. Since Wang Yuan was protected by Bennett, it meant that Han Xiao himself would have to deal with a great deal of danger.
It was like the mission was trying to tell Han Xiao, “Hehehe… this is going to be dangerous.”
…
Two days earlier, in a dim abandoned warehouse, Bai Jin was in his hideout.
There was a bolt of lightning surrounding his arm, and the lightning illuminated his face. There was a sense of eeriness in his eyes.
Bai Jin flipped his palm, and the lightning bolt fused into his skin and vanished.
Ding.
The computer on the table in front of him lit up. He received a confidential e-mail. Bai Jin clicked on the new mail.
“Target for assassination: Wang Yuan
“Assignment Location: East Stardragon, 20km North of Seagull City, River Valley Manor
“Strength of Defense: 214 troops, 14 contract killers, Moonlight (Dark), Hunter (Dark), Volcano (Dark), Golden Fox (Dark), Mr. Black (Scorpion)… There are sufficient defensive structures and firepower.
“Bounty: 2 million”
Bai Jin’s eyes dimmed and muttered coldly, “You really expect me to make a move when the bounty is merely two million? How can you put me on the same level as the other trash assassins in the market?”
He sent a mail back to reject the offer.
A moment later, another e-mail entered the inbox. The bounty had been raised to six million.
“That’s more like it.” Bai Jin gave a sly grin. There was an air of evilness and arrogance around him.
All along, Bai Jin had only cared about the bounty he would receive. He had no other goals in mind.
‘The Raging Bolt’ Bai Jin, was a heinous criminal that managed to escape countless of pursuits made by the various authorities of the six nations. His superpower could cause massive destruction. There were countless bounty hunters, agents, and executive officers of the Germinal Organization who had perished at his hand. The total exceeded three digits! He could even penetrate the intense flanks of military forces.
The individual combat strength on Planet Aquamarine was like a pyramid. There were three sections of the pyramid. The ones on the lowest level were mostly the recently awakened superhumans and normal warriors with a great deal of battle experience. The second level was mostly superhumans like Pang Kuang, who were executive officers of the Germinal Organization and secret agents of the intelligence agencies of the six nations. The third level was especially rare. These individuals were at least LV 40 and above. They were the trump cards of their respective nations or super criminals or faction leaders. Bennett could be placed at the pinnacle of the third level of the pyramid.
Bai Jin was a superhuman who could enter the third level!
…
In the evening, Wang Yuan gathered everyone.
“I need to make a trip to the Seagull City to meet with Division 13. I need to bring some powerful individuals with me for protection, and the rest of you guys will remain here to guard the manor.”
Before anyone could even respond, Wang Yuan started pointing out the selected few. “Moonlight, Volcano, Hunter, Golden Fox, and Mr. Black, I need you to protect me for this trip. I will raise the rewards for you guys. If you all are unwilling to do so, I will not force it upon you.”
“No problem.” Hunter was the first to respond. The other few agreed to the request.
Han Xiao knew that if he rejected the request, he would fail his mission. He agreed to it and looked toward Bennett. “Is he going?”
Bennett nodded and said, “I am coming along.”
Han Xiao’s heart sank. Bennett was able to protect Wang Yuan. As such, the danger from the mission would be concentrated on Han Xiao and his fellow killers.
With Han Xiao’s gaming experience, he was instantly able to sniff out something amiss in the mission. At this point in time, perhaps it was better not to be too complacent and stay alert. Instead of saying something to boost the confidence, it was better for Han Xiao to take a step back and say something to heighten the sense of vigilance among his teammates so that they would be able to tide through the tough mission.
The team followed Wang Yuan into the vehicle and headed toward Seagull City. Han Xiao realized that the people on the car did not speak at all. They all had an air of ‘don’t come and talk to me; I need to stay cool.’ Han Xiao had trouble to find anyone to banter with.
Looking behind him, Han Xiao saw Golden Fox hiding in another corner, and she was staying as far as she could from him as possible. When Han Xiao looked toward her, she immediately turned to avoid eye contact with Han Xiao.
I only made a small joke out of her. Is such a reaction really necessary? Han Xiao was speechless.
At the other side of the forest, Di Su Su, who was monitoring the situation, also set off to follow Wang Yuan’s party.
“The target has left the manor. They are heading toward Seagull City. There are plenty of assassins following. Continuing to monitor closely.”
…
The night sky was studded with stars, illuminating Seagull City.
This city of Stardragon was a heavy industrial city. There were plenty of factories in the outskirts. The huge chimneys of the factories were like gigantic fingers pointing into the sky. Since the city was filled with factories, there was a unique sense of heaviness in the atmosphere of the city.
The sentry guard received instructions from the higher-ups and let Han Xiao and the others pass.
Once the vehicle went past the sentry post, it was met with a black car from Division 13 at the roadside. An agent approached and said, “Mr. Wang Yuan, Officer Mo is waiting for you at the base.”
“Please lead the way.”
The agent from Division 13 saw the heavily armed assassins and immediately fell silent. He did not say another word in the end. He went up his car to lead the way.
The two cars drove all the way to the curfew area that fell under the jurisdiction for the Seagull City branch of the department. Only at the gates that blocked access to the area did the agent mention that weapons were not allow into the cordoned sector.
Wang Yuan nodded. He then turned around and said to the assassins, “You guys will spend a night in Seagull City. Assemble here at the same time tomorrow.”
After the instruction, Bennett and Wang Yuan entered the base.
The assassins were left to themselves.
Volcano was a massive Shanuk. He said in his deep voice, “What do you guys plan to do?”
Hunter grinned and said, “I’m going to the bar to have some fun.”
He then glanced at Golden Fox and smiled. “Do you want to come with me?”
Golden Fox smiled and wave her hand to reject Hunter. “Forget it, I am more interested in suave guys.”
Hunt was unhappy to hear the words of Golden Fox and snarled.
“Hunter, I’ll go with you.” Volcano laughed out loud. He looked and Moonlight and asked, “What about you?”
Moonlight was expressionless. He solemnly replied, “I will be patrolling around here.”
Volcano then invited Han Xiao to join them enthusiastically. Han Xiao waved his hand to say no. Upon seeing that, Volcano did not continue to pressure Han Xiao.
The five assassins went their separate ways.
There’s time for free and easy activities in the fifth round. I suppose the danger could arrive at any time…
Han Xiao thought about it. He did not want to just waste the precious free time. He then decided to complete the prize-pool mission that was offered in Seagull City.
Since danger was bound to arrive, it was better for Han Xiao to not waste the time and accomplish some other tasks. He did not need to hide and make other preparations to face the impending threat.
As Han Xiao walked on the street, he could sense someone in a black windbreaker hiding under the darkness of the night. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt that there was someone following him.
Han Xiao pondered for a moment and finally realized the reason.
They should be the agents from Division 13.
He maintained his walking speed and did not reveal any sort of anomaly. He knocked into the pedestrians on the road discretely and stole the hard objects on their bodies, such as keys and cell phones. Once he turned a corner, he took out the hard objects from his pocket and threw them at all the CCTV cameras, shattering those cameras.
From afar, in the vehicle disguised as a loading truck that served as the control center of the agents of Division 13, the screens present in the vehicle suddenly blacked out. Di Su Su frowned hard and spoke into the communication’s set. “The target is very alert. Follow close.”
The agents in charge of tailing behind Han Xiao dashed toward the target only to find that Han Xiao had vanished into thin air.
Di Su Su’s expression tensed up. Mo Ran was worried about these assassins; therefore, he had sent them to tail the assassins closely. All the other assassins were being watched. Perhaps, some of them already realized that they were being watched, but none of them excepted the man in black to try ditching the agents. Di Su Su remembered that it was the man in black that sent chills down her spine.
“Check the footage of all the CCTV cameras in the city and find that man.”
The footage was quickly consolidated and analyzed using the facial recognition system. The result shocked Di Su Su.
There was no one that matched! The man could not be found.
“Wait, this scenario seems pretty familiar! I have experienced it somewhere before!”
Di Su Su thought of Han Xiao, who had vanished completely from the face of the planet.
Shaking her head, she realized that she was probably thinking too much. It was unrealistic to think that every vanishing individual was linked to Han Xiao. There were many in this world with great powers, and Han Xiao was just one of the many.
I have probably been under too much stress lately. Aye, I have to help Xiao Lin Lin hide from the debt collectors, and I have had literally no opportunity to relax at all. Di Su Su sighed.
…
The famous Street 53 located in the south section of the Seagull city was also known as the antique street.
Li Xin was locking up the doors of her antique shop. Business at the shop had been bad lately, and she was preparing to end the operations for the day.
Thud, thud, thud…
The sound of knocks on the door was heard. Li Xin lifted her head in shock, and a very charming and handsome man was standing right her eyes, merely twenty centimeters away from her.
Li Xin could feel her heart skipping a beat, and her faced immediately blushed as if she had drunk too much alcohol.
“What… what do you want to buy?”
The handsome figure knocked on the window and said, “Please let me in. I want to check out the antiques.”
“Oh, ok.” Li Xin immediately opened the door and stared hard at the charming man. The man looked perfect from all directions. She tailed behind the man, and her hands were fidgeting nervously behind her back.
The handsome man looked at Li Xin and smiled. He then asked, “Are you the owner of the shop?”
He smiled! The power of his smile was simply too great and irresistible! Li Xin seemed like she wanted to just scream in excitement.
Seeing that Li Xin did not speak, the man moved closer to her. Towering above her, he asked, “Are you the owner of the shop?”
The moment the man approached, Li Xin could feel numbness in her brain. She was so excited to the point that she lost control of her five senses. She could not hear what he was saying, and she was all flustered.
Seeing the look of admiration on Li Xin’s face, Han Xiao felt confused. He them touched the mask on his face. He thought to himself, I wonder how I look like this time round?
Han Xiao decided not to beat around the bush and blurted out the reason for his visit.
“Where is Tang Shu?”
The expression on Li Xin’s face changed drastically as she moved backward and knocked into the furniture.
Han Xiao lifted his shirt and revealed the pistol he was carrying. “Take me to him.”
…
The two of them arrived at a dilapidated factory that had been abandoned for years. Li Xin knocked on the door shakily.
A skinny old man appeared before their eyes. The man looked as if he was severely dehydrated, and one could not help but worry that the old man was weak to the extent that it was highly likely for him to be blown away by a strong gust of wind. The old man looked especially creepy, like a rat. Anyone that saw how the old man looked like would lose his appetite and feel disgusted. The eyes of the old man scanned the area like he was preparing to escape at any moment.
Tang Shuwas indeed a fitting name for the creepy old man that looked like a rat.
Tang Shu was a both a robber and a mysterious businessman. The items he sold were all rather unique and out of this world. Tang Shu covered his tracks well, and the only opportunity to run into him without fail was during the prize-pool mission that was triggered in Seagull City.
The prize-pool mission was highly competitive, and it could be concurrently carried out by multiple players. Every player had to sacrifice some of their experience points to activate the mission. The experience points would be accumulated as part of the mission, and the rewards would then be allocated to the best performing players that gained to most experience points.
Han Xiao instantly went toward the entrance. Once Tang Shu saw an unfamiliar face that he did not recognize, he sprung up like a mouse in shock and wanted to flee.
“Hold it right there! If you dare move an inch, there will be another hole in your ass.”
Han Xiao fired a warning shot at the area slightly in front of Tang Shu.
Tang Shu immediately halted in his steps. His body stiffened, and he was too afraid to fidget. He broke into a cold sweat stuttered, ” You, did Jack send you here? After I complete my latest trade, I will definitely return the money I owe him!”
“I have nothing to do with Jack. I am here for something else.”
“What?” Tang Shu thought hard about all the people he had once offended. There were too many of them, and he could not think of who exactly was before him. He was completely flustered.
“I want to be part of your latest business deal.”
Tang Shu was shocked, and he looked toward Li Xin. “You found him and brought him here?”
There was a blank on Li Xin’s face, and she replied, “Nope.”
“The place I come from is not really an important question. I am acting sincerely.” Han Xiao holstered his pistol and eased the tension on the situation.
The normal route to activate the mission involved gaining the trust of Li Xin since she was the one that would take the players to Tang Shu, who would then trigger the mission. Han Xiao took the unconventional path and instead threatened both Tang Shu and Li Xin with his brute force. After a friendly round of discussion, Han Xiao managed to convince the suspicious Tang Shu and Li Xin.
Even if Tang Shu did not trust Han Xiao, he could not say no as rejecting Han Xiao’s offer would mean that he would have to face a bullet. Tang Shu knew that the best way out was to agree to Han Xiao’s request without any hesitation.
“Although I do not know why you are here to help, you look really sincere.” Tang Shu glanced at Han Xiao’s pistol and coughed. “Anyway, we welcome you to the team.”
——————————————————————
You used 2,000 EXP points to trigger the mission [Return the Antique]!
Mission Brief: Li Xin’s family heirloom was forcibly taken away by the city museum. You are required to help to retrieve the treasure.
Requirement: Return ten pieces of the antique items back to Li Xin.
Participating Members: 1
Rewards Accumulated: 102,000 EXP
Mission Requirement: 10% EXP gained for every antique object returned.
Additional Pointers: The antique objects are very fragile. Do not shatter them.
——————————————————————
After the explanation and brief by Li Xin and Tang Shu, Han Xiao understood the situation that they were in and why Li Xin and Tang Shu embarked on the mission.
Li Xin’s father had ten pieces of prized antiques. After the city museum got their hands onto this piece of information, the chief curator of the museum dropped by to convince her father allow for the display of these treasures at the museum’s gallery. He claimed that these items were very valuable and had huge historical and cultural significance. The chief curator had a glib tongue and he managed to persuade her father to agree to his request.
After her father passed away, Li Xin tried to retrieve the antique items from the museum, but the greedy and despicable curator acted as if the items were wholly owned by the museum. The museum’s authorities completely ignored Li Xin and even dispatched security to prevent Li Xin from entering the museum. It was evident that the city museum wanted to keep these prized treasures for themselves.
The city museum was directly connected with the city government, and both parties had a tight relationship. Li Xin had no choice but to engage the help of a robber. Coincidentally, she met Tang Shu and decided to hire him.
The intentions of Li Xin could be summarized with one sentence.
I would rather destroy these items than to give them to the country!
After hearing from Li Xin, Han Xiao made a dry cough and said in a solemn manner, “The ideas you have in mind are very dangerous. How can you snatch and steal from the country? You need to be more politically correct.”
Li Xin looked confused. She did not understand what Han Xiao was trying to say. Wasn’t Han Xiao the one that voluntarily offered to help?
Tang Shu whispered under his breath, “Is he out of his mind?”
Han Xiao’s sharp ears heard the words of Tang Shu, and he immediately turned his head to stare at Tang Shu. Han Xiao stared hard at Tang Shu to the point where Tang Shu started trembling.
Tang Shu could not tell the reason, but he was feeling uneasy about what was going to happen.Shu means mouse in Chinese.
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“When shall we move?”
“Anytime, as long as you’re ready,” Tang Shu replied.
Han Xiao nodded in agreement.
In his last life, a large guild had discovered this prize-pool quest. For the sake of maximizing profits, the guild announced news about the quest onto the forum, attracting tons of gamers. This caused the prize pool to increase to huge figures, and eventually, they managed to complete the quest, receiving the huge amount of rewards.
Now, Han Xiao was the first person to do the quest, and although he would not accumulate the prize pool to such an extent, the initial base prize was his to begin with. The main difficulty of this quest was that anyone possessing an antique would drop it the moment they were killed, making the quest a competition between the players. Thus, the quest was more difficult than usual. However, in Han Xiao’s case, simply stealing the antiques from the municipal museum was a much easier task.
Han Xiao had no other competitors, so he decided to act immediately.
Tang Shu glimpsed and turned, rubbing his hands.
“How shall we split the reward?” he asked, smiling humbly in the process.
Han Xiao waved his hands. “I don’t need that reward of yours. Let’s act quickly—I have limited time to work with.”
Upon hearing that Han Xiao did not need the monetary reward, Tang Shu immediately heaved a sigh of relief.
Hang on, if he isn’t after the money, why is this uninvited guest participating in the heist?
Li Xin’s heart began beating loudly, and scenes of various dominant CEOs came into her mind. Her two hands were place over her heart, and she stared at Han Xiao in adoration. “Could it be because of me that you…”
“You are thinking too much.”
…
Han Xiao and Tang Shu spent over an hour traveling to the other end of the city to get to the Municipal Museum.
It was already late into the night, so the gates of the Municipal Museum had closed, and the surrounding streets were deserted. However, CCTV was surveilling the area around the clock.
The two of them hid in the alley across the street opposite the Municipal Museum. Tang Shu held onto the map and explained the plan.
“The Municipal Museum has three floors in total. The first and second floors are exhibition halls, and the third floor is the staff area. Here are the blueprints. Our goal is on the north exhibition area of the second floor. I have already surveyed the area; the showcase is equipped with laser alarms and a proximity detector. If we are one meter within the vicinity, we will trigger the alarm. There are resident guards around the museum, and we cannot alarm them. My plan is to sneak in from the window of the third floor, and then… Hey hey! where are you going?”
Tang Shu had yet to complete his sentence when Han Xiao walked toward the door of the Municipal Museum with wide strides. Tang Shu could not call him back in time as Han Xiao raised his foot and kicked the front door open and flying. The sound of the slamming doors travelled through the entire street.
Tang Shu was dumbfounded.
What on Earth! What about the plan of sneaking in‽
Han Xiao turned toward Tang Shu and shouted, “Why are you still daydreaming? Get in now.”
“What on Earth are you doing‽” Tang Shu was stunned.
“That plan of yours is too complicated. It’s just a museum; at the most, only a few cops will appear. Don’t waste time playing Assassin’s Creed; playing Berserk is the best option.”
Tang Shu had already noticed residents popping their heads out of their windows, curious about the source of the boom, and someone was bound to call the cops within three minutes. Tang Shu, with a sullen look, had no other choice but to follow behind Han Xiao. He could only hold onto the that hope that Han Xiao was actual reliable, despite how unlikely that would be based on what had just happened.
The two of them ran to their target on the second floor. Han Xiao broke the showcase without much hesitation and took the ten antiques. Such extreme behavior immediately triggered the alarms, and the museum’s guards, awoken from their sleep, rushed over.
“Thief!”
“Catch them quickly!”
Han Xiao ran with the antiques in his arms, while Tang Shu followed behind hurriedly.
They were soon back at the entrance of the Museum, only to see four cops already blocking the way out.
Han Xiao, with the antiques in his arms, was unable to raise a fist, so he turned to Tang Shu. “It’s your time to shine.”
Tang Shu pointed at himself with a look of disbelief. “Do I look like someone who can fight to you? You chose this plan, so shouldn’t you be the one to fix the situation?”
While they were still conversing, the guards rushed over.
“Stop hesitating.” Han Xiao kicked Tang Shu’s butt, and he flew toward guards. “There, I gave you a boost!”
The guards swung their batons. Tang Shu was terrified, and he anxiously took his crowbar out to defend himself and fight off the guards. However, his head was beaten into a bad shape in one round of fighting. He could not take the pain and rushed back to Han Xiao, crying, “It’s impossible. I’m just too weak.”
“Tsk, let me teach you a mysterious spell that would double your combat ability. Say it after me, RUA!”
Then, Han Xiao kicked the Tang Shu back toward the group of guards while he was still confused by what was happening.
Tang Shu was not able to go against Han Xiao, and he became extremely furious. He could only vent his anger by hitting hard on the guards, and he managed to take down two guards. However, he was soon concussed by a strike to the back of his head from one of the guards, and as a result, stars started appearing before his eyes. He ran back to Han Xiao, crying out desperately, “I really can’t do this anymore. I am begging you. You have a gun, and you can fight so well. Can you please finish them off‽”
“I can’t help you even if you beg me.” Han Xiao did not move an inch, and without a second’s hesitation, he kicked Tang Shu back into the fight scene for the third time. “I’m supporting you in spirit, and if you really need, I can give you a buff to enhance your combat ability.”
Tang Shu was in a tight spot. He eventually took down the guards with much effort. His face was fully battered, and he was panting heavily. Suddenly, he felt a gush of wind blowing past him—Han Xiao had run out of the door.
“You’d better wait for me!” Tang Shu followed behind closely, flustered and exasperated.
When the two of them walked through the alleys and passed by a grocery store, Han Xiao smashed open the door and searched for several large backpacks from the store. He then placed the antiques inside and stuffed them with sponges to prevent any damage. He felt much more comfortable after emptying his hands.
The alarm suddenly sounded, and the four police officers who were patrolling nearby quickly rushed over. They blocked the entrance of the alley. As they saw Han Xiao, who was carrying the bags, they immediately drew their guns and aimed him.
“Don’t move!”
To the side, Tang Shu was dumbfounded.
Suddenly, Han Xiao grabbed Tang Shu’s throat and used him as cover. He took out his pistol at pointed at Tang Shu’s head. “Place all the guns on the floor! I have a hostage!”
Tang Shu was stunned beyond comprehension.
What kind of plan is this‽
The four cops had looks of disbelief on their faces. They were lost for words. A young cop could not help but say, “Who are you trying to kid? He’s your accomplice!”
“Tsk, I guess that plan didn’t work.” Han Xiao pouted.
Tang Shu turned his head around and shouted at Han Xiao, “Did you actually think that could succeed‽”
“Well, I was just trying my luck. We had nothing to lose anyway.”
Han Xiao then threw the bags into Tang Shu’s hands and grabbed him by his collar. Within a split second, he activated his Electromagnetic Hover-boots and rushed toward the entrance of the alley. The four cops were shocked by the bursting speed, and they simultaneously fired their guns in his direction, but his magnetic armor deflected all the shots.
Han Xiao’s crossed his arms, and using the extreme speed at which he is moving, he rushed toward the cops like a bowling ball.
Strike!
The wind gushed past them, and Tang Shu’s mouth was wide open whilst he was being dragged by Han Xiao. The wind gushed down his throat, and his lips fluttered as a result.
Even though Han Xiao noticed Tang Shu was in a state of discomfort, he still decided to increase his speed further.
…
It was a bar in Seagull City. Lights were shining, and music was thumping. The dance floor was full of impassioned men and women moving their bodies, with a look of intoxication. The extravagant atmosphere could be felt.
Volcano and Hunter were each with a beautiful lady, caressing them all over their bodies. The table was filled with liquor bottles.
Both of them were a little drunk as they walked out of the bar with their beautiful ladies. They were intending to go to a nearby hotel for the night.
After turning into a small alley, Hunter stepped onto a pool of stagnant water. The sound of the splashing water could be heard clearly in the quiet alley.
The night wind blew, and the two of them started to slightly sober up.
Even in such a drunken state, they kept their basic vigilance, constantly observing their surroundings. They had noticed the stalker from Division 13 early on, but they had chosen to ignore it.
However, they failed to realize that, in the air behind them, a pair of eyes opened wide.
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As he circled around the area where Division 13 was located, Moonlight walked on the street expressionless.
He patrolled since he had made a promise, and he did not make empty promises.
The cold moonlight shone upon him, as if his body was inhaling the energy. A silver aura seemed to form on the surface of his body, making him stand out with an elegant yet magnificent presence.
Walking past a quiet alley, Moonlight turned his head abruptly, and his ability [Power of the Moon] was suddenly activated. It formed an armor around him—his ability allowed him to use the energy from moonlight to gain physical strength.
His eyes turned white and silver, and his moonlight-wrapped fist suddenly shot into the air. It hit a body.
“Who are you‽” Moonlight exclaimed angrily.
Under the silver beams, a human figure slowly appeared from thin air.
…
Right before dawn, Han Xiao, together with Tang Shu, who was foaming at the mouth, were back at the old abandoned house. He passed the antiques over to Li Xin.
_____________________
You completed [Return antiques]!
Current number of participants: 1
Completed participants: 1
You returned ten antique pieces.
You receive 100% of the reward.
You gained 102,000 experience.
_____________________
It had not been a challenge for him since there are no other players competing in this mission.
Han Xiao looked at the interface, and it looked like the experience he had gained these few days had reached 700,000!
With the experience gained, Han Xiao waved his, turned around, and left without a trace.
Li Xin suddenly realized that she had yet to ask for Han Xiao’s name. She felt a sense of sadness. Han Xiao was just like the prince in her dream, appearing when she was in trouble, offering his help when she needed it, but disappearing right after.
Tang Shu was crouching in the corner, and he was drawing monotonic circles, mutturing, “I never want see you again.”
Han Xiao, who was walking along the streets, found a shop that had a glass window that he could use as a mirror. He was shocked when he saw the face simulated by his mask.
Wow, so handsome.
But it still can’t beat my original looks.
Han Xiao pursed his lips as he saved the image of this appearance in his mask.
At this instance, Han Xiao saw a pair of indifferent eyes in the empty space behind him in the window’s reflection.
…
Mo Ran’s office of Division 13’s Seagull City branch…
“Three assassins were killed last night—Moonlight, Volcano, and Hunter,” Di Su Su reported to Mo Ran.
“The wounds are all very similar. They seemed to have been cut by a sharp object at an extremely high speed that either pierced through the heart or slit open the throat. Based on evidence collected from the surroundings, the fight lasted less than ten seconds. These three assassins were not weaklings, especially Moonlight; he had the ability to absorb energy, which gave him a boost in physical strength. Since the killer easily got close to the three assassins, his ability must have been extremely lethal.
“Is there any footage?”
“No. The murderer must have chosen locations where there are no surveillance cameras.”
“Are there any suspects?” Mo Ran asked.
“With a hidden ability, extreme speed, and the ability to killing other elite assassins and Espers with the snap of a finger, there seems to be a matching character on the danger list… Invisible Demon!”
Wang Yuan’s face turned dark. “It’s him!”
Invisible Demon, a terrifying killer, used to be a convict on death row, but he was chosen as a subject for an experiment. As a result of the experiment, his whole body started to change. Other than the eyes, his entire body had an ability to adapt to the surroundings and blend in with the environment. He basically became an invisible man.
Furthermore, the Invisible Demon also awakened his own Esper ability, which was extreme reflex and speed. This gave him the ability to escape from the facility. Since then, he had been active in the underground world and became a mysterious killer that no one knew much about.
Wang Yuan’s face turned expressionless, and his eyes had a cold look. It is not cheap to hire the Invisible Demon; how much dirty money have these traitors pocketed from the organization‽
Although the Invisible Demon had extraordinary assassination capabilities, Bennet was not afraid. Even when he could not see something, he could rely on his other heightened senses to visualize it. He would never allow the demon to get within ten meters of Wang Yuan.
“The demon may want to get rid of my guards first, so my people will be in danger,” Wang Yuan stated. “Mo Ran, please get the people following my assassins to inform them to gather immediately.”
Di Su Su was helpless. “Golden Fox is resting in the hotel, but Mr. Black has gotten rid of his tail.”
Wang Yuan was dumbfounded. “Please send some people to try their best to look for him.”
The demon was a sniper’s worse enemy—even Bennett believed Han Xiao would most likely not survive the attack. Although he liked Han Xiao and wanted to save him, he was burdened with the responsibility of protecting Wang Yuan, thus, unable to help him. He could only pray for that Han Xiao could keep himself safe.
…
The instant the eyes appeared, Han Xiao activated his magnetic armor to cover his back and his neck. The next instant, sparks deflected off the surface of the armor, as if the armor had been hit by a sharp weapon dozens of times within the split second.
He had long known about the dangers this mission would bring, so he had always remained prepared to engage in battle. This was how he managed to react so quickly.
The impact on his back pushed Han Xiao forcefully forward into the store, shattering the glass window.
The enemy is invisible! Han Xiao immediately realized the issue at hand.
As Han Xiao fell into the store, the sense of danger followed him, and he heard someone moving through the air at high-speed. Suddenly, Han Xiao slid backward before he drew out his guns and fired at the place where the sound was heard. However, the rounds did not land on the enemy. Storage compartments were shattered instead, and bullet marks appeared on the wall.
The invisible enemy struck the armor again, giving out a harsh grating sound.
The movement is too fast! Han Xiao could only use his reflexes to preempt the strikes and then shield himself with the armor. Fortunately, his armor covered three quarters of his body. As long as he protected his vitals, the threat of the enemy was greatly reduced.
The interface displayed the damage inflicted by the enemy. The enemy was clearly a high-agility and high-attack character. Han Xiao looked at the battle info and found out the assassin’s name.
Invisible Demon! Han Xiao was taken aback as he realized how tricky the situation was.
Similar to the black spider, the Invisible Demon had established his name as one of the hardest bosses to kill on Planet Aquamarine in version 1.0. With the abilities of invisibility and super reflexes on the same person, he was born to be a close-quarters assassin.
Invisible Demon, LV 44 and extremely high agility. His invisibility is only limited to his bare body, which means the weapon he used to attack me are his nails, and he is moving around entirely naked. Talk about decency…
My movement speed is not be comparable to his. His speed is higher when it comes to short distance charging and evasion, but assassinating from a distance is not his forte. I can use my hover-boots and simply escape. But if I just escape like that, there will be another chance for him to assassinate me. Let me see if I can take him down. To tackle him effective, I have to slow him down first!
In that moment, a deluge of thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. His eyes turned ice-cold, and he entered a highly-focused state of mind.
Strike after strike hit Han Xiao, and he blocked each one with his armor. He then took some candy-sized electric bees and threw them into the surroundings.
The electric shock bees, also known as bee colonies, had stingers that carried a dangerously high voltage that could cause temporary paralysis upon contact. Multiple bees could even form an electrically-charged net to be used as a control ability. Han Xiao accidentally discovered the blueprint when he was making the hover-boots.
A group of electric shock bees flew inside the small shop, and their effect could be felt immediately.
The demon could escape with his speed, but the space that he could move within was heavily constrained, and as a result, his attack rate was reduced.
Bang bang bang!
Han Xiao fired non-stop, but the shots were all dodged. The demon was even faster than Pan Kuang—since Pan Kuang could dodge the bullets, the Invisible Demon could most certainly do it better.
Since you are so good at hiding, let’s see who has more HP!
As his eyes turned colder, Han Xiao changed the magazine and loaded the Hayme rounds. He then fired insanely. Green toxic gas filled the air within the small space, engulfing both of them.
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_____________________
You have been mildly poisoned.
You will lose 3 HP per second for a minute.
You will remain in the poisoned state for as long as you are within the range of the poisonous gas, and the degree of damage will continue to increase.
_____________________
If the Invisible Demon attacked, he would be injured by the poisonous gas as well.
Han Xiao was fearless as he had brought along with him a low-level health potions. With his HP over 2,000, he turned the battlefield to his advantage and managed to defeat the opponent’s invisibility ability.
The situation was in a stalemate. The Invisible Demon was unable to deal with him, nor could Han Xiao shoot down the Invisible Demon.
Even though I will not be defeated, I am also incapable of defeating this demon. If this continues, he will definitely retreat, and that will just be a draw in the end.
Han Xiao was determined to kill the demon who could threaten his life. Upon second thought, he decided to abandon on the comfortable situation he had created. He activated his hover-boots and fled from the battlefield. As expected, the demon chased after him.
He pretended to control the armor slowly, showing his flaws to the demon. Unsurprisingly, it then scratched him forcefully on his back. Despite being racked with pain from the demon’s claws, Han Xiao maintained a straight face. This was all to test the impact of the demon’s attack on his body.
_____________________
You have been attacked by Invisible Demon (LV 44).
You have lost 37 HP.
_____________________
Just one attack and I’ve lost almost forty health points. Furthermore, the attack frequency is extremely high. Lucky, I am wearing my magnetically controlled armor, or else my blood level would have depleted within ten seconds.
Han Xiao had never been more serious when he realized that the Invisible Demon was the strong opponent for the fifth mission. There were likely other challengers that had already encountered the demon before him and perished.
After numerous trials and tests using different speeds of the hover-boots, he finally estimated the speed of the demon.
If I keep the hover-boots at a medium speed, it will be the right speed for the demon to catch up, but it won’t be too easy. Worth a try!
With the new plan in mind, Han Xiao instantly turned and skated toward the airport. The Invisible Demon was close behind.
Fortunately, it was dawn, and the streets were empty. If it had been rush hour, Han Xiao’s path would have been full of obstructions.
Han Xiao fished out his phone and called Antonio to bring the Second-Generation Rover over. After putting down the phone, he then concentrated on ‘baiting’ the demon.
Baiting was not an easy technique. The key was to ensure that the enemy never realized that he had a trump card, or else it would be hard for the enemy to fall for the trick. Just like playing MOBA games, if someone suddenly became too aggressive, the enemy would know that there was backup somewhere.
The game of chase lasted for a few minutes. Suddenly, Han Xiao’s sensed that he was no longer in crisis. He came to a stop before surveying the environment, when he realized that the Invisible Demon had not fallen for the trick and fled moments ago.
The Invisible Demon was always on his feet. Initially, when Han Xiao released the poisonous gas, the demon had already planned to retreat. However, Han Xiao gave up on his favorable environment and acted as though he was unable to withstand the damage caused by the gas. As a result, the demon took the bait and caught up quickly.
Even though there were no loopholes, the Invisible Demon noticed something was amiss almost instantly. This made him feel threatened, so he decided to retreat, giving up on the target decisively.
He’s too alert, Han Xiao thought disappointedly, but he soon mocked himself for such a thought. If the Invisible Demon was so easy to deal with, he would not have been ranked as one of the hardest to kill.
A few problems had arisen as the ferocious battle proceeded. Facing an enemy higher than LV 40, regardless of whether the enemy was more an agility or tank type, the gun seemed powerless. The main problem was that Han Xiao lacked the skills to be a shooter. He was always missing his shots.
The problem that Han Xiao was thinking about was also a dilemma in Version 1.0 of the game. The lethality of ordinary gunpowder weapons was limited when a player was facing an enemy above LV 50. Despite being powerful, most guns were still relatively weak against the super demons unless the player had set up traps beforehand.
An electromagnetic gun was the next generation weapon. Many improvements on fire power and shooting speed had been made to the weapon. These improvements met Han Xiao’s needs. With the speed of the bullets improved, it would be more difficult for the enemies to dodge them.
To build proper, complete, and stable electromagnetic weapons, one required full knowledge on the magnetism theory. Planet Aquamarine’s advanced knowledge on the magnetism theory was strictly controlled.
Han Xiao frowned. If I want to create my own electromagnetic gun, I will need to construct my own blueprints. The theory behind portable electromagnetic guns is not that difficult to understand or hard to control if my basic electromagnetism theory is upgraded to Lv.5.
However, it will be difficult if I want to make it into a real weapon as there will be a lot of details to take note of. To reduce the experimental time, it is best to have a direction to work toward, such as having blueprints of existing weapons and then making further enhancements to them.
After some time, Antonio arrived with his van. He looked left and right, then asked, “Where’s the enemy?”
“Ran away.”
Han Xiao hopped onto the van and simply said, “Let’s return to the plane. I need to fix the equipment first and then think of a new plan.”
“Do you really take me for your driver?”
Antonio had no choice but to drive Han Xiao to the airport.
…
The battle between Han Xiao and the Invisible Demon created a great commotion. Division 13 investigated and discovered traces of the battle.
“A sniper, not afraid of being killed by the Invisible Demon, and even managed to force the demon to flee?”
Di Su Su was surprised as she thought of how threatening this Mr. Black had made her feel in River Valley Manor with his extraordinary strength.
Bennett’s eyes shone with surprise. “Where is he now?”
“He is related to Farian Company. He is on that company’s aircraft at the moment.”
“He should be preparing and fixing his equipment now,” Wang Yuan replied. “Let’s not alert him yet. Mo Ran, can I trouble you to have someone send a message to ask Mr. Black to come to River Valley Manor tomorrow morning?”
“Alright.” Mo Ran nodded.
Standing at the side was Golden Fox, who had been invited over previously. At that point, her face was pale like a sheet of paper. Mr. Black was the fourth target of the Invisible Demon while she was the fifth. Fortunately, Mr. Black had forced the Invisible Demon to retreat and allowed her to escape.
Golden Fox doubted if she would have been able to survive the attack by the Invisible Demon.
He saved my life.
Golden Fox bit her lip. Mr. Black was mysterious and good at everything. The only issue was that his preferences were a little too strange.
…
Inside the aircraft, Han Xiao was busy fixing the magnetic armor. At the same time, he thought about the construction of the magnetic gun. The most suitable type of gun would be a sniper as it could complement his movement ability and maximize the gun power at the same time.
With seven talent points, Han Xiao spent five points to upgrade [Basic Electromagnetism Theory], [Basic Weapon Theory], and [Basic Energy Theory] to the maximum of Lv.5.
Han Xiao selected [Basic Electromagnetism Theory] as the core skill and came up with various skill set combinations. He then constructed many magnetism related blueprints as he penned down his ideas, regardless of their viability. Each skill set would be incorporated at least twice.
With tons of blueprints in his hands, his brain juices were finally used up. He massaged his temples and sighed. “I think that’s enough, time to construct.”
Farian Company had no contacts through which to acquire materials in Seagull City. The electromagnetic materials that Han Xiao had brought along with him were limited, yet it would be enough if he removed and reused the parts from his failed products. However, some of the parts might become worn out when the products failed. With that, the recycling rate was approximately 80%.
Han Xiao predicted that it would be hard to construct a stable electromagnetic gun without failing more than ten times when he tried to build the basic structure of the gun.
If I want to succeed, I have to lower my expectations and create the prototype first with the specifications adjusted.
Han Xiao hesitated and finally decided he would first create the test product, then the prototype, and not to be too ambitious.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
With a clear plan in mind, Han Xiao proceeded to create the weapons.
The updated weapons were of the utmost importance to the military force, and light weapons were the main focus.
The principle of electromagnetic weapons was not complicated as it was just using the electromagnetic force to push the bullets. The more challenging part was the actual debugging itself, as there were many variables like the number of coil turns, current voltage, limited energy, speed, distance.
By reaching Lv.5 in [Basic Energy Theory], it gave Han Xiao a new blueprint—a new form of energy battery. It was referred to as a Rubik’s Cube, and it was a precise component. It could store up to 180 ouna, allowing its capacity to be several times that of an ordinary battery.
The Six Nations were experimenting on other batteries, such as power batteries, superconducting batteries, and even micro nuclear batteries, that could be used in different aspects. But the Rubik’s Cube was one of the more convenient kinds of batteries used by mechanics.
The same theory could have countless possibilities as the future of science did not have a fixed road. Technology was always changing, so it was interesting to explore different possibilities.
…
_____________________
Failure.
_____________________
Failure.
_____________________
Despite his many failures, Han Xiao never gave up and kept trying, improving the details each time.
“It’s getting late.”
Han Xiao took a look at the sky and felt it was a pity he had to stop doing his work.
Anthony then walked in. “There were people from Division 13 who came to find you earlier.”
“What did they say?”
“Your employer has changed the timing needed to assemble, so you do not have to rush over. Just get to River Valley Manor by tomorrow morning.”
Han Xiao was pleased with that as he realized that would give him more time to continue his work.
…
At night, Wang Yuan and friends sat quietly in the car and made their way back to the manor safely.
Wang Yuan and Bennet then walked into the villa, went to the room on the top floor, and closed the door.
“Xena has locked away all the traitors, and the operation this time was successful. Other than getting rid of the traitors, the organization can also start to implement your ideas,” said Wang Yuan.
Bennett nodded. “I have a hunch that the battle will start sooner than expected, and we need to prepare early to escape from the crisis. We will need the cooperation of other forces and organizations to complete the plan.”
“One thing I know for sure is that the Six Nations will definitely help,” Wang Yuan replied. “During the discussion previously, you saw Mo Ran’s attitude. Getting the Six Nations’ help will be highly beneficial. With his aid, we will be able to escape the crisis. I am just afraid there will be ambitious parties eyeing our resources.”
Bennett’s eyes flashed, and his voice was like a gush of icy wind blowing from the north. “This is a plan to save many innocent lives. I will deal with anyone who tries to get in our way!”
At that instant, Wang Yuan was about to speak when a sharp piercing sound reverberated outside the manor.
The two looked outside the window and saw a lightning shoot up into the sky. The manor gate was then struck by the lightning, and it was thrown into an armored vehicle.
Someone flashing with light walked toward the gate, and it looked like the frightening lightning earlier had been shot from him. The strong gate, which had withstood a storm of bullets, had been instantly destroyed!
The mercenaries screamed and were all frantically shooting machine guns and firing cannons. However, Raging Bolt did not give in and shot lightning from his feet. He shot up ten meters into the air and blasted his original spot on the ground.
In the air, Raging Bolt clenched his fists and lightning shot out from his chest. A strong burst of electricity flashed, burning the cornea of every mercenary on the ground.
Boom!
The area where all the machine guns were located was blasted. A few of the mercenaries who were struck by the light were electrocuted before they could even utter a word. The smell of smoke filled the entire area.
The impact of this battle left all of them shocked. A stream of frigid air that felt like death creeped up their spines.
With the death of Volcano and Moonlight, there was no one in the manor strong enough to defeat the enemy. Even Mr. Black was not around.
“We can’t defeat this level of Superhuman!” A mercenary backed away fearfully.
Chen Li’s eyes were fierce with determination, and he gave the order to start the attack again.
Raging Bolt was not in the least injured when he dropped down from the sky. When he saw that the mercenaries still had the will to fight, he smirked coldly. “Ha… bunch of idiots not knowing your limits.”
He then raised his hands and thrust his palms forward. An invisible electromagnetic pulse spread across the manor and damaged all electronic components, resulting in total darkness.
The mercenaries were all shocked. Even the vehicles were damaged, so there was no way to escape even if they wanted to!
Despair filled the air quickly.
Wang Yuan took a look at Raging Bolt, and his face darkened. “Raging Bolt Bai Jin’s power is the generation and control of lightning. He’s a superhuman with great potential, and he has been very active in the criminal underworld in recent years.”
“Oh c’mon, it’s just a young man. Let me deal with him since the lads outside can’t handle him.”
Bennett maintained the same expression as he pushed open the window and jumped to the ground. Pushing aside the mercenaries, he captured all their attention as he walked toward Raging Bolt. Only then did they realize that there was someone who could defeat Raging Bolt, and a ray of hope shone upon them.
“What? There was actually a strong opponent!” Raging Bolt excitedly licked his lips and mobilized all the energy stored in his body.
“No matter how many weak opponents I defeated, the pleasure of beating a strong opponent is just incomparable.”
Raging Bolt stared at Bennett with the eyes of a wolf.
…
The vehicle of Division 13 was situated in the forest, monitoring any movement in the manor.
Raging Bolt is way too powerful, thought Di Su Su as she wiped away the sweat on her brow.
I have to report this to Mo Ran quickly as such threats could cause dire consequences to our city.
Di Su Su immediately picked up the phone and called Mo Ran.
On the screens, the battle between Bennett and Raging Bolt was ongoing. Both were about to release their strongest moves any time!
It was the moment when everyone held their breath.
However…
Raging Bolt’s chest suddenly burst into a bloody fog.
Following which, everyone heard an eerie gun shot from afar.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Two hours earlier…
“I finally succeeded!”
An excited cheer could be heard from Han Xiao on the Farian transport plane.
A brand-new sniper rifle was lying on the bench, and it looked very different from a gunpowder rifle. Its entire body was dark green. The gun was very thick while its front end was narrow. It also had sharp edges, just like a triangle.
The entire barrel was embedded in the gun body, and the exposed part of the coil was tightly wrapped up.
The gun was 0.87 meters long, and it was equipped with a multi-fold aiming rule sight. It also had an electromagnetic scanning function, so both sides could be used.
_____________________
You discovered [Ghost Sniper (Incomplete)]!
_____________________
Ghost Sniper (Incomplete)
Type: Electromagnetic Sniper Rifle
Grade: White
Damage: 183-246
Fire Rate: 2/second
Magazine Capacity: 16
Range: 1.1km
Power Output: 144
Usage Requirement: 45 Dexterity, Lv.6 Sniper
Ammunition Type: Electromagnetic Ammunition
Length: 0.87m
Weight: 6kg
Additional Features: Recoil is low, increasing firing accuracy.
Incomplete Limit 1: Power, fire rate, and range are limited.
Incomplete Limit 2: As the technology is not complete, the weapon’s energy consumption is high. Each shot will consume 10 ouna (Battery holds 180 ouna).
Incomplete Limit 3: As the technology is not complete, some components will need to be replaced after 20 to 30 shots.
Full version requirements: Lv.1 [Advanced Electromagnetism Theory] (lack), Lv.5 [Basic Energy Theory], Lv.5 [Basic Weapon Theory], Lv.1 [Basic Energy Conversion Theory] (lack)
_____________________
What a surprise! Han Xiao was exhilarated as he did not expect to get an incomplete version of the drawing, which also meant that as long as he had the knowledge, he could directly obtain the full drawing.
The ghost sniper rifle was a stable electromagnetic weapon, but Han Xiao still lacked two important pieces of information at the moment. It was very hard to obtain the advanced information; thus, he was very satisfied with obtaining the incomplete version.
Even if the ghost sniper rifle was an incomplete edition, it was two or three times more efficient. Electromagnetic weapons usually had a shooting range of ‘over the horizon’, so the defects were not obvious yet.
As for the limitations, Han Xiao had thought of a temporary solution, which was to have more spare batteries. This way, he would not have to worry about the high energy consumption. The only problem was that it was very costly. But for Han Xiao, money was not an issue. It was the same method for the other rifles, and the replacement parts were already in place.
Electromagnetic weapons were different from gunpowder ones as they required electrical conductors, and this was quite a huge problem. However, given some time, he would be able to utilize the principle of special ammunition. In the short term, however, he could only use special ammunitions for his gunpowder weapons, so he would not be throwing away his Red-Falcon sniper.
Han Xiao then built two magazines with magnetic clips.
All of a sudden, his eyelids started to feel heavy, and a wave of fatigue gushed over him. He held the side of the table for support and took a deep breath.
He did not sleep a wink last night. He had first completed [Return the Antiques], and subsequently, he had battled against the Invisible Demon. He had only briefly taken care of his wounds. Then, without a break, he had begun to develop new guns late into the night. His body was able to withstand the exhaustion, but his mental fatigue had been accumulating.
That is all for today.
Han Xiao rubbed his eyes and switched off his equipment.
The surroundings quieted down.
The people on the airplane were all resting. Han Xiao did not want to stay any longer, so he took his equipment and drove back to the manor. He needed to get back quickly so that he did not miss anything while he was not at the manor.
With Han Xiao’s alertness, he had smelt something fishy from Wang Yuan’s instructions to return to the manor the next morning. He had a hunch that if he really went back the next morning, he might miss out on an opportunity. Therefore, Han Xiao decided to be more cautious.
…
After a long journey, he finally arrived at the manor.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning hit his windscreen, and Han Xiao rammed the breaks forcefully.
There are enemies attacking the manor? Shit, this really is a flag!
After putting out the fire, he quietly sneaked onto the tree with his equipment. He then took out a telescope to check out the battle outside the manor and was shocked by what he saw.
“Provided it’s not a character I do not know, Planet Aquamarine only has four characters who possess this level of ability. They are Duss Thunder, Electric Eye, Raging Bolt, and an Germinal executive. This person’s lightning abilities are so powerful, and they can release an EMP externally. This is likely Raging Bolt!”
Another famous figure from Aquamarine!
After observing for a while, Bennett finally walked out of the manor. Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. He had thought that he would have to settle the problem himself.
As he thought that, Han Xiao suddenly deduced the hidden requirement for the Fifth Round. Most likely, the upper limit of the special reward—300,000 EXP—was for ensuring that Bennett did not need to get involved.
With this in mind, Han Xiao immediately picked up the rife and aimed at Raging Bolt.
“Flaming Will!” Han Xiao shouted.
Shouting was not required, but he felt that it would give him a higher chance of getting what he wanted.
_____________________
You activated [Flaming Will]!
Your next attack will cause 180% base damage.
_____________________
Han Xiao then pulled the trigger, and the exposed part of the gun glowed bright blue. The bullet flew out at such a high speed that the enemy could not react.
The recoil was minimal, and it had little effect on accuracy.
The blue light penetrated the body of the Raging Bolt, not allowing him to escape in time.
It hit the heart, which exploded into a bloody fog.
The interface flashed with the results of his move.
_____________________
You have caused 200% stealth damage to Raging Bolt.
You have caused 200% critical damage to Raging Bolt.
[Flaming Will]’s bonus caused the attack to be multiplied to 342!
Critical Strike! Damage multiplied by 4!
1,368 damage!
You have caused 1,175 damage to Raging Bolt after resistance reductions!
You have damaged the heart of Raging Bolt.
The damage has taken one third of his life.
Raging Bolt has fallen into a state of severe bleeding, losing 2% life per second for 10 seconds.
Raging Bolt is paralyzed. His defense is reduced by 30% for 3 seconds.
Raging Bolt is in a weakened state. All his attributes have decreased by 50% for 30 seconds.
_____________________
Raging Bolt spat out blood as he fell to the ground. His heart had been pierced, and his entire body was devoid of energy. He gazed in the direction that the bullet had come from, his eyes filled with pain and agony.
Bennett was shocked as Raging Bolt was a powerful character, yet he was no match for the sniper rifle? The power of the gun had indeed exceeded his imagination.
“I cannot die here!” Raging Bolt bit his teeth, holding back the pain as he was about to escape.
Han Xiao, who was hiding a distance away, shot Raging Bolt a second time, sending a bullet through his brain.
The third shot then followed, shooting the left eye, causing red and white fluids to spill to the ground.
“Fatal attack!”
Raging Bolt fell to the ground, his remaining eye full of despair.
Everyone was stunned.
Those three shots were like the god of death wielding a knife, taking away his life. The air of death had silenced the entire audience.
Bennett heaved a sigh of relief.
Three shots!
It had only taken three shots!
A criminal who had taken the lives of many could actually be killed in seconds!
The mercenaries around were shocked; the turn of the situation had exceeded their imagination.
That thunder-like enemy had been defeated in just three shots?
Impossible!
In the distance, even Di Su Su’s tone trembled as she yelled, “Who shot that‽”
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Han Xiao looked up from the scope, surprised. He was also shocked by the power of the three shots. The second shot was a critical shot, greatly weakening Bai Yu’s attributes. It was as if the actual damage had doubled. The first two shots were so impactful. Han Xiao roughly estimated that a player like Bai Yu, who was at LV 48, was likely strong in offense yet weak in defense. Therefore, his HP would roughly be at around 2,500 after the second shot. Thus, he fired the third shot as the last fatal blow, killing Bai Yu in just mere seconds!
The key blow was the very first shot, which inflicted explosive damage on Bai Yu, causing him to crumble at once. He became an easy target.
_____________________
You have gained 64,000 experience points by slaying Bai Yu (LV 48).
You surmounted the fourteen-level difference. You will get 360% additional XP bonus, bringing the total to 230,400 XP.
Your personal contribution rate was 100%!
You’ve gained an extra 230,400 (100%) experience points!
_____________________
Han Xiao himself did not even think that he could successfully complete the leap-level killing. 300,000 XP in a matter of seconds made up for the XP that he had used up to for the fusion of blueprints to manufacture the Ghost sniper rifle. There was in fact an excess of XP.
He looked at the manor again and realized that it was all quiet outside.
Everyone stood rooted to the ground. They had originally thought that there would be an impending bitter fight and had braced themselves for it. Yet, things had happened in just a flash, leaving everyone stunned.
Pitter-patter…
Footsteps could be heard creaking through the forest, and everyone’s eyes immediately veered toward the sound, full of curiosity, awe, and fear.
At that very moment, dark clouds gradually began covering the moonlight, and the silver moonlight faded into the clouds. Han Xiao, who was in a black suit, walked out of the forest with the moonlight shining on the bottom half of his face. The moonlight seemingly backed away as he advanced, and darkness was following his every step. It was as if he was bringing about nightmares with the darkness. He was a spirit concealed in the night.
This scene made him look ever so cool and led everyone to hold their breath for that moment. This very moment was deeply ingrained into everyone’s memories.
“Mr. Black!”
“It’s him‽”
Everyone gasped in shock, for they knew Mr. Black was extremely strong, but little did they know he was this powerful.
Bennett was surprised. He did not expect himself to be dazed by Han Xiao as well. Judging by the explosive destructive power of Han Xiao, it was more than sufficient to threaten him. And as Han Xiao walked closer, Bennett could not help but praised him. “Well done.”
“It wasn’t much,” Han Xiao replied, modest as always.
Looking around him, there mercenaries who gathered around were staring at him in silence. Han Xiao said sternly, “Don’t just stand there. Go do what you’re supposed to be doing.”
The mercenaries came back to reality as though waking up from a dream, and they hurriedly began to repair the fortifications of the manor. All of them accepted Han Xiao’s command without much thought.
Bai Yu’s body was then moved in, covered casually with a cloth. Nobody would forget that this was a supreme fighter, and every time they saw it, their respect for Han Xiao would grow even deeper.
The corpse of an enemy was a medal of accomplishment.
Han Xiao walked into the manor, and Wang Yuan came over. This time, his smile did not mean just a welcome invitation but also full of appreciation and sincerity. “Stunning three shots! This old man here was shocked by you as well.”
“You’re too polite.” Han Xiao waved his hand and glanced at Bennett next to him. “With him around, you won’t even be in any risk.”
Wang Yuan smiled. “I’ve checked the file. The Rothschild Family introduced you to this mission. Your strength widely exceeds the level of Dark. I will raise your level directly to Ghost.”
This was an obvious act to gain his favor. An immediate promotion to Ghost made Han Xiao surprised. He nodded, accepting Wang Yuan’s kindness.
…
In the woods, Di Su Su had solemnness written all over her face. She reported on Han Xiao’s performance.
“Mr. Black possesses immense sniping ability, and his lethality is hard to behold. I suggest that we add him to the extreme threats target file.”
“Permission granted,” Mo Ran responded.
Division 13 had a database for all extremely dangerous targets, and this was also called the extreme threats file. Han Xiao’s performance had already attracted their attention, especially the fact that he was a sniper.
…
Early the next morning, Wang Yuan summoned all the mercenaries and declared that all guard duties were to end that instant. All the gains from the task would be directly credited to their accounts.
The traitors in the organization had already been captured. Wang Yuan’s goal was completed.
As for the Invisible Demon, the owner had died, so it naturally stopped attacking.
Han Xiao checked the deposit—two million dollars, twice the initial agreement. This was likely Wang Yuan deliberately compensating him extra due to the performance of his last three shots, which was well worth the price.
_____________________
The fifth round has been completed. You gained 30,000 EXP points.
The hidden request to ensure that Bennett did not join the battle has been completed. You gained 300,000 EXP points.
_____________________
This time there was not an additional mission segment, which meant that the chain mission had ended. The level of EXP he had accumulated so far broke the one million mark! This mission’s reward was way too fruitful.
Finally completed this mission.
Han Xiao felt more relaxed. He went on to find Bennett and gave him the Lock HOC sniper rifle.
“You’re giving me another present?” Bennett was bewildered. Noting that this present was to his liking yet again, he could not help but ask, “What request do you have?”
“I would like to learn the art of combat.”
Why is he saying this again?
Bennett’s head hurt. After thinking for a while, he decided to teach a set of skills suitable for Han Xiao’s sniper ability and began to explain.
“In my early years, I was once an assassin known for my stealth. Perhaps these skills can help you a little…”
After hearing Bennett’s explanation for over an hour, Han Xiao was awarded with a new mission.
_____________________
You have triggered level D mission [Night Stalker (Class Change)].
Task Summary: You have learned some special skills from Bennett’s explanation, but you still need practice them to perfect them.
Mission Requirements: Complete 5 assassination missions in the dark (No limit on level).
Reward: [Night Stalker] Class
_____________________
Night Stalker—this was a class that Han Xiao had long wanted to attain from Bennett to be able to learn stealth skills, critical strike bonuses from stealth hits, and other skills. Coupled with his Flaming Will and Ghost sniper rifle, he could perfect the art of stealth battles. Moreover, this would give him the chance to enable the [Fatal Shot] specialty.
This class was already extremely rare in version 1.0, and the attribute bonuses were not low. The experience needed to level up was less than the main profession, yet the sub-profession was able to be used for improving his combat skills.
After explaining, Bennett paused and said, “I can tell that your energy is not strong, but your lethality is unfathomable. Here’s my number; you can find me anytime you need me. Who knows, I may need your help in the future as well, what do you think?”
“Sure.”
Han Xiao blinked, promptly recalling one of Bennett’s main story missions. Since he had no objection to this, they exchanged numbers.
On a side note, the phone that Han Xiao was currently using was no longer the black brick machine that Division 13 had given him.
The defense mission had finally ended. The mercenaries all heaved a sigh of relief. They proceeded to pack up, and as they were about to leave, Han Xiao walked around to collect the phone numbers of the assassins and mercenary leaders. Who knew, maybe they would be of use some day?
Golden Fox took the initiative to give Han Xiao her number. She promptly left afterward, fearing the strength of Han Xiao. Furthermore, she could not stand his strange taste.
The manor became much calmer now with the crowd having dispersed. Han Xiao drove back to Seagull City airport and departed on Farian Company’s plane.
Having levelled up through two highly rewarding missions, Han Xiao had accumulated tons of experience. The big action plan that was about to start before the public testing began would likely be following the trend of reward-based missions.
I have already become a Ghost-level assassin with priorities in receiving tasks, commissions, and intelligence. Now that I have paved the way, I can definitely become a Legend if it all goes according to plan. All I’ll have to do is complete this final goal…
Screw Germinal!
I hope that you all can withstand the violent love I’ll be showering upon you.
Han Xiao laughed devilishly and rather coldly at the same time.
…
In the Intelligence Headquarters of Division 13, the Intelligence Minister had received a file about the application for the transfer of Mr. Black into the extreme threats target file.
“Mr. Black, of unknown source and unknown origin, is currently a serial killer. Only completed two missions, smashed the Rose Militant mercenary gang of the Somar Desert, displayed extraordinary sniping ability when guarding the valley of Manor, caused the Invisible Demon to retreat, killed Bai Yu with just three shots.
“He possesses extreme alertness and excellent stealth ability (NB: He shook off the stalker of Division 13). He is also a mechanic, has high speed boots with sliding ability, and possesses shocking killing ability. He uses a special sniper rifle.
“Requires special attention.”
After reading the information sent by Seagull City, the Intelligence Minister felt a sense of looming imminent danger.
“Seems like another amazing player has appeared.”
He took out his stamp and stamped firmly onto the footer of the document.
“Entry file approved!”
…
Something big had happened in the underworld. The list of killers in the Dark Net had a shocking major change. An unknown killer by the name of Mr. Black was added, and among the thousand names, he skyrocketed to number 23 on the killer list.
“I’ve never heard of this name before, where did he come from?”
“The Dark Net’s list has always been fair. It was impossible that this is in any way untoward. Quickly, go ask around about this Mr. Black guy.”
People of various strongholds were on the phone, calling each other about Mr. Black. The underworld intelligence network began to collaborate with one another to find information about him. Some mercenaries and killers who had once fought aside one another at River Valley Manor spoke up about it.
Han Xiao’s extraordinary feat of killing Bai Yu in three shots sparked a commotion in the underworld.
Those who knew Bai Yu thought the news was fake when they first heard it, but the hard evidence of Bai Yu’s horrible death captured by the mercenaries proved them wrong. It was those three shots that caused his death.
The killers who knew about it were shocked. Even though Bai Yu was strong at attacking and weak at defense, he was still a high-level individual on Planet Aquamarine. He was not afraid of bullets. How could he have been killed in a matter of seconds?
More and more people went to investigate the origins of Mr. Black, only to realize that this person had simply appeared out of thin air. No one knew his identity. He was like a ghost, appearing out of the blue, floating around in the underworld.
Mysterious and powerful, Mr. Black’s codename became known by everyone in the underworld. It entered the list of people to take note of for many forces.
Many old-schoolers would say that the killer should be hidden in the darkness—becoming famous was equivalent to failure. However, to the Blood Pact Society, with fame came greetings, and it was also a form of deterrence. Any enemy who threatened the Dark Net organization needed to take precautionary measures—could they withstand the continuous attacks from the killer alliance?
The Blood Pact Society had been weakening as the elder killers died, those who wanted to leave had left, and those who wanted to retire did so. Ever since then, the killer alliance’s days had been numbered. With Mr. Black’s new fame, Blood Pact Society was out to make Mr. Black their poster boy.
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Thorns was traveling alone in the endless plains of Karst. The vehicle definitely looked scary and threatening, like a spiky porcupine. The vehicle was dragging a huge container as it travelled. It looked odd as if it had a light head and heavy torso. There were huge batches of raw materials worth millions stored in the container, all of which had been purchased by Han Xiao in a single consignment.
Han Xiao was the only one on the car. As he was driving, he was looking at the radar coordinates. He was heading toward the ruins known as Graymetal Ruins.
After completing the mission at River Valley Manor, there was a large increase in the affection of the Blood Pact Society toward him. The Blood Pact Society was now ‘friendly’ toward him. Based on his current progress, he would be able to hit the legendary level before the public beta. Also, he could complete the Class Change mission along the way and officially become a Night Stalker.
The side-profession he planned to attain was rarer in version 1.0. He planned to not only use it to attain new skills—he also prepared himself to advance up to level 40 and start another level-advancement mission. The maximum level of an apprentice mechanic was 15. The higher the level, the larger the increases in EXP points. Based on his current efficiency at gaining EXP points, adding a side profession was a good move. Also, the side profession allowed him to improve his combat style.
Before Han Xiao carried out the plan for his assault on the Germinal Organization, he planned to create a secret base for him to deposit supplies and round up weapons and essential equipment. That was to ensure that he had a place to retreat to if his mission failed.
Based on his current situation, the Farian Company seemed like it was able to provide a reliable hideout. However, Han Xiao had cultivated the good habit of preparing alternative solutions and redundancies. Although the possibility of getting into a conflict with the Farian Company was rather unlikely, he would still feel safer if he was completely in charge of his own fate.
Anything could change in this world, and it was especially so for relationships. Han Xiao had seen too many of such cases, especially the relationships with his ex-girlfriends.
More often than not, genuine feelings lost out to tactics in terms of attracting one’s heart. If there was a color to ‘love’, it would be the color of ‘forgiveness’. The world was just too much of a mess, such that anyone could lose their footing if they were not careful. It was not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning…
Getting close to the ruins of the Graymetal Ruins.
The maroon soil looked like dried up spats of blood. Once the tires went past the dried-up hard blocks of soil, the sound of the friction between the tires and the soil could be heard. Through the window, one could also see the oddly-shaped plants that were sparsely growing on the plains. The land before his eyes indeed looked barren.
In the distance, he could see the silhouette of an abandoned city. Graymetal Ruins was a dead city that even the vagrants avoided. The only creatures that resided in the city were insects and animals.
Graymetal Ruins had once been the capital of an old regime, and green pastures had surrounded the city. When the fires of war reached the city, the place was reduced to rubble, and the green plains turned into a barren landscape.
Mighty civilizations and abandoned cities coexisted on this planet. The world was constantly changing, regardless of it changing for better or worse.
There was an abandoned base among the ruins that the outside world did not know of. The abandoned base was in fact Han Xiao’s target.
As Han Xiao moved closer to the city, the scene before his eyes became more dilapidated. Vines could be seen creeping along the walls of the wrecked buildings. The streets were completely empty and covered with moss.
Only a couple of lizards hopped out from the cracks on the road.
The rumble of the vehicle’s engine seemed to have awakened the city. Bugs crawled out from the buildings and cracks on the roads. They rested along the street, watching the vehicle speed past them. They used their limbs to scratch their eyes and moved their antennae.
On the south side of the ruins, there was a building that resembled a military facility surrounded by barbed wire. Fortunately, the wires were not charged with electricity. The interior of the building had collapsed.
Han Xiao drove his vehicle in and parked outside a bunker with the red label ‘S-539’. There was only small entrance left into the bunker. Dust particles were floating in the air, filling his nose.
After Han Xiao alighted from his car, he took out the mechanical spider and threw it into the bunker. He had modified the camera on the spider. The spider was now equipped with thermal-vision and electromagnetic sensors. It even had hearing abilities.
Half an hour later, the spider reported that there were no signs of life in the bunker. Han Xiao then made his way into the building. He navigated through the darkness with his torch, making his way to a small room in the bunker. He found a small crack in the wall and pulled hard. An elevator well was revealed behind the wall.
The abandoned base that he was searching for was in the basement of the bunker.
Han Xiao knew this place very well. In fact, this base was also his in his past life. However, it was unfortunately taken over by a guild.
At that point in time, Han Xiao had still been a young lad who was easily bullied by others. However, when he looked at the base again now, he realized that the base had great defensive infrastructure in place. As long as he was able to supply electricity to the building, the base was practically impregnable to attacks. He only had himself to blame for giving in to his enemies in his previous life.
The underground base was very spacious and had two emergency passages. There were spider webs and dust everywhere.
I shall call this place the Graymetal Base. Han Xiao came up with a practical name for the facility.
There was no source of energy in the base. Han Xiao took out the flashlights that he had brought with him to light up the place. He then started to execute the most important task, which was the energy modification operation. The Graymetal Base previously had a cable that connected it with the power station. However, since the city was abandoned, the power station had stopped its operations.
The power station was located some distance away from the Graymetal Base.
Han Xiao entered the power station only to discover that most of the generators were faulty. However, he never planned to rely on the old generators. He had expected such a scenario to occur; therefore, he had spent a huge sum of money and bought a batch for solar-powered generators. He dragged these generators out of the container and altered the wiring in the power station. He switched out the faulty items in the power station and connected the electric cable from the military base to his new solar-powered generator.
When Han Xiao returned to his base, the base was already powered up. The lights were switched on, and the interior of the base was clearly shown before his eyes.
The base, which had been covered in darkness for so long, was finally embraced with light.
The solar-powered generators were clean, efficient, and discrete. The additional electricity that was not expended in the day would be stored in the batteries. The generated electricity would likely cover one full day of activity.
Han Xiao started to clean up the base. Due to the prolonged period of inactivity, everything was covered in a layer of filth. It was while he was cleaning that he started to miss Lu Qian, who had superb housekeeping skills. Han Xiao had not seen Lu Qian for some time, and her cooking was something he longed for.
“I wonder what her reaction is for leaving without a word.”
Thinking back to Old Man Lu’s repeated recommendation of his granddaughter, Han Xiao could not help but smile.
After the housekeeping session, he carried the supplies out of his vehicle. The material and spare parts were all sorted out and stored. The bottles of water and canned food were placed in in the gigantic fridge. Following which, he used some of his EXP points to raise his [Basic Programming] to Lv.10. He then modified the main control room and created a chip to organize and store the data of all the activities in the base. The main use of the system was to map out the energy usage so that electricity could be better allocated for the different activities.
For the next few days, Han Xiao was busy modifying the base, and it slowly began to take shape. The base was equipped with infra-red, thermal scanners. The defenses put in place were light machine guns and booby-traps. The bunker on the ground level was also repaired. Additionally, the large gate was fixed up so that the base was better hidden.
However, the most important point was that Han Xiao created three robotic assistants to serve as his workers.
The skill of [Elementary Programming] at the maximum level could create low-level chips that were able to store simple blueprints that the robotic assistant could follow and manufacture according to the plans autonomously. Han Xiao could also gain a part of the EXP from the items successfully manufactured by the robots. This meant that there would be incoming EXP for Han Xiao all day, every day. One robot assistant could generate 2,000 to 4,000 EXP, so three robot assistants could contribute a steady 10,000 EXP points.
There was a limit on the energy that could be used by the Graymetal Base, and the three robot assistants made it reach this limit. The stored raw materials and spare parts were also only sufficient for around ten days of continuous activity by the robot assistants. The logistical flow of the system he had set-up could not be disturbed. Han Xiao could also make use of this period of time to carry out his assassination mission and gain skills that could help him refine his process.
If the earlier players wanted to develop a base, they could only employ a team of mechanics to complete their base. That was because most players had certain gaps in experience that they could not fulfill themselves. They had different areas of specialties in terms of their knowledge, and that meant that there were also many areas they were unfamiliar with. However, my three separate branches of knowledge are upgraded together. That makes me master the different aspects of the job alone. However, my strategy has a huge flaw of requiring me to possess an especially large sum of EXP that is several times more than that of normal players.
Luckily for Han Xiao, he had his ways.
The Graymetal Base might not be the largest, but it was definitely one that had all the necessary items that were required. The base also looked new and tidy after Han Xiao’s refurbishment and housekeeping. Han Xiao could feel a deep sense of achievement when he saw the fruits of his labor.
Finally, I am a man with some assets.
After completing the modification of his secret base, it was time for him to begin his assaults on the Germinal Organization. He had been left with no time to spare for the Germinal Organization lately, and that resulted in the organization recovering and growing from the previous damage that Han Xiao had caused. Indeed, the Germinal Organization had recovered by 0.01%.
However, Han Xiao was not worried in the slightest. The reason he decided to carry out his activities at the later stage was because he had set his sights far. He was no longer aiming for the smaller bases of the organization.
He wanted to do something big!
Han Xiao plan was simple and ‘loud’. He released all the information he had collected about the smaller bases to the six nations!
Crazy but deadly!
The six nations were old enemies of the organization. The moment they got their hands on the weakness of the organization, they would not rest until they caused grievous damage. As long as he dared to do such a crazy thing, the Germinal Organization was bound to suffer intense damage. However, that would also destabilize the entire situation on Planet Aquamarine. It was even likely for a change in the original storyline to occur.
It was that which made the whole process exciting.
To be scared of a change in the storyline was not the hallmark of a strong individual.
A world that did not change was something a destroyer like Han Xiao was fond of.
Han Xiao clenched his fists. He could feel gushes of energy flowing through his body and confidence emerging out of his chest.
I am no longer a weakling who is afraid of everything like when I first entered the planet. I have the ability to challenge and battle most people on this planet.
Strength formed the base of one’s power. To endure now was so that one could be powerful enough in the future, such that he no longer needed to endure.
Now, Han Xiao could defend himself, and he could finally accomplish the initial goal he set for himself!
Han Xiao connected his cellphone to the computer and created an anti-tracking application to disguise his actual number and address. He then dialed in a chain of numbers that he had memorized.
“Hello, who is this?”
Feng Jun’s voice emerged out of the cellphone.
“Guess~” Han Xiao teased.
Feng Jun almost choked. The sly voice was too familiar to not recognize.
“You… How dare you call back‽”
Feng Jun was dumbfounded.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In Division 13’s headquarters, Director Gu Hui and the Intelligence Minister stared at the phone on the desk, while Feng Jun stood to the side with a clear look of nervousness.
“Can we trace the location?”
The technician replied hesitantly, “We can’t break the opponent’s anti tracking protocol. He is a highly skilled hacker.”
Gu Hui’s vein throbbed with anger. When did that guy become a hacker? How could I not know?
After some deliberation, Gu Hui picked up the phone and said in a grave voice, “Han Xiao, you left Division 13 without permission. You violated the code of secrecy. This behavior is abominable!”
Han Xiao chuckled and laid bare Gu Hui’s thoughts. “You want to ask me when I’m coming back, right?”
“You should know better yourself!” Gu Hui said.
“I am not going back.”
“Are you defecting?” Gu Hui’s eyes darkened, and his tone changed.
“You misunderstood,” Han Xiao slowly said. “I still want to continue to work with you guys, but the way we work needs to change.”
Gu Hui frowned. “What do you mean?”
The others in the room pricked up their ears to wait for Han Xiao’s reply.
With a click, Han Xiao hung up the phone.
The intelligence minister was expressionless, but the twitch at the corner of his eyes revealed the storm in his mind.
Gu Hui took a deep breath and thought to himself, I am the director; I cannot flip the table. I am the director; I cannot flip the table…
Ding!
The phone vibrated with a new message notification.
Gu Hui narrowed his eyes and opened the text message. A page of dense information was thrown into his view. He was struck dumb by the content of the message.
It was all intelligence on Germinal’s bases in Southern Continent. It was very detailed and complete!
Is this what he meant by changing the way we work? Gu Hui was uncertain. Nonetheless, his anger with Han Xiao dissipated.
This was the intelligence they had always wanted, and Han Xiao had actually given it to them so easily.
He’s so sincere!
Gu Hui was lost in thought. Han Xiao had demonstrated unexpected sincerity. The issue would be how he should deal with Han Xiao’s identity. If he were to say that he was a defector, his action would benefit the interests of Stardragon. But to say that Han Xiao would be returning to Division 13 would be untrue. Han Xiao had personally said that he would not go back.
After some thought, Gu Hui made a decision.
“Stop searching for Han Xiao. Keep his official secret agent identity, and move his files to the field agent files.”
Feng Jun was taken aback. The director’s decision would mean that Division 13 was reconciling with Han Xiao. They would acquiesce to Han Xiao’s solitary behavior and regard him as one of their own.
Division 13 was in charge of the formation of field agents. Field agents were employed under the department, but they could move freely. Only some meritorious agent or retired agents could get such preferential treatment.
Although Feng Jun did not have a long relationship with Han Xiao, they were on good terms. Feng Jun was a happy; at least they would not become enemies.
With the information he needed in hand, Gu Hui was in a good mood. He praised the intelligence minister lightly and was about to leave when the bespectacled secretary in the intelligence group stumbled in, panting for breath.
“Director! Minster! The intelligence departments from Hesla, Maple, Ordina, Theus, and Raylen have all sent us a request for communication!”
The look in Gu Hui’s face hardened.
Only with truly urgent incidents would the intelligence agencies of each country contact another country. It had been many years since they had a meeting between the different intelligence agencies from the Six Nations. What had happened‽
With a heavy heart, Gu Hui walked to the conference room. Five individuals appeared on the big screen. They were the heads of the intelligence agencies from the other five nations. They had the same rank in their respective agencies as Gu Hui.
“What happened?” Asked Gu Hui.
As soon as he spoke, he found the five heads of intelligence agencies stare at him with a very strange look, making him feel a little confused.
The representative from Ordina took the initiative and said, “Um… Division 13 Director, you… do you know Germinal’s top wanted man, Zero?”
Gu Hui stared dumbfounded. He had a bad feeling.
“What happened was, all five of us received intelligence from Zero, including maps of Germinal’s secret bases across the South, West, and North Continent. We have always been cautious about information from unknown sources, but he had added a line to his intelligence.
” Stardragon’s Division 13 can testify as to the credibility of my intelligence.
“So, we are here to clarify with you.”
Damn you! How could you even send the information to all the other nations and expect us to testify for you! Han Xiao, you just scammed us again!
Gu Hui almost fainted from the shock. He could almost see Han Xiao’s sniggering face in his mind.
…
His set of equipment—the incomplete Phantom Ghost Sniper, Electromagnetic Skateboard Shoes, facial simulator, and a full version of a Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor—would be able to fully support his variable sniping style of combat. This was a tactic that was very popular among the older Mechanics. Since the equipment he produced had properties way beyond what would normally be at his level, it was obvious that his combat capability would be way more effective.
With his enhanced equipment, his energy was about 1,100 ouna. He was considered upper-middle rank on Aquamarine. In addition, Han Xiao also had the NPC Molding Ability [Basic Strengthened Life]. He was definitely able to take some hits.
[Flaming Will] was upgraded to Lv5, and the lowest multiplier was increased to 138%. Although this did not sound like much, with sneak attacks and critical strikes on weaknesses, even with the lowest enhancement, he could boost his capability significantly.
As long as he avoided fighting someone crazily powerful like Bennett head on, Han Xiao should be able to cope with most face-offs with ease. So, the assassination mission from the Blood Pact Society would naturally not be too much of a worry for him.
Time flew past as Han Xiao completed more and more missions. He gained vast amounts of EXP and wealth, and he was growing stronger day by day. Mr. Black was also becoming feared by more and more underground forces. He had risen to the tenth position on the assassin leader board. He was finally gaining some fame.
Meanwhile, the underground world gave Han Xiao a new nickname—Black Phantom!
One could only take on a bad code name, not a bad nickname.
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Planet Universal Reputation Legend (Aquamarine): Black Phantom (Dark Net Assassin List)
Legend has it that he comes from the darkness of the night with a thousand faces. No one knows when he will come. No one knows when he will leave.
When you see him turn away, the kiss of death has already been printed on your forehead, leaving fresh bullet holes in blood. He pays a bullet and takes away your life.
_____________________
He sounds pretty cool…
In fact, when he learned that he had been given the nickname, Han Xiao did not know how he should feel about it.
Black Phantom… Why don’t you call me White Yaksha?
Han Xiao had been one of the most active members in the underground world lately, and he was getting on the good books of the Blood Pact Society. They were even featuring him to attract talents. According to statistics from the Blood Pact Society, their business had finally stopped falling even since Black Phantom came around. Their business was even slightly on the rise, attracting other assassins to them. They were leading in transaction volume.
However, two months later, the attention of the whole world was on another big event!
As the last civilized countries on Aquamarine, the Six Nations were so powerful that whatever they did would affect every single person in the world. Be it the underground, rogue warlords, or various organizational forces, everyone was always looking to the Six Nations to observe their actions, especially in terms of their military operations.
After the wars of the old times, there was a delicate balance of order and chaos on Planet Aquamarine. Wars continued to break out occasionally, openly or hidden, and it was not in the Six Nations’ interest to cover up and pretend it was all peaceful.
The delicate world situation tipped on this fateful day after two months. The Six Nations sent out troops almost simultaneously. The armies were sweeping across the three continents, wiping out Germinal bases one by one. It shook the whole world.
The war came without any warning!
The world fell into a turmoil. Many was starting to fear that the nightmare of a terrible war that happened decades ago would explode again. Their wounds from the war had not healed fully, and no one was too eager to be devoured by such a manmade disaster again.
Even within the Six Nations, thousands and thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the war, but the governments have turned a deaf ear. To them, Germinal was the root of a disaster. As a terrorist organization that had been created to subvert the Six Nations, the conflict between the Six Nations and Germinal could be traced back to the war of the old times. Germinal had been gathering outlaws and rebels who were determined to subjugate the Six Nations.
Until now, the two sides had been caught in a stalemate. It was such a good opportunity to crack down on the Germinal Organization; how could they possibly miss it?
For those who were more informed, they were not as surprised by the tough stance of the Six Nations as the intelligence they had gotten—why did the Six Nations act simultaneously, and how could they launch precise attacks on the hiding grounds of Germinal?
There was only one possibility—someone had provided a large amount of intelligence!
In another way, this mysterious person providing the intelligence was the real puppet master behind the war!
After many inquiries, the name of the man was leaked out from within the Six Nations.
Zero!
Germinal’s traitor!
The underground world was shocked.
Among the outlaws taken in by the Germinal Organization, some were idealistic fighters while others were hooligans who had committed petty crimes. There were traitors in the past, but they had all hidden like street mice, afraid of being hunted down. Zero was the only person that had strike back on Germinal so openly, generating such chatter.
How did Zero get so much intelligence? Was he a high-level officer in Germinal before he defected?
Many were scratching their head over this.
All this was a mystery. There was no way anyone could get an answer, but that did not prevent all the major powers from adding the name ‘Zero’ to the threat list.
…
“A war is coming…”
Bennett looked up at the hazy sky with furrowed brows, his mood was as gloomy as the sky.
Wang Yuan whispered to him from the side, “It seems like we need to get the shelter plan up ahead of schedule.”
“There are still a lot of things left unprepared…” Bennett shook his head. “I guess we can never be fully prepared. Let’s roll out the shelter plan. Contact some allies and get strong independent fighters to join us. We must rally all our forces.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the Germinal Organization Headquarters at Andrea mainland…
BAM!
A fist covered with a black glove slammed against the wall, creating a sound like a steel rod being swung against a car window. The thick force made a large piece of the wall shatter and collapse, exposing the steel bars. His fist, however, was not injured.
The leader’s body trembled with fury. His anger was obvious. His subordinates trembled next to him and dared not move an inch.
All the secret bases on the other three continents were being swept through by the Six Nations’ armies, incurring huge losses every day. The Germinal Organization’s base camp was located on the continent of Andrea. The secret bases on the three other three continents were intended to be the beachheads to nail the enemy in future wars. So, the loss this time was equivalent to the organization’s painstaking efforts for many years being destroyed! It had severely wounded the organization.
“Zero…” The leader took a deep breath into the unfathomable depths of his lungs.
How much information does Han Xiao have? This was a question that the leader had always been suspicious about. He felt that Han Xiao was not in a position to be aware of key intelligence. He had once told the organization’s hackers to check the program loopholes repeatedly, and there were no signs of hacking. He had also conducted multiple investigations on the top management. There were no traitors.
Zero’s source of information was really too suspicious. It was as though he was a prophet.
In fact, the four bases that were lost, including the Dark Crow Valley base, were not of particular importance to the organization. Before the four secret bases were removed, the leader hesitated over whether or not to relocate other bases in Southern Continent, but he did not implement any action. It was not that he wanted to leave it to chance. He felt that moving other bases rashly would expose these locations and cause them to lose their secrecy. It was like abandoning the huge amount of up-front investment, wasting their finances and time. Perhaps, it was as Zero had mentioned, making a mountain out of a molehill.
However, the situation made it clear that Zero had mastered the detailed information of the organization, far more so than he had expected!
The Valkyrie experiment strengthens the brain, and awakens… Thinking of Han Xiao’s performance, the leader felt as if there was a hint to the truth.
Zero has awakened the ability to predict!
No wonder he could get intelligence, escape from the lab, and avoid the tracking of the organization…
The leader closed his eyes and anger brewed in his heart. He felt that this was the only possible explanation. Zero was a monster created by the Germinal Organization, and all the organization could do was accept it.
Regret? The leader did not allow himself to have this kind of emotion. There was no room for regret.
This kind of character is too dangerous. If he is allowed to live, all the actions of the organization will be made known.
He has to be killed!
The pin drop silence continued for three minutes.
The leader’s low, hoarse voice slowly sounded, and it spoke of deep savage intentions. Even though the Germinal Organization’s members in the room knew that the leader was not targeting them, it still sent a chill down their spine.
“Move all the bases in the three continents. There is no need to care about the loss and damage. Withdraw whatever can be withdrawn. Start the crisis plan [Hibernation Project], and all activity is to be moved underground. All intelligence personnel are to thoroughly investigate Zero’s tracks—not a single clue is to be neglected. Before we find Zero, the full-scale war plan is to be delayed… indefinitely!”
…
_____________________
[Fall of The Germinal] current progress 13.8%.
_____________________
At the Graymetal Base, Han Xiao lay on the sofa, sliding his fingers across the tablet and brushing through the information collected and organized on the Dark Net, almost all of which was related to the movements of the Six Nations.
Two months ago, he had provided intelligence to the Six Nations. Naturally, none of the Six Nations acted immediately. They first sent people to confirm the accuracy of the intelligence, then they secretly dispatched resources to prepare for the war. The military operation only became official two months later. The results were very gratifying. A large number of Germinal bases were removed. Yet, there were some secret bases that Han Xiao was not aware of. They were forces that had been preserved.
Han Xiao’s mission profile had increased exponentially. Although the increment was reduced, he was winning by volume. With the actions by the Six Nations, he was progressing every day. The Germinal Organization was not a pig that would stretch out its neck dumbly to be slashed. They were determined to preserve their last breath by any means. They had evacuated all remaining bases and were trying to minimize losses. This was within Han Xiao’s expectations. He was simply waiting to see how many battles the six countries could win next by chasing Germinal’s trails hard.
With the momentum now, my mission progress is estimated to be more than twenty percent.
About fifty percent of the Germinal Organization’s bases in the three continents had been conquered, whilst their base camp on the Andrea continent had only half its size left.
The morale of the Germinal Organization had been so badly hurt that it would not be able to declare war against the Six Nations in three months’ time as per the original scenario. This had a far-reaching impact.
One such impact was that the Germinal Organization’s sub-bases on the three continents had been removed, cutting off the channels for most players to join the organization. That meant that the players in Germinal’s camp would be ninety percent less than originally! In Han Xiao’s opinion, this was the biggest gain.
Taking advantage of the chaos, I can also personally intercept and kill countless disoriented troops and improve my mission progress.
Releasing information could only be done once, so Han Xiao was ready to make full use of this opportunity to strike against his enemy while it was at its weakest, hoping that his attacks would deal some serious damage and advance his level.
The small butterfly effect he had set off was rolling up into a storm, causing a huge mess in the quest between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization. If one of the front-line events on Planet Aquamarine was accidentally annihilated, the players on this planet would become idle and start to freely explore.
Interesting… Han Xiao’s face broke into a sinister smile.
His two-month killer career had earned him a lot of EXP. He had already unlocked [Night Stalker], providing him skills such as [Stealth] and [Steady Aim]. This sub-professional upgrade bonus had a slant toward agility. With this, Han Xiao’s total level had reached LV 40, and he was stuck at his advancement.
The manner in which he completed his mission was a prerequisite for his next advancement.
_____________________
[Second Stage Advancement]: Defeat three strong enemies beyond your level.
Note: Your opponent must be at least five levels higher than you.
Current Progress: 0%.
_____________________
Defeating a higher-level opponent was a common requirement for class advancements. The difficulty was not high, and the player could compete in a team. This made it easier for Han Xiao. It was a pity that his previous such assassinations were not counted for his current task.
As his level increased, higher-level killing was becoming more and more difficult. With Han Xiao’s level, he had to kill opponents beyond LV 45 at the bare minimum to achieve the cross-level standard. Moreover, these LV 45 opponents were already in the third stage of Planet Aquamarine’s combat power, possessing ghostly powers.
Because he was stuck at advancement and could not upgrade to the next level, Han Xiao was putting all his EXP into developing his skills. He had managed to improve his combat sniping skills.
Before building a powerful machine that could become the core of his tactics, he was not going to change his strategy of using [Moving Snipe] for the time being. In addition, he had also incorporated new blueprints, improving his personal capability tremendously.
In addition to becoming a legend in the list of killers, Han Xiao had also unexpectedly become a legend for a different reason.
_____________________
The Legend of Planet Aquamarine: The Mysterious Zero
As a traitor of the Germinal Organization, you have uprooted the solid foundations of the organization based on your sole effort. No one expected such a course of events. You have already become the arch enemy of the Germinal Organization. Perhaps you should protect your identity as there are many people who are searching for you.
_____________________
The source of my legendary status comes from my intelligence that inflicted a great loss on the Germinal Organization and caused Planet Aquamarine to fall into a state of chaos. I think I figured out how to attain such legendary status. I guess I just have to disrupt the original quest of the camp, and that means to wreak havoc… I guess that is my strength. Han Xiao touched his chin in thought.
His relationship with the Germinal Organization had fallen to -3,000. He was becoming their arch enemy; the relationship was unsalvageable.
This hatred is really deep-seated.
Han Xiao furrowed his brows.
On the other hand, the Graymetal Base was also becoming better-equipped. Han Xiao had upgraded the energy source on the base. There were already eight assistant robots working hard. It was a stable source of EXP. The cost of manufacturing each assistant robot was about 200,000 EXP.
Mechanics could create assistant-type robots, but few people did it in the early days because it was not cost-effective. These robots cost hundreds of thousands of EXP to develop, but they would only provide a few thousand XP each day. One could easily attain that by completing simple tasks. Moreover, these low-level intelligence robot assistants could only complete simple manufacturing tasks. If spare parts were needed, players could directly purchase them from the player market. Even unions were unwilling to use the assistant robot in their early stages. They had their production team and were in no shortage of manpower.
Only when the mechanics learned how to manufacture intermediate-level smart chips to enable robots to perform more precise operations would these robot assistants gradually become the standard tools for mechanics.
But for Han Xiao, money was not that important. He took a brief look at his dark net account and a bunch of zeros leaped into his eyes. All these were rewards that he had collected from completing various assassinations. Well, it seemed that there were some orders from Division 13. He had almost forgotten.
Han Xiao looked at the interface, and it was the last thirty minutes before the public beta.
This day has finally arrived!
Over the past year, he had accumulated a huge amount of capital, way more than most.
Han Xiao’s eyes were beaming as he nestled in the sofa, waiting silently.
The public beta countdown was counting down to the last minute.
Looking at the time—Galaxy calendar, July 3, 688.
Countdown!
Ten, nine, eight… three, two, one!
_____________________
The public beta is now open.
Fetching data… Fetching data done!
Player Forum Open
Open beta duration: 1271 days
Welcome to Galaxy 1.0—Adventer!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ever since Galaxy was in the research and development stage, the game had received wide attention with minimal marketing. Only basic information was provided on the official website. Even so, its popularity was continuously rising. Due to the many groundless rumors, Galaxy was shrouded with an air of mystery, fueling the players’ anticipation and curiosity.
On the day of public beta, the enthusiasm of the players was exploding like the eruption of a volcano. Although the number of VR capsules in the first batch was limited and there was also a restriction on the number of purchases, the game was sold out in half an hour. Those who did not manage to grab hold of the game were utterly disappointed, whereas those who did get it could not wait to enter the game.
…
The day that the game was released, enthusiastic players rushed into the game. In Galaxy, there were dozens of players who came from different birthplaces, and this formed the first batch of players.
In the evening, more and more public beta players who had created their characters appeared out of thin air in the forest outside the settlement of Big Horn Village, looking around curiously.
“It feels so real!” exclaimed a player as he jumped around with ease.
“Quick! Look at the sky, there is actually more than one moon!” a player shouted out in excitement as he admired the scenery.
“Woah, can I take off my pants?” asked a muddle-headed player.
“Is there no novice village in this game?” Another player scratched his head, not knowing what to do.
As more and more players appeared, a huge crowd began to form. With more than a thousand people gathered, one could hardly see an end to the mass of players. There were thousands of players who had gathered. After some confusion, some observant players spotted the lights in the distance from Big Horn Village. Thinking that it was the novice village, the players rushed over en masse.
The guards at the settlement of Big Horn Village were shocked to see the group of ragged men and immediately blew the whistle to inform the rest of the population to lock their doors and stop this huge group of foreigners from entering their settlement.
The players were all stopped at the gate, and they started shouting out against the guards.
“What is going on? Why isn’t the novice village open?”
“My hunger level is dropping; I will die if I don’t eat something.”
“The expressions of these NPCs are so lively.”
Within the settlement of Big Horn Village, all the residents walked out of their house holding torches and weapons, and stood guarding the main door solemnly, preventing the mass of people from attacking the place. The village chief, Xander, gathered the few key personnel urgently.
“Where did this group of people come from? It’s almost 10,000 people!” Xander exclaimed.
“Is it a group of migratory vagrants?”
“Let’s just ask directly.”
Xander climbed to the watchtower and asked loudly as he looked down at the huge crowd of players, “Friends from afar, why have you come to us?”
The players looked at one another with confused faces, not knowing how to respond.
Xander then shook his head. “If you all do not state where you are from, I cannot let you enter the settlement.”
The public beta players were baffled. They were all new players who could not even understand the map. How would they be able to tell him their origin? Was that a joke?
Inside the settlement, the closed beta players found the whole situation amusing. It was like a show for them as they watched the situation unfold from the side. They had landed directly inside the settlement when they first arrived and did not have to go through the trouble that the public beta players who had landed outside the settlement had to face now.
Just then, they received a notification. It was a mission where they had to convince Xander to allow the public beta players to enter the settlement, and the prize was rather significant. There was a note that specified they had to make sure that their use of words would match the current game context.
“Interesting, there are no other games like this.”
The players inside the settlement were surprised by the creativity in this game. They could actually use their convincing skills to influence the NPC in this game. That was new to them.
After a few discussions, the closed beta players went up to Xander to start a discussion.
After what seemed like a long time, Xander finally understood. “Do you all know the group of people outside?”
One of the closed beta players answered with a straight face. “Yes, we used to be residents in the same settlement, called Earth Village. There was a disaster, and we lost all contact. This group of people outside are all as hardworking as us. Chief Xander, please accept them.”
“Earth Village? Why haven’t I heard of this settlement?” After some thought, Xander seemed slightly convinced. “There are too many of them. It is impossible to accept all of them.”
“That is simple. All they need is a job, some food, and basic supplies. You can think of them as cheap labor, and it is also an opportunity to expand the settlement.”
The closed beta players snickered, as they could not wait for the public players to be scammed.
Xander’s eyes lit up. “You are right.”
Soon enough, Xander explained the situation to the public beta players, and they all received a task each.
_____________________
[The First Job]: You should earn some money through labor. Do not let yourself starve to death. Try to build a better relationship with our settlement so that you can be trusted.
_____________________
With guidance, the public beta players started their tasks. Residents of Big Horn Village settlement eagerly provided different job opportunities, and the merchants also opened up their stores to the players, allowing them to use their own money to buy some food.
With a clear goal to work toward, the public beta players started to have a good impression of Big Horn Village. The public beta players formed a ring of tents on the boundary of the settlement, adding on to the construction of the settlement.
The same scene was happening for the newcomers at other settlements on Planet Aquamarine.
On the first day of the public beta, all the players were very excited, and they soon found out that there were camera and video functions, which added on to their excitement. The number of posts on social media exploded with players posting about the most miniscule of events. The following were some of the posts.
“Poor review! How can there be no excretion function!” The owner of this post obvious had ulterior motives, and he was obviously not really complaining about excretion.
“Taking on an alien body is so fun.” Another post showed a picture of a Taurus male player shaking his tail.
“Almost got killed by a wild boar. It’s so fun!” The post showed a picture of a female player making a peace sign with a wild boar chasing right behind her.
…
On the first day of the launch of the public beta, millions of players joined the game, and they were assigned to different planets, with at least around 100,000 players on each planet. As the news spread, the numbers rose at a rapid rate. With the next half a year, the numbers would likely snowball into tens of millions.
The public beta players were overjoyed with the game while some of the closed beta players were not having it so well.
…
In Dark Crow Valley, Jupiter and the other members of the guild looked at their surrounding forests with a blank look.
All around them, the woods were green, the evening wind lightly caressed their skin, and the calm atmosphere was like a gentle palm, warming their hearts and making everything seem so harmonious.
The view was amazing and pleasing to the eye.
But where did the base go‽
Jupiter hesitated before he asked, “The place we are going to… should be the base, right?”
Everyone nodded in unison.
“There is no longer a connection with the camp!” Poseidon exclaimed.
Everyone then checked their interface and realized that their original [Dark Crow Valley Base Connection] was gone! Everyone was flabbergasted.
What is this situation‽
“Quick! Check the tasks!”
Waking up from the trance, Jupiter checked his interface immediately, before heaving a sigh of relief.
“Fortunately, the mission is still there. Oh sh*t!”
In the next moment, everyone was shocked.
_____________________
[Search for Zero (Level A)]: Zero, a mysterious traitor. He has caused the organization to suffer many losses. Find Zero, and you will become a great friend to the organization.
_____________________
The level of difficulty had changed from B to A!
The task instructions had also changed; the location of Zero was no longer required as it was like finding a needle in a haystack. The Guild of Gods had made a lot of preparations, and the results of the discussion could fill up an entire blackboard. This change had caused all the preparation in the past few days to go to waste.
“What have we missed‽”
Jupiter then thought of the official introduction of Galaxy and lost his voice.
“Don’t tell me Zero is the main character on this planet!”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“What shall we do now?” Poseidon asked.
“Let’s go ask around.”
Jupiter and his group returned to Dark Crow Forest Town, and upon hearing from the villagers that Dark Crow Valley Base had been destroyed by Stardragon, they were shocked. After getting a rough idea of what had happened, they thought to themselves, How is it possible that the base could have disappeared just like that?
Wow! Who knew this game would be so intense?
Last week’s efforts had all been wasted, and their advantages from the beta-testing were almost all lost.
Now that Dark Crow Valley Base, the organization that had been issuing quests, was gone, even if they completed the quest, they had no idea who to get their rewards from.
Everyone looked at each other and cried in dismay.
How could this actually happen…
Jupiter felt terrible, but he was reluctant to give up on this Grade A quest. “The Germinal Organization definitely won’t just stop here. Let’s go look for other bases. There should be a way for us to return to Germinal Camp.”
…
In the Western Capital…
In a blur of vision, Frenzied Sword realized that he had spawned in an alley that was not too far from the site where the beta-testing had gone offline.
Public testing has begun!
Frenzied Sword was so excited. Finally, he no longer had to worry about the time limitation and could wholeheartedly follow Han Xiao.
My dear Xiao, I’m coming!
Based on his memories, he found his way to Old Man Lu’s repair shop.
“Han Xiao? That kid left long ago without even a goodbye. Who knows where he went?” Old Man Lu gulped down a can of beer, and his tone was a little depressed. He secretly doubted if his granddaughter’s charm had truly lost its effects.
Upon hearing the news, Frenzied Sword’s was struck dumb. He bore a sluggish face and stood rooted to the ground.
How could his master run away‽
What am I to do now‽
…
The forum’s popularity continued to climb, gamers from different planets shared their own rumors. There were some gamers who were purely focused on trying and reviewing new elements of the game, and all seemed to praise it highly, even calling it a new era of gaming with true to life experiences.
It was merely a display background that was recently set, yet people were already fantasizing about it. It was a virtual game that was like no other; from the start to the end, there was only one world, so gamers all united in one place. There were different planets, which were equivalent to the different servers. Gamers very much looked forward to meeting fellow gamers from other planets.
This was not just the case in China; esports teams from other countries also flocked to Galaxy. Even though they did not communicate prior to this, among the esports powerhouses—America, Korea, France, England, and so on—all chose to develop themselves in their own planets.
Planet Aquamarine was one of the base camps that gamers from China chose.
However, this did not mean that all the gamers on Planet Aquamarine were from China. People from other countries could also choose to join Planet Aquamarine. There were leisure gamers, and there were also the European spies who came just to create trouble.
Electrolux, a retired professional gamer of America’s Key Club who did not achieve anything much in his career, joined the club’s studio after retiring. He joined Planet Aquamarine with such an ulterior motive.
Han Xiao was the only one who could recognize Electrolux. This scorpion was to become the first to rise up to the top sixteen in the First Professional League in the future, and in Planet Aquamarine’s selection trial, the strongest sixteen that were selected to represent Aquamarine were usually all Chinese. This was going to be the Chinese professional gamers’ base. Among the sea of Chinese one could easily spot the one American, Electrolux, who started the uproar with a swear word on the forum. The evil Chinese gamers all over the planet were out to kill him but all ended up dead under Electrolux’s knife.
Although Electrolux had the American arrogance, his strength and vast resources gave him the courage to start in a random planet. His luck was good as well.
In one of the Germinal Organization’s laboratories…
Electrolux opened his eyes wide and found himself soaking in a light blue solution. He was in a vat of nutrition fluid and was surprised that he did not need to breathe. He looked through the glass and saw a scientist holding a tablet, recording scribbles on the outside.
Realizing that he could not control his character for the time being, Electrolux waited patiently; according to his experience, this should be an intermission animation. After roughly a minute, a drainage hole appeared at the bottom of the nutrition tube, and the light blue solution disappeared. Electrolux could now move, and he saw a notification on the interface.
_____________________
You have been injected with DNA Improvement Solution. Your total attributes have increased by 3. You have acquired the skill [DNA Regulation].
[DNA Regulation]: You have a much higher chance of awakening Esper abilities, and the power will be increased by 10%.
_____________________
My God! Electrolux was overjoyed. Random openings are so awesome!
The nutrition cabinet opened, and the scientists came crowding. Electrolux did not resist, allowing the scientist to pull him over to the Golden Platform to do various instrument tests.
At this moment, Electrolux received another prompt.
_____________________
The DNA Improvement Program is a biological research program that helps to cultivate superpowers. The success rate is extremely low. And you, being one of the few successful tests, will be valued much by the Germinal Organization. You can choose to stay or leave.
_____________________
Previously Electrolux had chosen to stay, and afterward, he had become Germinal Organization’s strongest player. He made a similar decision, for with such an amazing start, only a fool would leave!
This skill is specially tailored for me. Electrolux had originally planned to become an Esper, and without saying another word, he entered a shop in the interface. Using the funds given by the club, he bought an [Ultra-Perfect-Deluxe Gene Awakening Elixir]. He immediately chose the Awakening option, and after a long and nervous wait, the interface prompted that he had successfully acquired the Awakening Ability!
How smooth. Electrolux had a look of joy on his face. He felt like Lady Luck was shining upon him. He raised his palm, and his palm amassed a white whirlwind.
The scientists rejoiced.
“Eureka!”
“He’s awakened!”
Electrolux knew that since he wanted to stay, it was best to show his potential. The scientists’ reactions made him very satisfied. But the next moment he saw a scientist calling for the guards, leaving him puzzled. Why did he have to call the guards at such a nice moment?
Germinal Guards sped to the site, and without much effort, they handcuffed him. He was dumbfounded. Did they not say that they valued him? Why were they treating him like a prisoner?
When he entered another laboratory, Electrolux was locked down onto the brainwashing device. It was only then that he realized something was wrong. “What are you doing to me?”
The guard spoke in a chilled manner. “We have orders from above that every successful test subject must be brainwashed five times over and then observed for another month before they can move freely!”
Electrolux was stunned. What logic is that? The reaction is simply too radical!
He really was clueless. The original DNA Improvement Program did not need brainwashing. His random start was started by a European, and it was all benefits and no harm.
However, after their experience with Han Xiao, the Germinal Organization had implemented an extremely strict policy. They would rather kill than release, and no matter the research plan, the test subject was to be brainwashed and put under close observation for a month.
Little did Electrolux know that this was all because of Han Xiao. It was too late to regret, for he was soon to be brainwashed.
_____________________
You are not exempt from the brainwashing. You have joined the Germinal Organization under a special condition.
As you have been brainwashed, you are unable to rebel against the Germinal Organization.
_____________________
Electrolux panicked.
Being unable to rebel meant that he was unable to escape the one month of imprisonment, which meant a month of being locked up, not to mention levelling up. This would mean he would be much behind other gamers!
Which part of ‘being valued’ is this! What a lie!
He had clearly attained the ultimate awakening skill, yet he was stuck in this rot hole and had to suffer a month of being locked down and gaining no experience!
It was a perfect start, but now he was to fall behind all the other gamers!
Electrolux exploded internally.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The golden rays of dawn were shining in the sky. It was a cool and refreshing morning.
Whilst driving a truck, Han Xiao made his way toward Big Horn Mountain. He had based his directions off a radar. Despite him driving all night, he was not tired at all. In fact, he was alert as he had pulled over to nap the night before.
The public beta had started a few days ago, yet the forum was already buzzing with comments. Han Xiao specially took notice of Planet Aquamarine’s forum, and through the tags of the players, he managed to understand the situation of each and every newcomer. He had always wanted to join in the commotion.
The best chance to interact was when the players made their first appearance.
Just a few days back, Han Xiao had used his authority to obtain a tip-off from the dark web—there was a batch of newcomers in Big Horn Village. Hence, Han Xiao decided to advance toward Big Horn Village to get rid of them.
In the distance from Big Horn Village, one could see the silhouette of the settlements. Han Xiao could tell with one glance that the settlement was filled with countless tents, just like a refugee camp. A swarm of players could also be seen busy bustling about.
The moment Han Xiao parked his truck, he caught the attention of the players.
With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Han Xiao got out from his truck and leaned against it while puffing out a cloud of smoke. He put on an air of arrogance, misleading the players to think that he was an important character.
A deep understanding of players’ mentality was Han Xiao’s specialty. He had analyzed the situation. With the new game being released, all the players were thrilled. No matter what kind of tasks were given to them, they were all willing to try. This was known as the ‘hunger’ stage, and since there was an overwhelming number of new players, there would definitely be a few players who could not obtain any missions.
Therefore, Han Xiao knew that as an ‘advanced player’ character, he was influential. All he had to do was appear in front of the players, and he could definitely rile up the players. The players were all new and did not have skills yet. However, he could benefit from their large number. Han Xiao also happened to have a way to reap benefits from these newcomers, and he could take this opportunity to further test the functions on the NPC interface.
In Han Xiao’s eyes, the players who were walking about resembled walking wallets.
After a while, the players were finally starting to get curious and some walked over.
_____________________
Black Phantom – Unknown (Yellow Name)
Rank: Unknown
Attributes: Unknown
Risk Level: Extremely deadly
_____________________
“What the heck? This is a high-level NPC!”
“This is the first time that I’ve seen one.”
“Why is there such a high-level player in a novice village? Is he the Boss?”
“Doesn’t seem like it though. It looks like we can trigger a mission.”
The surrounding players were full of astonishment and were hesitating whether they should approach Han Xiao.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow—he was now at LV 40, which was thirty levels higher than all the other players. This time around, he was fully aware of the players’ abilities. Hence, he cleared his throat and said, “You all seemed to be a capable bunch of people, and I do need some help at the moment.”
After making his statement, Han Xiao sent out the missions that he had prepared earlier on.
The dozen players received their missions.
_____________________
[Mysterious Stranger]: You have encountered a mysterious NPC, and he seems to have some work for you. Try to please him as much as possible, and you might receive unexpected surprises.
_____________________
The mission was to collect a plant known as ‘Snake Venom’. These players realized that the reward given was more generous than the novice tasks that they had received in Big Horn Village. It was reaching up to a thousand EXP. Thus, the players received their missions excitedly.
Snake Venom was a relatively common plant. This plant could be collected near Big Horn Village, and it was also sold in the settlement to make poisoned arrows.
At this moment, many players could not afford firearms; instead, they used cold weapons. Han Xiao set up this mission for the sole purpose of experimenting as well as to allow his subsequent activities to not be suspected.
_____________________
The limit of my missions now is much higher than before; it has reached D-level.
_____________________
With that thought in mind, Han Xiao opened the interface, and the detailed numbers appeared.
_____________________
Highest reward limit: 36,940
Level 40: +12000 (Advancement Level Limit +300)
Rank D: +10,000
Camps:
– Germinal (Enemy): -3,000
– Division 13 (Friendly): 2,130
– Blood Pact Society (Respect): 3,950
– The Rothschild Family (Friendly): 1,300
– Farian Company (Friendly): 1,200
Universal Reputation:
– Black Phantom (Aquamarine) +5%
– Mysterious Zero (Aquamarine) +5%
_____________________
The bonuses from his Universal Reputation was a ten percent on his current limit. Different regions had different Universal Reputation bonuses, but usually, the bonus from one Universal Reputation was 5%. In addition, the bigger the area, the higher the bonus.
The main objective of the Universal Reputation was for the daily limit; one Universal Reputation resulted in double the limit, and originally, his limit was a five times addition. Now, it was at seven times the original limit, nearing 26,000 experience points.
The players who had not received any missions huddled together and were quietly discussing among themselves while looking at Han Xiao curiously.
“This is the high-level NPC? It feels like he’s no different from us!”
“Black Phantom does sound very old-fashioned.”
“I wonder which profession he is from.”
It might not have been mentioned before, but most of public players’ profession was Esper!
The other four schools of players required basic knowledge to change their profession, but Esper was capable of many things. Of course, even though their abilities were strange, none of the players had the ability to use them. Espers required a huge amount of energy, and it was dependent on the players’ current levels. They were simply unable to use their powers and hence appeared very weak. The players were at most able to exert their power for around ten seconds, which meant that the players were weak and vulnerable.
Not long after, the players who had completed their mission were returning with a bunch of Snake Venom. Their faces were filled with excitement.
Once Han Xiao realized that there were enough onlookers, his eyes flashed. “I will stay here for a few days. I can provide some weapons for you should you need them.”
Han Xiao then opened the window containing goods that he could sell to the players. He had only set up a few types of weapons: Foldable Machete, ordinary pistols, and submachine guns. He did not sell other machinery as he knew that the novice players did not have that much money, but he was selling many types of ammunition and special ammunition.
However, Han Xiao also had a powerful setup called ‘Lightweight Mechanical Arm’, the price of which was so steep that the players were unable to afford. It was actually bait that was as effective as hanging a carrot in front of a donkey.
Offering the Lightweight Mechanical Arm meant nothing to him as it was useless to him because of two main reasons. Firstly, the equipment did not match his capability, and secondly, it was not a rare product to begin with. It was just introductory machinery, and since it would be developed by other mechanics in the future, it was better to release this machinery now to earn short-term profit.
One issue was that the Foldable Machete and Lightweight Mechanical Arm that Han Xiao had created in Stardragon seemed to have a risk of being exposed, but Han Xiao was not too concerned as Stardragon and him were not enemies. Furthermore, his own whereabouts were erratic. Even if his identify was known, it did not matter as the circulation of information between the players and the organizations was very slow.
Hence, his sale of this machinery in a short period of time would not pose any problem. The profits from the players’ market was too awesome for him to give up, whereas in the future…
Once I’m stronger, there will be absolutely no need to continue hiding my identity.
Not to mention Han Xiao’s psychological activities, but all the players who saw the equipment put out for sale were shocked!
“This is the mysterious businessman!”
“Lightweight Mechanical Arm! Oh my God, this is an artifact!”
“This machinery costs 20,000 dollars! This is way too expensive; who can even afford it? Besides, it requires twenty-five points of strength to use it; I think you would need to be LV 10 at least to reach this attribute.”
“Those firearms are cheap though. They only cost 1,500 dollars for one!”
The player then called their friends and flocked over, eager to have a look. Han Xiao was surrounded by them in an instant.
The novice players were attracted to the firearms like a moth to a flame. Since they are using cold weapons now, it would require a dozen people to even defeat a weak beast. Not only were Big Horn Village’s firearms expensive, they needed money for the ammunition too. The novice players simply could not afford it.
The cost of Han Xiao making a pistol was only about 800 Aqua coins, and the selling price was twice the cost price. He was considered kind because his price was affordable; he doubted that anyone could find a cheaper pistol than his. Furthermore, Han Xiao’s pistols were of great quality. It was not as if he was trying to cheat the players’ money by offering inferior quality pistols.
Because there were limited firearms, the players rushed to make a purchase. Those who managed to get their hands on the guns were exhilarated, while those who did not manage to get one were disappointed.
The closed beta players had also squeezed in with the crowd. SliceYouUp, who had killed the world guild’s leader, bought a pistol from Han Xiao and realized that the quality was much better than the gun sold in Big Horn Village. How regretful he was! Had he known earlier, he would not have bought his weapons from Big Horn Village.
Having sold all his weapons in the truck, Han Xiao earned thirty thousand dollars in that short period of time. Yes, the players’ funds were limited, but there were at least ten thousand of players in Big Horn Village, which meant the combined purchases were earning Han Xiao big bucks. After selling the firearms, Han Xiao could use the cargo compartment in the truck to manufacture new firearms and ammunition.
The real profits from selling firearms were the sales from ammunition. Having bought the firearms, the players would have to buy ammunition as well. This was known as bundled sales, where one product generated the demand of the other because they had to be bought together. This was also what Han Xiao had realized previously when he had bought instant noodles without the seasoning from the shop downstairs.
The players loved their newly bought guns so much that they refused to put them down. Some were shooting at trees faraway; the recoil strength was so strong that the players’ wrists shook, and the bullets flew aimlessly.
Those who had no shooting skills were unable to unleash the gun’s power fully. A lot of the players realized they had this problem, and their excitement slowly turned to distress.
This was what Han Xiao had been anticipating. Now he could offer his after sales service!
Han Xiao smiled to himself and set up a window for shooting lessons. This time round, he did not announce it to the players. He set it in a way that to learn from him, the players would have to have a reputation of five points.
The players discovered this service almost immediately.
“We can actually learn skills from Black Phantom!”
“Oh my, there are so many abilities to learn.”
“We need five reputation points to learn though. How do we increase our reputation?”
“I just discovered how; for every 500 dollars spent, your reputation with Black Phantom will increase by one!”
“It is still too expensive!”
The players only had a thousand dollars with them now, and they had accumulated this from completing missions. Han Xiao had a deep understanding of their financial status as he was, after all, once a novice player. This move was to enable the players to feel that learning a skill was not easy.
Humans are as such; they would not appreciate things that were given easily. Only when they are unable to obtain something instantly would they feel the need to upgrade themselves to get what they desired. In this case, once an ordinary player and a character developed a good relationship, it would also increase their reputation with the NPC. Of course, Master Han’s main purpose was to also rake in a large sum of money from the players.
If I don’t earn the players’ hard-earned money, am I still human?
To continuously create demand from his customers and force them to buy products was a tactic used by businessmen. Han Xiao touched his chin and mused, Oh if only I had gone into business instead.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The players were hesitant, but Han Xiao was not at all worried. There would be someone who eventually decided to start eating the crab first.
Just as he expected, a cute girl with the ID ‘Maple Moon’ finally decided to do it. After she spent enough money in the shop, Han Xiao immediately raised the reputation of this player by five points. After which, he suddenly realized that Maple Moon… was someone familiar.
Maple Moon was shocked as she looked at the list of skills that could be learned.
“I can actually learn the basic knowledge required for class advancement!”
The moment she said those words, players began to chatter, and their level of excitement went through the roof.
Besides tycoons and those who were willing to spend a lot of cash in this game, most of the ordinary players had experienced problems with advancing as they still did not know to obtain the basic knowledge required. This mysterious NPC Black Phantom was willing to sell basic knowledge.
Players who were initially hesitant instantly made up their minds and were determined to raise their reputation with Black Phantom to five points. They were not willing to let such a good opportunity slip by.
_____________________
You have taught [Basic Assembly]. You have obtained 1,000 EXP and 200 Aquamarine Dollars.
_____________________
Indeed, compared to the beta testing phase, Han Xiao doubled the price of the basic knowledge, yet players were still highly enthusiastic to learn it. Although he would only gain 1,000 EXP every time the knowledge had been learned, the total amount would accumulate quickly with so many players here wanting to get the knowledge.
Originally, for Aquamarine players to advance, the most common way was to join a camp. It was rare for players to obtain the basic knowledge before joining a camp. By joining a camp and performing quests to get connections, players would be able to exchange their reputation points for basic knowledge. Of course, players could choose to purchase with cash, but it was not worth it. Han Xiao’s action had saved many players from this trouble, and at the same time, it quickened their progress.
In a short while, hundreds of players had learned the basic knowledge. This meant that Han Xiao obtained hundreds of thousands of experience points. This number was still quickly climbing.
With his business booming, Han Xiao was like Jiang Taigong 1 ], calmly waiting for fish to fall for the bait.
While entertaining the players, he was casually scrolling through the forum.
All the players from the new planets were sharing this information. Players from Big Horn Village were all enthusiastically advertising Han Xiao on the forum. He was the first high-ranking character in all the new planets that ever appeared in the Novice Villages; therefore, he quickly gained popularity. Many posts about him kept being bumped up in the forum.
“This high-ranking character sells inexpensive firearms and ammunition with excellent quality. Basic knowledge can be learned from him if the reputation is raised to at least 5 points. Other than common skills like Basic Shooting and other basic combat skills, a lot of mechanical knowledge can also be learned. Mechanic players can immediately go for their class advancement by learning the basic knowledge from him.”
“Woah. I haven’t seen such a high-ranked character before.”
“Even class advancement knowledge can be learned! Big Horn Village? I’ll go over right now!”
“Damn, I’m on another planet; I can’t go over at all.”
“Why has such a high-ranked character not been seen anywhere else?”
“Danger Level: Fatal? Any brave souls want to test out his power? If you die, I will pay you. I am not that rich, so I can only give an airplane for compensation.”
Many posts were also accompanied by images. The appearance of Han Xiao, who was in black, achieved a huge on-screen success. Many people were greatly impressed by his outfit, which included a black windbreaker and a pair of black gloves. He appeared both cool and handsome, and as long as his face was not shown, he could definitely be a male model.
Even players from the other beginner planets were discussing his combat strength enthusiastically. The forum had an automatic translation function, so there was no need to worry about language barriers.
Players are really interested in the combat power of this high-ranked character… An idea suddenly ran through Han Xiao’s mind, and he thought that if he could show off his skills, he might be able to attract more people to advance as mechanics.
Even though he was willing to share his basic knowledge, many people were still on the fence. After all, there were quite a few players that were not really interested in the path of a mechanic and were doubtful about their combat strength. Naturally, Pugilist and Esper were more fun to play, and therefore, more appealing to most players.
Indeed, they were right in their suspicion. Mechanics were not as strong in the earlier stages. However, this rule did not apply to Han Xiao. He smirked and decided to mislead the players. He understood the psychology of these players too well and knew that many would simply join whichever class they thought was the most powerful.
To Han Xiao, teaching the basic knowledge was an excellent way of earning profits. There were already hundreds of players who had acquired the mechanic’s basic knowledge. If he was able to trick half of the players from Big Horn Village into becoming mechanics, then he would easily obtain millions of EXP.
The profit in this market would be almost unbelievable!
Han Xiao was exuberant.
Just in time. The troops from the Germinal Organization will be arriving in a few days. This is a good time to carry out the plan.
…
In the Western Capital, Frenzied Sword felt exasperated. In the last few days, he had no appetite for anything. Days without Han Xiao were like a day without sunshine—each passing day was torture.
As Frenzied Sword randomly scrolled through the forum, he came across a bunch of posts by the players from Big Horn Village. The posts were about Han Xiao and the goods that he was selling.
“Lightweight Mechanical Arm‽”
With a look of pleasant surprise, Frenzied Sword stood up suddenly.
He remembered that Han Xiao had previously exhibited this Mechanical Arm. Han Xiao was, too, always wearing a mask. As such, Frenzied Sword hazarded a guess.
Could Black Phantom be Han Xiao?
I have to find him!
…
In order to raise the reputation with Han Xiao to more than five points, many players had moved to the assembly point at Big Horn Village to do the quests and earn money. As such, the number of players surrounding Han Xiao increased significantly.
_____________________
Your product [Lightweight Mechanical Arm] has been sold!
_____________________
Han Xiao was shocked.
He had previously set the high price of 20,000 for this item, yet someone was able to afford it. He surveyed the surrounding players and found their leader. His ID was ‘Jade Green Sky’. The moment Han Xiao saw this name, he was immediately enlightened. Jade Green Sky was the chairperson of a guild named ‘Sky Territory’, and with the wealth of the guild, he would naturally be able to afford the item.
Jade Green Sky was wearing a set of hand-sewn leather armor, and his equipment was at least a grade better than the open-beta players. That was because he was a close-beta test player. During close-beta testing, he had brought some of the core members with him to explore the other places on the map. Through the mouths of the other open-beta players from his guild, he learned about Black Phantom, and he quickly brought the core members back to the village.
Even though Jade Green Sky had yet to advance in his class, he was preparing to be a Pugilist. He was immediately drawn to the stats of the lightweight mechanical arm. Although he was unable to equip the item as of now, he decided to purchase it first and keep it in his storage, just in case Black Phantom disappeared suddenly and the opportunity was lost.
“There are quite a lot of good items.” Members of the Sky Territory guild muttered praise as they browsed through the list of items.
Unfortunately, in order to raise the reputation to five points, each member of the guild would have to spend 2,500 dollars. Despite being a large guild, the money that Sky Territory had was limited. The purchase of the lightweight mechanical had used up the majority of the guild’s cash.
Out of a blue, Han Xiao spoke. “There will be a troop from the Germinal Organization passing by here in a few days, and I need some people to help me set up the traps in the forest. Are you free to do so?”
With that, he set a quest and released it.
E-Level difficulty. The description was “Set up any kind of trap in the forest, and you will gain 500 EXP.” Additionally, Han Xiao offered three reputation points as part of the reward, just what the Sky Territory guild wanted.
Jade Green Sky responded decisively. “Everyone, accept this task!”
Han Xiao smiled to himself silently. By luring players to complete his quest using reputation points, he could both complete his quest and gain more business. It was killing two birds with one stone.
He could arbitrarily attribute the reputation points with a certain value. This method was like the theory behind paper currency, whereby something was made to appear valuable, but in actual fact, it was worthless. This could be effective in attracting the Sky Territory guild, Destroyer guild… any guild’s players into picking up the quest.
Han Xiao had always felt that the currency system was built on a bubble. With this thought in mind, he would spend any cash he earned.
Unspent money could become a hindrance to one’s motivation to work!
Most of the players went into the forest to set up traps. The traps that they could use were the more elementary ones—they were monster traps. Han Xiao took some time off and visited the forest. The forest was so full of traps that anyone with claustrophobia would have been triggered and covered with goosebumps instantly.
The retreating troops from the Germinal Organization would definitely be horrified when they entered the forest.
The monster traps that the players had set were very much useless and were mainly to attract attention. Han Xiao set up some other traps by himself, and those traps were the ones that would be the deadliest.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
There were four continents on Planet Aquamarine and many more assembly points for novice players. There was a perennial stream of new players joining the open beta, so the total number of players kept increasing. However, compared to the entire population of the planet, it was still an insignificant number.
The players were all doing beginner quests and advancing slowly. They mostly camped in the areas around the novice villages. The players in Big Horn Village had been envied by many since they encountered a high-rank character, Han Xiao, who could teach them basic knowledge, whereas the players in other novice villages could only advance slowly through grinding for the secondary class.
Generally, players could be divided into three types: casual players, studio players, and professional esports players.
On the forum, there was a live broadcast. A godly player from the Deluxe Sanctuary Club, who was ranked 2nd in the country’s esports field and 21st in the world, had officially announced that he would join Galaxy! His ID was Song.
The number of viewers had already reached millions, and yet, it was still rising rapidly!
“Song, may I ask if your work from now on would be entirely focused on Galaxy?”
“May I know why you only chose to join the during the open-beta phase?”
“May I know…”
Even when he was bombarded by questions from reporters, Song remained calm and charismatic, and he answered each and every question elegantly. He was a handsome young man who always wore a mesmerizing smile. Due to his excellent skills and dashing looks, Song had gained a huge fan base.
“Galaxy is the game of the century with unparalleled potential. It has countless possibilities, vast maps, and an incredible amount of freedom. From my personal point of view, I believe that Galaxy will become a phenomenal game. The World E-sports Association has already begun to prepare the first league for Galaxy, and it will be on a world-wide scale. Not only me, but all Chinese players will participate in this grand event to compete with players from America, France, Korea, and other great esports countries, aiming to win glory for our country.
“Yesterday, major America guilds like Key, Devil, and Thunder Snake also announced their entry into Galaxy. They chose the in-game planet with the greatest potential, Planet Winterfrost, to be their base camp. They will become tough opponents in the future. Our guild also contacted major e-sports clubs such as Long Sky and Thunder Storm to invite them to join the game. We, as a nation, will definitely not lag behind in this game!”
“Do you have any comments on the issue where your old nemesis, Lost Angel, claimed that he is going to defeat you in Galaxy?” one reporter asked.
Song chuckled before he spoke with a strong sense of self-confidence. “I will never be afraid of any enemy. I will be the best in Galaxy and lead the Chinese players to defeat every player from other countries!”
This conference was like a signal that hinted the rise of Galaxy. Its influence soared immediately after the conference. The entire esports field roared, and countless professional players announced their plans to enter the game.
With the arrangement of their respective clubs, players such as Sleepy Winter, Twinkle Fried Rice, and Rainy Kim, who joined the game during the close-beta phase, also held a press conference. This further fanned the enthusiasm in the e-sports field. The topic of the game became more and more popular, and the activity in the game forum was at a phenomenal level! Countess players were also looking forward to the sales of the second batch of VR capsules.
Just as the popularity of the game soared, Galaxy released its first official trailer. The trailer showed the different landscapes of the novice planets as if it was a documentary film. The different styles and appearances of the planets, coupled with magic and technology from both ancient times and the future, attracted countless eyes. This trailer was made from the collection of closed-beta players’ clips, and they were all recorded from their point of view.
This trailer introduced the background and the environment of the world of Galaxy through moving images. Soon, Galaxy would release other similar publicity videos to introduce other aspects of Galaxy. They announced that the next video would show the battle scenes of different classes, giving players a greater insight into the variations of different classes and their fighting styles. Many were eager to watch this video.
The activity level of the forum was constantly through the roof, and Han Xiao kept an eye on the trends on the forum. Seeing the IDs of many professional players whom he had previously battled in his last life, Han Xiao felt a little emotional. He could still remember the times in his past life when he was an enthusiastic new player in the game. After many years, he had become a highly-experienced professional power leveler in the game, and then he was transmigrated. Things had changed so much for him—indeed, reality was more dramatic than a novel.
In his last life, he had been among the players who bought the second batch of VR capsules. Han Xiao was curious if there was another version of him in this world, which was why he always paid attention to the forum for any evidence of it.
Han Xiao had stayed at Big Horn Village for the last past few days, and during this time, there had been old players constantly visiting the village and new players been born here.
A group of curious new players who had just arrived gathered outside Big Horn Village. Their faces were full of curiosity. “This is the novice village, right?”
A player with a pistol around his waist walked past, and he immediately caught the attention of those new players.
“Bro, where did you buy that gun?”
“Oh, you must be newbies. You asked the right guy for this. A word of advice: never head to Big Horn Village to purchase a gun. Go straight west. There is a high-ranking character called Black Phantom who not only sells guns at a really affordable price but can also help you with class advancements,” the player with the pistol said.
“Really? Let’s go take a look now!” the newbies exclaimed as their eyes lit brightly.
“Go on, do not forget to thank me.” The player with the pistol had a look of pride plastered on his face.
More and more players came to find Han Xiao the moment they arrived in the game before heading to Big Horn Village to receive quests. They then used all their hard-earned money from the quests to buy more items from Han Xiao to earn reputation points. They were just like hard working bees, promptly supplying Han Xiao with a large amount of money.
In just a few days, Han Xiao had earned more than 500,000 Aquamarine Dollars and close to a million EXP—such efficiency was unparalleled. It was also a much safer and more convenient way for him compared to earning money and EXP by doing quests himself.
The players now are all only newbies. Now is the best time to exploit them.
The features of an NPC offered him a tremendous advantage when facing players, but Han Xiao knew there was a prerequisite to extracting profits from them—he had to be ahead of players in all areas of advancement.
Although the current situation is really good, I cannot relax and stagnate, Han Xiao thought to himself as he took a puff of his cigarette.
Among the players in Big Horn Village, around twenty percent had chosen to switch to become mechanics while the other players were still on the fence. Only by showing off the combat strength of a mechanic would the other players start to budge.
Han Xiao glanced at the computer and read the intelligence passed from the Dark Net about the Germinal Organization. The retreating troops would be passing by Big Horn Village this afternoon.
As he was in the process of thinking, he heard a female voice.
“Black Phantom, why do you want to be enemy with the Germinal Organization?”
Han Xiao turned his head and saw a petite young female player. She was below his chin and had delicate short hair and watery eyes full of curiosity. Her face was just like an apple, which made people want to poke her cheeks. Her ID was ‘Maple Moon’. She was the first female player who learned skills from him.
I can’t believe we’ve met again… Han Xiao raised his eyebrow as old memories started appearing in his head.
Maple Moon, one of the Mechanic representatives in the third Season, was originally a casual player. She became extraordinary in the third season competition and was then signed by a club to become a professional player.
In his past life, it was revealed on the forum that Maple Moon liked to dig into hidden story plots, and all the benefits she gained from doing so accumulated and compounded until the third season where it was advantageous for a mechanic. It was only then that she really showed her true combat prowess.
Han Xiao blinked and had a new idea.
Players like this seem to be able to…
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Based on the quests that Han Xiao assigned to the players, Maple Moon had guessed that Han Xiao and the Germinal Organization were enemies. Most players would just want to complete the task and get it over with, so they would not even bother with understanding any background information about the quest. However, Maple Moon enjoyed exploring the story plot and became curious about the background story of Han Xiao. Black Phantom—this name made her think of all sorts of assassins and stories of vengeance. She believed that there was something she could dig further into.
She is the first player to interact with me outside of assigning quests and selling equipment. Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.
Han Xiao pondered about his relationship with the players and concluded that they were not enemies—except for the players who took on missions that targeted him. He was able to not only extract profits from players but also train players with potential and let them become his allies. By exchanging help and resources, he could make these players willingly fight alongside him.
As the players could resurrect, it was somewhat unfavorable to Han Xiao. However, looking from another perspective, it also meant that the players were best used as fighters and cannon fodder. Although most players did not have principles, and therefore, using players in such a manner could be rather chaotic, Han Xiao was clear about the players’ psychology and what motivated them. As long as he manipulated them properly, he could control the players’ actions to a certain extent. If he made good use of this strategy, he could gain a huge advantage when fighting against NPC forces—the advantage could be as big as his advantage when interacting with players!
What’s this called again—two-timing?
Nah, it should be called focusing on both sides!
A flash of thoughts sprinted through Han Xiao’s mind as he glanced at her. He then suddenly walked up to the vehicle. Maple Moon was startled momentarily before she followed.
The vehicle storage compartment was a workshop full of spare mechanical components. Han Xiao casually pointed his finger to ask Maple Moon to sit wherever she wanted. He then lit a cigarette and began smoking. The smoke created a mysterious atmosphere, and Maple Moon, upon seeing this scene, knew immediately that something exciting was about to happen to her. This caused her heartbeat to thump rapidly. She was very expectant.
Han Xiao flicked the ashes off his cigarette as he said, “The Germinal Organization is an evil organization that is using the grief the people who lost their country to manipulate them into fighting for their personal gains. They outlandishly try to start a world war and add more scars to this world that is already covered in wounds…”
Han Xiao embellished the story with many details of the evil deeds that the Germinal Organization had previously committed, but he did not twist any facts around. The Germinal Organization had indeed committed a lot of bloody acts. Han Xiao was able to know all this based on the memories from his past life and by reading the relevant case files on the Dark Net. He gave a good account of all these incidents to Maple Moon.
As Maple Moon listened to Han Xiao attentively, her emotions fluctuated up and down. Her impression of the Germinal Organization plummeted as she felt the anger brewing within her. Maple Moon was the kind of person who would get emotional from the storyline of a game, and she would always make decisions based on what her heart wanted. She had never been motivated by personal gains.
There were actually a lot of players like Maple Moon since most players were there to enjoy the game. A game was a story that people could easily immerse themselves in. However, most of such players were playing offline games, so it was rare to find players like this in an online game.
Han Xiao, in fact, found players like Maple Moon admirable. He coughed and asked a question that was clearly leading to a quest. “Would you be willing to become an enemy of the Germinal Organization?”
It was basically a yes or no question.
Maple Moon nodded solemnly.
_____________________
Your reputation with Black Phantom has increased by 5 points.
_____________________
After adjusting her reputation points, Han Xiao took out a mobile phone and handed it to Maple Moon. “Good, I have seen your courage. When you have grown stronger, contact me using this phone.
_____________________
You received the quest [Black Phantom’s Invitation]. Reach LV 20, then contact Black Phantom.
_____________________
Maple Moon was secretly delighted by her correct choice. She was right—there were hidden plots that could be triggered!
Han Xiao’s secretly chuckled as he saw Maple Moon’s delighted face. He was planning to spread a wide net to catch all these players with good potential. However, due to the limited number of players he could train, choosing each player carefully was a very important thing. Maple Moon would be a famous mechanic in the future and could be a good assistant for him. She was definitely a good spare tire… Cough! I mean an alternative.
As for the remaining candidates, Han Xiao had to think hard about them. He was prepared to choose the players who had good principles and potential. As long as Han Xiao showed players that they could trigger hidden missions from him, the rest of the professional players would automatically come to find him by themselves, and this would allow him to have more choices in picking the candidates.
A rough plan was generated inside Han Xiao mind, and he believed that it was rather actionable, but for the time being, the players still required a period of growth before he could proceed to the next step of his plan.
…
After he sent away the excited Maple Moon, he waited till noon before creating a new quest for the players.
_____________________
[Hunting Germinal]: Follow Black Phantom to attack a troop from the Germinal Organization. This quest is a Prize-Pool Mission, and the base reward is 35,000 EXP. 500 EXP will be consumed by accepting the quest and be placed in the reward pool. The total reward will be split proportionally among the top 5 players (or teams).
_____________________
Han Xiao had the ability to release different kinds of quests including a Prize-Pool Mission. Unfortunately, the reward he could dispense for a Prize-Pool Mission would still depend on the upper limit of a single mission. However, as the players were mostly around the level of four or five, 35,000 was still an astronomical number to them.
The players wanting to join the Prize-Pool Mission had to pay an ‘admission fee’. Han Xiao tried and realized that he could not manipulate the EXP that the players put into the prize pool. He felt bummed, like he had lost another way to earn—scam—the noobs.
The Kill-all Guild was the first to discover the Prize-Pool Mission. They were shocked by the sheer size of the reward for the quest.
“This must be the first Prize-Pool Mission!”
“Oh woah! 35,000 EXP! Even for the base reward, it is way too much! The quests that I can do now only give me a few hundred EXP!”
“If more players accept this quest, the prize pool will accumulate to an astronomical number!”
All the members from the Kill-all guild could not contain their excitement.
SliceYouUp’s eyes flashed, and he had a different thought. “No, we cannot allow other players to accept this quest!”
Members of the guild were shocked and asked the president, “Why not?”
Slicer eighteen spoke volubly, “Only five players or teams can receive the prize for this quest. The Big Horn Village has few hundred thousand players which even include some professional players. Rather than competing with all of them and rely on luck, why not just get the 35,000 EXP into our hand! If we are the only ones to accept the quest, we can easily manipulate the ranking and distribute the reward without the rest of our guild. Also, if we only win the quest as a team, each member will only gain an insubstantial amount of EXP. If we can distribute the EXP to a few individuals, it will be a lot more useful!”
He wanted to get several core members to complete the task and earn the huge amount of EXP—it was basically transferring the EXP that other members of the guild would gain to an elite few. If everyone in the guild were to gain the EXP, each person would only average about 500 EXP, which was insignificant. However, if the EXP were to be transferred to just a few members, their growth would be greatly accelerated.
The guild members look at each other in consternation. Although they were reluctant, they did not want to lose their job. It was only a little EXP; it would not matter that much. So, everyone agreed.
“The quest only starts in the afternoon, and Black Phantom will definitely set out in advance. As long as we do not let any players come into contact with him during these two hours, we are set!”
SliceYouUp ordered his guild members to hold up pistols and guard the area around Han Xiao. He then gave an order. “Warn any person that’s coming near him. If anyone defies the warning, fire immediately.”
The Kill-all guild had more than twenty core members located within Big Horn Village and more than a hundred secondary members. It was the biggest player faction at the moment.
These guilds working in a studio were different from casual players. They had a presence in many games, and only when they were certain that a particular game was valuable enough to have a great investment in would they then move their members based in other games into that specific game. The Kill-all Guild had a few thousand members, but there were only about a hundred of them based in Galaxy. More players from the guild would join the game when more VR capsules were on sale.
Players in this game could kill each other. However, the more people they killed, the more Sin points they would accumulate. The amount of EXP and equipment that a player would drop for dying was proportional to their Sin points.
…
Han Xiao realized that there was a group of guild players around him chasing the other players away, preventing anyone from getting close to him. They were rather aggressive and stern—those that got driven away were afraid to speak up.
He pondered for a moment and immediately understood what the Kill-all Guild was trying to do. His face turned black. “This guild to trying to swallow my Prize-Pool Mission alone—how fearless!”
His original intention of the Prize-Pool Mission was to get more players to join in and become his canon-fodder, but the Kill-all Guild was now interfering his plan.
A large group of players gathered on the side. They were indignant.
“They are too authoritative! I just want to buy some ammunition, that’s all!”
“What right do you have to forcibly occupy Black Phantom‽”
At this moment, members of the Sky Territory Guild forced their way through the crowd and confronted the Kill-all Guild.
Jade Green Sky then shouted, “What are you guys trying to do‽”
SliceYouUp was expressionless. He did not even bother to explain before he gestured with his hand; his members around him immediately aimed their pistol at Jade Green Sky. This immediately triggered the members of the Sky Territory Guild—they responded in kind.
All the other players were slightly shocked by this scene. They quickly moved backward, lest they got splashed with blood.
Jade Green Sky was hesitant. He had fewer people on his side, so he knew that he would be at a disadvantage once the battle began. He did not understand why the Kill-all Guild suddenly became so authoritative, but he was certain that something fishy was going on. Furthermore, with so many eyes around observing them, the Sky Territory Guild could not act like cowards.
Jade Green Sky and his members glanced at each other, confirming each other’s thoughts.
Fight!
Tension was building on both sides.
Other players stretched their necks to watch the show—two big, famous guilds fighting against each other was not an everyday occurrence.
The battle was on the verge of starting.
Just then, every member in the Kill-all Guild received a notification on their interface.
_____________________
Your reputation with Black Phantom decreased by 10 points.
Current Reputation: -5
Current Relationship: Cold
_____________________
SliceYouUp was astonished!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Oh My!”
“What’s the matter?”
“How did my reputation drop!”
Players from the Kill-all Guild were all confused. They immediately turned back to look at Han Xiao, only to find him looking in their direction with a look of indifference. This time around, no matter how thickheaded they were, they could figure what was going on. They observed curiously and suspiciously from the side.
SliceYouUp was extremely troubled. How was he to know that such actions would cause Black Phantom’s unhappiness? Wasn’t it normal for guilds to hoard resources in the game? Why was this NPC so intelligent?
The reputation earned these few days was all gone, and it even dropped quite a bit!
The members around him gave him looks of disapproval. It was too late for regret for SliceYouUp. He could sense that his authority as a leader had decreased a level. He was stuck in a very difficult situation, and he could only quickly withdraw from the scene with his men.
The players around him were baffled. They did not know why or how the previously arrogant Kill-all Guild cowered in a matter of seconds.
Jade Green Sky thought that Kill-all was afraid of their Sky Territory.
What’s happening? When did my Guild become this cool?
With no one blocking the way anymore, the players realized there was a Prize-Pool Mission. They finally realized Kill-all Guild’s motive. They were filled with righteous indignation, for that was totally unfair.
“Look at them trying to claim the entire Prize-Pool!”
“Gross!”
After crusading against Kill-all, the players then turned their focus to the Prize-Pool Mission, becoming increasingly attracted to it. Everyone accepted the quest, all wanting a slice of that huge cake.
The Prize-Pool slowly amounted to over 500,000 EXP, and to those players, it was simply an unthinkable sum, to the point that just thinking of it would make them stop breathing.
There were only five people that would be entitled to the Prize-Pool rewards. The ranking depended on the energy expended. Compared to the number of participants, five was undoubtedly a small number.
But the problem was that everyone thought they would be the lucky person. Even though it was almost as unlikely as winning the lottery, there was still that glimmer of hope that shone in their eyes—if they were chosen, it would be like hitting the jackpot.
The players were not even at LV 10 yet. Their combat strength was extremely low, but the good thing about them was that they were not afraid of death. With a pistol, they could deal a bit of damage. At least with everyone around, they could combine their firepower. This was why Han Xiao thought of the quest.
…
The forest of Big Horn Village was vast, and the huge amount of information on the Dark Net helped mark the exact route of the Germinal Organization’s evacuating troops.
Everyone arrived at the place where the trap was marked. Players teamed up and spread out to ambush. Among them, the players from the closed beta were obviously preferred as teammates. Of course, those with a guild would be the most advantageous.
Teaming was the best advantage one could have. Everyone knew that solely relying on one’s efforts alone would never get one onto the list.
Maple Moon was a little down. Every player had a team. She was just a step slower and did not manage to find anyone to team up with.
Han Xiao noticed and called Maple Moon. He took out his modified sniper rifle, as well as several rounds of ammunition, and handed it to Maple Moon. “I’ll lend you this gun, stay by my side.”
Maple Moon clasped her two hands over her tiny mouth in surprise with a cute look of shock. She had thought that this was the benefit of triggering the secret quest. But upon seeing the traits of the sniper rifle, she was stuck in a difficult position. The sniper rifle required an attribute of at least Lv.1 in [Sniper].
Maple Moon pouted. “But I don’t know how to use this.”
_____________________
Black Phantom has imparted the ability [Sniper] to you. Do you want to expend 2000 EXP to learn it?
_____________________
Han Xiao had not taught the gamers about this sniper ability. Maple Moon was shocked and happy at the same time. She agreed without a second thought.
Since Maple Moon was worthy of training, Han Xiao naturally became biased toward her. Of course, this was a secret between them. If other players felt that it is unfair, what can they do but restrain their complaints? In this materialistic society, people without resources had no say!
…
A gust of wind whistled through the forest.
The ambushing players all had nervous yet excited faces. It was the first battle for many of them.
Jade Green Sky brought Sky Territory’s members to camouflage themselves in the forest. It was a must for him to attain one of the top three prizes from the Prize-Pool Mission. He thought to himself, My biggest rival should be Kill-all. First place is bound to be either of us.
On the other hand, SliceYouUp was still extremely troubled by Han Xiao’s extreme drop in reputation, but the quest still had to be done. He took a look at his dejected guild members. “Don’t think too much. Just finish this quest first. We cannot let Sky Territory’s members get ahead of us.”
The passing time was like a sharp knife, killing any warmth in the atmosphere.
Han Xiao took out the report he had gotten from the Dark Net. He took one final look. There were two combat executives in the evacuating troops, Freire and Seiberre. The two of them had once been part of the same elite army squad, each over LV 30, but they were of no threat to him.
Woo woo—
The sound of the engine came from far away. The sniper rifle’s electromagnetic scanner showed the Germinal Organization’s troops on its radar.
Han Xiao reoriented his vision, becoming extremely alert.
Maple Moon followed Han Xiao’s every word and action, sprawling on the ground with the sniper rifle. Suddenly, Han Xiao seemed to have disappeared. He was clearly right in front of her; how could he have vanished from her vision? This made her very uncomfortable.
_____________________
You have entered [Stealth] state. Agility stats +8%.
Your next strike will have a Sneak attack effect.
You have entered [Steady Aim] stat. Your next shot has +15% shooting power.
_____________________
[Night Stalker] had bestowed Han Xiao with many hidden skills, and accompanied with his [Flaming Will], anybody shot was bound to be destroyed.
There was the Little Li Flying Dagger in the past. Today there is my deathly blow. Haha, this sounds so good!
This shot was specially prepared for the executives. Han Xiao held his breath and aimed steadily like a patient hunter awaiting his prey.
The Germinal Organization’s evacuating troops entered the trap and were almost immediately caught off-guard by the many animal traps set up. But they were also puzzled by the animal traps. Was this really a trap?
If this was not a trap, how fierce was the beast in the area to require so many animal traps? And if this was a trap, who would be stupid enough to use animal traps to deal with an armed force? It was so obvious as well.
Freire, the conductor, felt something was amiss. He said in the intercom, “Be careful, there is a possibility of an ambush. Deploy minesweepers.”
The troops slowed their advancement. Carrying the metal detectors, the minesweepers overtook them.
The Germinal Organization had been shifting their bases in massive operations, and many troops had been intercepted. Their enemies were not just from the Six Nations. There were other enemies looking for revenge taking advantage of their current situation. When Germinal was still strong, these enemies did not dare make any move. But now that they were met with such a good opportunity for revenge, they all got excited.
Freire and Seiberre had been caught in an ambush during their journey, and they had all raised their alertness greatly since.
Beep beep beep.
The metal detectors flashed in red, indicating that there were mines underground. At the same time, the scouts also found traces of human activity.
Freire’s expression darkened. “Enemy ambush ahead!”
Just as the Germinal troops were sweeping the field for mines, the players who were hiding in the bushes spotted their enemy as well. The heavily armed Germinal soldiers and armored vehicles looked formidable. The players dared not anger them.
But at the slightest thought of the huge reward-pool, the players were unable to resist. Some jumped out of the bushes immediately, firing their pistols from afar.
The Germinal soldiers habitually wanted to sprawl down and hide, but they realized that the enemies’ bullets were almost going into outer-space. Their aim was just so bad.
“Counterattack!”
The Germinal troops returned fire without hesitation. The submachine guns fired away, the armored vehicles’ machine guns roared, and some heavy firepower guns could be heard, too.
The fierce artillery instantly tore the players running toward them into pieces.
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“What the hell is this damage!”
“I died instantly when the explosion blast grazed me!”
“My EXP’s dropped so drastically!”
The first wave of players eliminated died tragically, leaving the rest of the players in awe of the Germinal Organization’s firepower.
SliceYouUp gritted his teeth. “Task requirement is to achieve highest damage. Doesn’t matter if you die, just deal damage! Go!”
The penalty in Galaxy for dying was not light to say the least. EXP was deducted proportionally to a player’s level, and the player could only be revived up to a maximum of ten times within six days. With every death, the waiting time before the next revival would increase. After hitting the limit, there would be a temporary ban on the player. Despite all this, it was worth dying once or twice for the Prize-Pool Missions.
The players from Sky Territory also had the same thoughts, and all the other players followed suit and fearlessly, albeit tactlessly, made their attack on the Germinal soldiers, giving the latter a shock.
“All these enemies are rushing to die?” Seiberre was surprised; he had never seen such a fearless army, like a pack of starving wolves, dying to get a piece of them.
Their spirit and momentum were impressive, but in terms of combat ability… they were shamefully pathetic.
“They are just a motley crowd, let’s satisfy them since they want to die so badly!” Freire snorted and promptly commanded the surrounding troops. Since there were mines buried in the forest, the Germinal troops stopped their armored vehicles and started using as their armored vehicles as a temporary base for their counterattacks, killing off waves of players with ease.
“Shit… Can’t even touch them!”
“I already died twice! Goddammit!”
The Germinal troops was dominating the fight. The other players were being massacred, yet they refused to give up in the hope of dealing some damage to claim the quest rewards.
“I will give them a surprise.” Seiberre smirked. He saw absolutely no threat from these enemies. He was itching to toy with them.
Freire frowned slightly. “Don’t go crazy, we are in a rush.”
“Humph! I’m always quick with my kills.”
Seiberre hopped off the armored vehicle. With his strong physical attributes, all he needed was a slight push against the floor with his feet, and he was off dashing toward the players like a cannonball. His foot landed on a player and instantly caused the poor soul’s chest to cave in before the player was sent flying, hitting against a tree with an explosion of blood and flesh. The shooters dealt no damage to Seiberre, since he would dodge way before they could aim. Even if some bullets did hit him, it would be nothing but single digit damage.
Seiberre went on a killing spree like a tiger among the sheep, and the players were desperately trying to retreat. However, Seiberre would catch up and kill them before they could react. Many tried to assess Seiberre’s stats.
_____________________
Seiberre – ?
Level – ?
Class – ?
Threat Level – Extremely fatal
_____________________
Another extremely fatal dude! No one knew what this threat level meant until this moment, but the contrast in skill level was apparent.
The combat strength of a high-level character was indeed to be feared.
Black Phantom and Seiberre have about the same combat strength. This thought flashed across the minds of many of the players.
Seiberre was covered in his enemies’ blood, like a ravaging beast. The scene looked so realistic that it scared some of the more timid players, who quickly adjusted the graphics to PG mode to reduce the gore. Some turned on the recording function to capture this highly bloody scene.
A panic-stricken player fell, and Seiberre, in the midst of his killing spree, laughed as he started to crush the poor player like a cockroach. Suddenly, blood spilled out from Seiberre’s chest, and a gaping hole appeared at the place where Seiberre’s heart was supposed to be.
Seiberre stopped moving, his entire face frozen. Then, he collapsed and fell to the ground without a sound.
“Is he… dead?”
“He just got killed in one shot!”
Everyone was thrown into shock and confusion. How did the blood-lusting monstrous enemy just get defeated in a split second?
Then, the electrical current buzz of a sniper rifle from afar came within earshot.
Jade Green Sky, SliceYouUp, and all the other players that were still alive glanced unanimously in the direction of the rifle. Everyone remembered that it was roughly where Black Phantom was camping.
This snipe kill was by Black Phantom!
“Even such a vicious enemy was killed by Black Phantom in one shot!”
The players all gasped in disbelief. Black Phantom was also extremely fatal in terms of threat level, but this was way more fatal than Seiberre!
Black Phantom was obviously on a higher level than Seiberre, but it was still incredible that the fearsome Seiberre got killed in a single shot. Han Xiao left a mysterious and immeasurable impression on everyone.
Nothing was scarier than a killer who could instantly kill his victims.
Seiberre is very strong in terms of Energy attributes. How could he have been killed instantly? Freire was shocked.
This shot sounds familiar… the ability to instant-kill a Superhuman… Only one person is capable of doing this.
Freire’s face changed immediately.
“Must be the Ghost-level Black Phantom from the Blood Pact Society! Goddammit, why is such a high-level monster finding trouble with us? I thought he only does bounty hunting?”
Black Phantom’s reputation preceded him in the Underground World in these two months because of his amazing stats. He had killed ‘The Raging Bolt’ Bai Jin in an instant. Even the famous Invisible Demon was running for his dear life from Black Phantom. It was no wonder that Black Phantom rose to fame as the best assassin in the Blood Pact Society and his name began to instill fear in many.
The Germinal Organization gave a command long ago, asking its members to avoid direct conflict with Black Phantom. It would be troublesome to deal with this type of super assassin, even for big organizations.
Freire wanted to retreat, and he ordered for it with no hesitation. “All force retreat!”
It was too late!
Han Xiao activated the EMP Disruptor he had buried. Some of the Germinal troops’ armored vehicles were in the effective range of the disruptor, and they broke down immediately, crackling and sizzling with electricity. One third of the vehicles were fortunate enough to be outside of the effective range; Freire’s was one of them.
Freire could not be bothered with the rest of the troops. He knew that he needed to retreat.
Don’t even think about escaping after you have entered my sight.
Han Xiao’s glaze was as cold as the frozen ice as he activated a particular program. Having max leveled [Basic Programming], Han Xiao could bind most mechanical control systems to his computer.
Three metallic plates were lying at a spot three hundred meters horizontally away from the Germinal troops. Suddenly, they all cracked open from the center and started a series of self-folding, forming a multi-barreled heavy machine gun, with the metal plate as the base of the battery. This was the foldable portable battery that Han Xiao had buried beforehand. They were equipped with automatic firing systems, and the ammunition loaded was all highly explosive and could pierce through armor. The firing range had a five-hundred-meter radius.
The portable battery was one of Han Xiao’s new blueprints. It was the product from a mixture of various technology—a fixed battery combined with folding technology and many other designs. Han Xiao had spent a lot of effort and had failed countless times before arriving at the final model, which was very handy. He could have arrived at something similar by merging different ideas, but inventing the fort by himself saved him from using EXP.
As Han Xiao learned more and more blueprints, it was becoming obvious that he was capable of grasping the functionality and usage of knowledge.
Within the last two months, he already bought the last three types of basic knowledge that he had yet to acquire from the slightly friendlier camps. They were [Basic Energy Conversion], [Basic Thermodynamics], [Basic Acoustics]. To learn all fifteen types of basic knowledge was a feat even for some full-level players, not to mention players under level forty.
The multi-barreled machine gun aimed at the Germinal troops, who were a few hundred meters away, automatically, warmed up for one second, and fired away. The fiery metallic storm blew all the trees in the way to bits, and the immobilized The Germinal troops’ armored vehicles could not escape the same fate!
There was nothing but screams of agony and firework-like explosions.
The cost of a small foldable battery port was high, as was the ammunition. Wars fought by Mechanics were all expensive like this, but with sufficient funds, Mechanics were capable of having dominating firepower. Only a rich and resourceful guy like Han Xiao was able to fully utilize the abilities of a Mechanic to the fullest extent.
The firepower from the battery turret gave the rest of the players a huge shock, but this shock quickly turned into a craze over Han Xiao.
“So, this is how Mechanics fight!”
“One guy soloing against the whole army!”
“He is way too strong!”
Han Xiao did not idle either, he began sniping the enemies one by one. He smiled upon seeing the excitement among the other players. He did not have to use the battery turret against the small Germinal troop, but he did so anyway for the sake of demonstrating the destructive power of Mechanics.
However, looks could be deceiving. When the players went to research about the actual cost to play as a Mechanic, they would find the painful truth behind this vocation–”Using Ona to create happiness, GTFO if you don’t have money.”
Mechanics would be very weak in early games because most mechanics were poor.
With the enemies mostly defeated, the rest of the players realized that it was the best time for them to deal extra damage, and they all began to rush forward to attack the army. Maple Moon also started firing. Her sniper scope was equipped with Electromagnetism Detector and aim assist, so almost every shot of hers could hit the Germinal soldiers. She gained momentum, and her damage output became steady.
Although the realistic battle scenes were too gory for Maple Moon, she got used to it quickly as she had experience with gory scenes from other games. Moreover, she could change the game setting to make the graphics less bloody.
Han Xiao shot through Freire’s knees but spared his life. Then, he switched to Red Falcon and started clearing the remaining Germinal soldiers at a rate much more efficient than normal players. One shot, one kill.
The sound of gunfire gradually ceased; the battle had come to an end. Many seemed like they wanted to watch more.
The paralyzed Freire could not be bothered with his own agony but looked at the crowd of spectating players in shock. He had been watching the battle very carefully, and he noticed that many of the players, who were killed earlier on, came back.
“Are they zombies or what?”
Freire was confused.
Han Xiao, clad in full black, appeared. The players started to quieten down despite their excitement.
He stood in front of Freire, squatted down, and stared into the latter’s eyes that were filled with shock and anger. “Where were you all heading toward?”
“Black Phantom, Germinal will never let you off!” Freire was furious.
“You got it wrong.”
Han Xiao expressionlessly dragged Freire into the forest by his collar. Shortly afterwards, bone-chilling screams could be heard.
It was not difficult to imagine that Freire was being tortured, and everyone felt a shiver down their spine.
After ten minutes, the screaming finally ended. Han Xiao reappeared but without Freire.
He wiped his hands clean of blood using a rag. He glanced around and saw that all eyes were on him. Now that he had the information that he wanted, he was free to end the mission.
All the players received a notification simultaneously.
_____________________
[Hunt Down Germinal] has been completed. The Prize-Pool has 520,000 EXP.
Damage Output Ranking:
– No. 1 – Maple Moon (Solo)
– No. 2 – Jade Green Sky (Team)
– No. 3 – SliceYouUp (Team)
– No. 4 …
Reward pool will be allocated 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10% of EXP accordingly.
_____________________
Everyone was shocked. No one expected this ranking.
“She overtook Sky Territory and Kill-all.”
“Hitting the scoreboard with solo output. Incredible!”
“Who is Maple Moon? Is she a professional player?”
“I never heard of this ID before though.”
The crowd was going crazy.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jade Green Sky and SliceYouUp were shocked.
A solitary player’s output was actually higher than that of a guild. The EXP earned by a team had to be divided equally among the players, but Maple Moon could keep the hundreds of thousands of EXP to herself. What this meant was extraordinary! In an instant, she had exceeded all the players to hold a safe lead, and that included the other novice planets.
Maple Moon was hit with shock by her unexpected success, her face full of disbelief as she stared at the EXP bar on the interface. She had used a sniper rifle with firm and stable output through the battle and did not expect that she would emerge as the top player. She knew her limitations well. This was only possible because she had relied fully on Black Phantom. This was obviously a benefit that came from triggering the secret quest. Maple Moon made up her mind; she had to persist in unearthing the secret quest. Black Phantom was such a powerful aide, so she had to stay on good terms with Black Phantom.
Han Xiao returned to the car, and Maple Moon immediately returned the sniper rifle.
Some players followed them and were surprised to realize that Black Phantom was actually interacting with Maple Moon on close terms.
Jade Green Sky immediately reacted. “There is a secret quest!”
“She is so lucky.”
Everyone stared enviously at Maple Moon. Maple Moon was not used to the attention from the crowd, so she blushed and hid in the car. Han Xiao saw this but did not chase anyone away. Instead, he started driving his car back to Big Horn Village. The players had no choice but to follow on foot.
As he was driving, Han Xiao scrolled through the forum. Suddenly, a new post was pushed to the top of the forum—”A high-ranking NPC’s combat capability!”
Clicking into the post, the battle scene that just occurred popped up on the page. Some players uploaded their recorded videos. The Germinal Organization’s troops were displaying their formidable combat capability. When Seiberre was murdering players, there were a few barrages. The audience felt as if they were present at the scene—they were tensed up with nervousness. However, the next moment, Seiberre was killed in one shot. The shot blew out explosively, and blood was flying everywhere. Then, the portable battery demonstrated its prowess, crippling the Germinal troops in an instant. The scene was even more shocking.
Responses to the post were posted in the dozens every second, and it soon accumulated a few thousand responses.
“That character was so powerful, but he got killed in one shot!”
“Isn’t Black Phantom the advanced NPC from Big Horn Village? What is his level?”
“Mechanic is so powerful. I think there’s great prospects!”
“Damn, I’m in a planet with a magic background; there are no Mechanics”
Scrolling through the responses that were marveling at the scene, Han Xiao smiled to himself.
Faking it… bah, the idea of showing my strength really worked.
The effect was apparent. Once he got to the settlement, the players that had hesitated in switching their Class were now fervently picking up the basics. Prior to this, the entire Big Horn Village had only twenty percent of players choosing Mechanic. After the video went viral online, players’ excitement for Mechanics was just breaking through the roofs. The players swaying precariously between Classes immediately switched to Mechanic.
A hundred, five hundred, then a thousand …
The EXP on the Interface was just piling up like crazy. Han Xiao kept his face straight to not smile. In the short few days at Big Horn Village, he had collected two or three million EXP just by lazing around, and that was comparable to accumulating EXP through four or five missions. This was way safer and more efficient.
The player market was indeed a market with the most potential. The NPC functions were really useful. Imparting skills was allowing him to gain great profit without any cost, and that was only possible because he owned the interface as well as the NPC functions.
Han Xiao knew that you could not be impatient in grooming students, so he only imparted basic skills. The players that were convinced to switch to Mechanic would come to be his key customers in the future. After all, Han Xiao’s was a Mechanic.
After these version 1.0 players gained a deep understanding of Mechanics, they would realize that they had been scammed. By then, it would be too late. Even if they lamented to heaven and knocked their heads against the earth, it would be pointless. They could only choose to continue or start from nothing again. In this way, Han Xiao’s goal would have been achieved—as long as these players wanted to improve their combat effectiveness quickly, they can only rely on him to buy advanced machinery.
You want to become strong?
How can you not spend money‽
Han Xiao took a smoke, and he thought to himself, After a few versions, you will be thanking me…
In this way, he brushed off his sense of guilt.
…
On one side, Jade Green Sky approached Maple Moon and asked politely: “Babe, I wonder if you’re free now.”
Maple Moon looked up doubtfully and saw a group of male players with a look of thirst in their eyes. She stepped back nervously and warned, “What are you up to? I warn… warn you, this game prohibits any sexual harassment!”
The members of Sky Territory were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Babe, we are curious about your secret quest, not in you!
Jade Green Sky coughed. “I only want to ask how you triggered Black Phantom’s secret quest. Don’t worry, we’ll reward you fairly.”
Maple Moon shook her head, rejecting his request without a pause. She enjoyed unearthing secret quests, but that was not because of the profit, and she did not want Black Phantom to dislike her.
With no alternative, Jade Green Sky could only give up and walk away. Just then, a member suggested, “We could ask around to see if there were other players who overheard the conversation between Maple Moon and Black Phantom.”
Jade Green Sky’s eyes lit up, and he nodded in agreement. And there were really some results. They managed to find out ‘the secret way to trigger secret quests’ from a player.
Han Xiao was sending off the last few players who had come to switch to Mechanic when Jade Green Sky rushed up to him. With the question that Maple Moon had asked in mind, Jade Green Sky asked, “Black Phantom, why are you enemies with the Germinal Organization?”
Oh, someone is rising to the bait.
Han Xiao looked at him. Although Jade Green Sky was the leader of a guild, his potential was not good at all. It was better to answer directly.
“What does it have to do with you?”
Jade Green Sky was at a loss. Why was he getting a different reaction compared to the response Maple Moon had gotten? Was he cheated?
Not willing to give up, he kept on changing his lines. Han Xiao cast his eyes downward and refused to play along with him. In the end, Jade Green Sky could only give up in frustration.
“Unless it depends on the gender?”
This thought suddenly came up in Jade Green Sky’s mind. He stared at Han Xiao’s unattractive face for a long while, and he felt like he was enlightened.
…
The player’s market potential in Big Horn Village had been temporarily exhausted. It was still only the open beta—the players were rather fresh, and their lack of unity resembled a plate of loose sand. With growth, as they completed more missions, Han Xiao would have more opportunities to exploit them.
Han Xiao had a set of ‘commercial’ plans for players, and this was only the initial link. As players advanced, his plan could then be gradually implemented.
He was not in a hurry to go to the next novice village. He had a friendly chat with Freire and fished out some information on the Germinal Organization’s withdrawal route in South Continent. This is a large-scale war, which meant that he could probably get quite a number of A-level missions. With his character, he was sure to get a foot in. What would become of him if he did not try to get involved?
With the wistful gaze of players in the Big Horn Village, Han Xiao drove his vehicle away.
Maple Moon looked at the car driving off into the horizon and told herself that she would wait until she reached LV 20 before she contacted Black Phantom.
Just half an hour after Han Xiao left, Frenzied Sword arrived at Big Horn Village, panting furiously. He grabbed a player and asked, “Where is Black Phantom?”
“He has already left.”
Frenzied Sword’s face turned white. He was late by half a day because the Western Capital was under martial law to search for Germinal spies.
He felt like weeping but had no tears left! How infuriating!
…
The battle video stayed as the top post on the forum. Han Xiao was the strongest fighter the players had seen so far. He could kill a strong enemy in one shot from hundreds of meters away. Not only that, he could also deploy a portable battery turret. Players were very envious of his capabilities. Whenever he appeared, he was like a dark phantom, omnipotent and mysterious. If not for his unappealing look, due to the Facial Simulator, he would have many female fans.
The first player to upload the videos was Mu Chen. He never had received any responses for his posts in the past, but this was his first time experiencing the feeling of having ten thousand people replying to his post. He was reading through the replies enthusiastically.
Ding Dong.
He received a notification from the system.
Mu Chen was puzzled. He had not added any friends. Who would send him a message?
_____________________
Dear esteemed player,
Your video has been selected as promotional material for version 1.0. The reward will be sent to your account within one working day. Do look out for it.
– Galaxy Official.
_____________________
Mu Chen was completely caught off-guard by the pleasant surprise.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The vast majority of players were still busy with missions, but players in teams—essentially serious guilds or professional players—were more purposeful in their actions. They planned their developmental pathway carefully and worked steadily to advance.
But the Guild of Gods was in an awkward situation. Jupiter had dumped all the daily administrative work to the Vice President. He could not give up on the A-level mission. He had been leading a group of people to search high and low for Germinal’s bases but to no avail. Without any other means, he could only focus on the forum to see if any players were in contact with Germinal.
Despite all odds, Jupiter managed to find a lead.
“Andrea Mainland is Germinal’s base camp. Any player who arrives on Andrea Mainland can join Germinal’s side easily.”
But this lead was useless for Jupiter.
The core members of the A-level mission were all in Southern Continent, and Zero was more likely to be in Southern Continent too. However, Jupiter could not possibly bring a team over to Andrea Mainland. Most importantly, they had no access to another mainland.
In fact, they could actually take cruise ships or aircrafts, but none of the players had reached this level.
The most popular post on the forum was the battle scene recorded by the players at Big Horn Village. Jupiter had not seen it before, but he was finally opening it to take a look. He was caught off guard by shock. Just as he was about to close the post, he suddenly had an outlandish thought. He paused the video and scrutinized the scene. He finally concluded that the troop that was attacked had the Germinal Organization’s emblem on them.
He had finally found the organization!
Jupiter almost burst into tears before it occurred to him that the troop had been destroyed. His face changed suddenly. He quickly read through the content of the post, but unfortunately, the user did not elaborate on the details.
Jupiter was eager to find out what had happened, so he had members contact the players in Big Horn Village.
The guild was so efficient that he soon got to know that the troop that had been attacked was in fact an evacuating Germinal Organization unit. He was dumbfounded.
“Evacuate? Why are they evacuating? Where are they evacuating from? What is the scale of this evacuation—a single unit or a full battalion?”
Jupiter gulped nervously. He had an ominous feeling in his gut… Seems like we won’t be returning to the Germinal Organization any time soon.
This A-level mission was such a scam. Jupiter was so frustrated. Before the team could start on the mission, the organization that had issued the mission had run away.
…
In the evening, the setting sun covered the earth in a blood red glow. The outlines the moons were looming in the twilight sky.
In the woods outside Big Horn Village, Frenzied Sword was walking down the path, downcast in despondence.
“I must find him.” Frenzied Sword quickly broke away from his despondent mood and was talking to himself to boost his own spirits.
“Are you looking for me?” A voice came from ahead.
Frenzied Sword looked up. A truck was parked a few meters ahead with a man in black standing by it, staring at him intensely.
Black Phantom!
Frenzied Sword was ecstatic with excitement.
Every cloud had a silver lining!
“You, you… Have we met?” He could not be certain that Black Phantom was in fact Han Xiao. With much worry and fear, he felt like he was almost waiting for a verdict after he had asked the question.
Han Xiao smiled, revealing a tinge of amusement in his eyes. “What do you think?”
That familiar look! The look that made his hair stand on end!
Frenzied Sword was seized by joy; he was certain that this person was Han Xiao!
I’m so glad that I didn’t give up, and I finally found you! Oh, Savior!
“Come with me.” With a faint smile on his face, Han Xiao gestured toward his truck with his head. Trying his best to conceal his excitement, Frenzied Sword followed closely behind and got into the truck.
He did not care where Han Xiao was taking him as long as he could stay with Han Xiao…
Han Xiao smiled to himself. After spending some happy days together, he remembered Frenzied Sword well. But this was not the reason he chose to bring Frenzied Sword along. Frenzied Sword had great potential, and he was worth grooming.
In addition, having a player by his side meant he could send him to check out unknown and dangerous areas. Frenzied Sword would not die anyway, so he could be assured and use him well.
Han Xiao could use Frenzied Sword’s help in his next moves, so when he found that Frenzied Sword was following him, he stopped to wait for him.
Frenzied Sword did not realize that he was being treated as a lab rat again. He was full of excitement, checking out the truck with much curiosity. He remembered that Han Xiao was a member of Stardragon’s intelligence agency during the closed beta. How did he become Black Phantom out of the blue?
But that was not important. As long as he could be with Han Xiao, Frenzied Sword would be content.
“What are we going to do now?” asked Frenzied Sword after his excitement died down.
“Something evil.” Han Xiao took out a tablet and opened the map. He drew a circle around one region and threw it to Frenzied Sword.
Frenzied Sword took a brief look.
“Tedramira River, what kind of place is that?”
“A battleground,” Han Xiao replied calmly. He stepped firmly on the accelerator, and the truck raced off.
…
Tedramira River was a large river in Southern Continent connected to the sea.
In the darkness of the night, a long line of boats was cruising down the river. This was a huge fleet of ships disguised as fishing boats. The boats were actually Germinal warships, well equipped with various weapons, anti-detection jammers, machine gun arrays, and so on.
As a result of the Six Nations’ clean-up campaign, the Germinal Organization’s bases had begun to withdraw. A small number of important personnel was taking the air route. Most of the resources, transportation vehicles, and ordinary armed personnel were evacuating via a water route.
The evacuation was nearing its end. This fleet was the last remaining unit to withdraw from Southern Continent. The outer layer of frigates was guarding the barges in the center that were ferrying vehicles and armed personnel.
The evacuation plan was to go out to the sea along a tributary of the Tedramira River and join forces with other ground troops near the mouth of the sea. The ground troops would then board the ships.
The person in charge, Lin Yu, was the Chief Officer of the largest Germinal base in Southern Continent. Now he had taken the role of a commander and was also within the fleet.
Lin Yu was a middle-aged man, yet he was also an Executive Officer that was combat ready. He was analyzing the map with a solemn face in the command room. There were many links in the evacuation plan. The fleet and the ground troops had to ensure that they arrived at the mouth of the sea at the same time because the fleet could not possibly stay put.
During the evacuation, a large number of Stardragon and Hesla fighter planes were performing aerial reconnaissance. The fleet’s whereabouts had likely been exposed, and fear on the fleet was rising.
Lin Yu knew very well that Hesla and Stardragon would have set up a trap near the mouth of the sea to capture them. Their navy, air force, and army would be waiting to intercept their fleet and capture them all at once.
But from the very beginning, Lin Yu knew clearly that it was impossible to evacuate sneakily. A bitter battle was inevitable. Only by tearing past the blockade line could his troops escape alive.
“As long as we follow along the Tedramira River to the sea, we can get out of this nightmare, but don’t hold the illusion of a smooth passage. Lads, we will be facing a premeditated ambush. The Stardragon and Hesla Navy will do whatever they can to sink us near the mouth of the sea!
“I’ve been through thirteen wars. Some of them were big battles, others small. Some of you may be veterans like me, and some of you may be new recruits. Regardless, our destiny is the same. Break through the blockade line, and we can stay alive. If you are captured, even if you can survive, you will face indefinite imprisonment by Stardragon and Hesla. You can say goodbye to freedom in the sun!
“The Six Nations are a group of hypocritical and insidious villains who speak of peace and freedom but started a war. Don’t forget that your motherland was destroyed by the guns of the Six Nations. Never forget that hatred of blood!
“We have no choice but to fight till the very end!”
These words were Lin Yu’s speech for his subordinates. The armed personnel on board knew that there was going to be a fierce battle ahead, and they were all ready to fight.
There was a number of Germinal Executive Officers in the fleet, and Hila was among them. She was worried and apprehensive about the impending fight. In her opinion, it was a naïve hope to think of breaking through the blockade of Stardragon and Hesla’s ships.
Many of them would perish, and only a small number of people could survive.
However, Commander Lin Yu seemed to have it all worked out. Thus, Hila could only suppress her unease and conceal it from others. On the outside, she seemed the stoic person she had always been.
In fact, for Hila, even if every Germinal member on the fleet died, she could not care less. She hated the Germinal Organization, but she could only survive with the help of these Germinal soldiers.
She knew that her hands were covered in blood, and she had never shunned it. Self-reproach and compassion belonged to good people. These emotions were too costly for her. From the day of her Awakening, she knew that she could never be a good person.
To rule death meant that she was destined to be banished to hell.
But her sister, Aurora, was completely different. She was an angel who used her love for the world to touch everyone she met. The only thing Hila regretted was that she did not protect her sister well, resulting in her falling into the hands of the Germinal Organization.
No matter what, I have to live on…
Only by surviving and demonstrating her usefulness could she help to reduce her sister’s suffering.
Anyone that stopped her would be an enemy.
Staring at the waves of the river, Hila was cold and stoic.
Atlas Studios
Editor:Atlas Studios
The Tedramira River branched out into the sea. The fleet of Stardragon and Hesla ships formed a tight blockade, and the riverbed of the estuary was also planted with many mines.
Both countries knew the whereabouts of the Germinal Organization's evacuation troops. Stardragon and Hesla regarded this battle with high importance as it was an excellent opportunity to eliminate an army of the Germinal Organization.
The inescapable net had been laid. In the eyes of the two countries, Germinal was a trapped beast; even if it knew there was a hunter trap waiting, it would have no choice but to approach it.
The battlefield was divided into two areas, and each country was responsible for one of the two areas. Hesla was mainly responsible for the sea blockade, while Stardragon's forces were in charge of land interception. This method of cooperation split the responsibility and prevented command conflicts.
Considering the individual combat effectiveness of the Germinal executives, Division 13 also sent secret agents to act as an emergency team and an assault troop. They would take on special tactical tasks and were waiting at a small dock near the estuary to be dispatched by the army commander.
Zhang Wei's team was among them.
A row of boats meant for assault had docked neatly, and green military tents were hidden in the grove behind the dock.
Despite the two months, the team had not changed much. Zhang Wei was as serious as before, Li Yalin was as sexy as ever, Lin Yao still looked mistreated, and Lambert was as silent as a stone.
The only change was the addition of a young new face.
"Hou Yue, you've been with us for a month now and have been through enough training. This mission is really important, so do not make any mistakes," Zhang Wei instructed the newcomer Hou Yue in the team's tent.
Hou Yue was a thin young man. He had two guns around his waist. With long, flowing hair, he was quite handsome. He nodded and smiled arrogantly. "Leader, you worry too much! During this past month, which task have I not completed successfully?"
Zhang Wei nodded in agreement. Hou Yue was an agent trained in Division 13 and had filled the vacancy of Han Xiao by joining the team. He had been performing well and did not cause Zhang Wei any worry.
Li Yalin hugged her hands to her chest and sat one side with her legs folded. She was frowning and appeared to be in a bad mood.
The truth was, after Han Xiao had skipped town, the agents who had lost their deposits all came to get their money back, and since then, her mood had never been good.
Hou Yue came over and sat next to Li Yalin. He teased, "Beauty Li, what are you thinking about?"
Li Yalin glared at him and retorted, "Are you a curious baby? How is this any of your concern?"
Hou Yue wanted to get close to Li Yalin badly. When he first joined and laid eyes on Li Yalin, he was stunned by her beauty. It pleased him to no end that he was teammates with someone this beautiful. Hence, he frequently tried to strike up conversations with Li Yalin. However, after being fooled by Han Xiao, she had developed a strong dislike toward newcomers. Thus, whenever she saw Hou Yue she would think of Han Xiao, so naturally, she did not have a good impression of Hou Yue.
Li Yalin was so annoyed by Hou Yue that she suddenly smiled menacingly. "You love talking, right?"
While speaking, she clenched her fists and cracked her knuckles. One could almost see the anger fumes rising from within and forming in her fists.
Hou Yue recoiled immediately. He knew that once Li Yalin showed this expression, she meant to beat people up. When he first joined the team, he had experienced it first hand and spent three days in the medical department.
Lin Biao, who was watching from the side, shook his head and feigned maturity. "Little monkey, you are still too terrified. In terms of courage, I only admire Brother Xiao."
"Who exactly is Brother Xiao?"
Hou Yue was puzzled. Since joining the team, he had learned that this team's full strength was six, but there was always one person missing. It was reasonable to cross out those players who were missing, but in this team, the sixth spot was always kept.
Also, he always heard the team speak of 'Brother Xiao'. This made Hou Yue extremely curious about this sixth person.
Li Yalin exploded immediately and fumed, "Do not mention his name in front of me!"
"Do not forget that we still have a mission to complete. You can't punch me!" Lin Biao looked composed, but his legs were trembling.
Hou Yue felt that Li Yalin's reaction was slightly exaggerated. Based on his experience, this was exactly the reaction of a resentful woman who had been abandoned by her man.
On second thought, maybe a heavy debt could result in the same reaction as well.
Zhang Wei shook his head, let out a breath, and explained, "Han Xiao was originally our teammate. However, he left because of some special reasons."
"Special reasons?" Hou Yue used his imagination and probed, "Was he sent to carry out a special mission?"
Zhang Wei shook his head.
"Was he transferred to another team by the superior?"
Zhang Wei shook his head.
"Then where did he go?" Hou Yue was bewildered.
Li Yalin huffed. "He could be dead for all we know."
"Who are you kidding? Why keep his spot if he really is dead? You all speak as if you all hate him, but why do I feel like you all actually miss him a lot?"
Silence.
After a long time, Li Yalin stood and smiled slightly.
"Choose a way to die."
Hou Yue scampered off.
Lambert shook his head and kept his sword sheathed.
…
Stardragon's infantry army was lying in ambush in the valley near the estuary. The goal was to intercept Germinal's infantry troops that had come to converge. Sleepy Winter, Twinkle Fried Rice, and Rainy Kim served as backline support.
The three had joined the Stardragon Army during Beta-testing but had since changed their professions. Twinkle Fried Rice and Rainy Kim were in the martial arts line while Sleepy Winter's character had exploded and awakened his ability using the store's DNA.
As recruits, they were also appointed to act as backline support in this battle. What pleased them was that they managed to spark a Camp-destroyer series quest, [The Battle of Tedramira River].
However, they soon became frustrated. This series had more than a dozen targets. They could only complete the few backline support targets in the series, which were the simplest and had the lowest rewards. Other tasks such as killing ten Germinal soldiers, assassinating a Germinal executive, or destroying transport vehicles were completely beyond their capabilities.
"This does not seem like our level of mission," Sleepy Winter grumbled.
Both Twinkle Fried Rice and Rainy Kim agreed. They had been drawn into a difficult mission that was totally beyond their current level. Looking at their novice level, it was simply none of their business.
The three of them had no idea that the Germinal Organization and the Six Nations had a head-on conflict that happened three months after the beta game. At that time, the players had a basic understanding of the world structure, and they also possessed some combat strength. The conflict between Germinal and the Six Nations started happening on a very small scale, and bit by bit, it enabled players to become involved and have a chance to show off.
However, Han Xiao had completely disrupted the whole process. He had brought forward the conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, leaving the current players totally incapable of participating. To be exact, the players had been cheated of their original main quest.
This benefited Han Xiao as it decreased the variables bought by the players.
Whoosh!
Two heavy-duty transport helicopters bearing a Fabian logo landed slowly in a valley. The wind was so strong that the grass at the landing site swayed in all directions like a wave.
"Old Black, we've arrived," Pilot Antonio lazily called.
"I can see. Also, do not call me Old Black!" Han Xiao retorted. "Call Black Phantom if you must—foolishly calling me Old Black will affect my luck."
Antonio removed his earmuffs and puffed out a cloud of smoke. "Forget it, you don't have much luck anyway."
"Get lost," Han Xiao said irritably.
In the past two months, Han Xiao had maintained a good working relationship with the Fabian Company, and Antonio was warming up to him day by day.
Frenzied Sword hid in a corner on the helicopter, shivering while he watched the two 'extremely deadly' godfathers talk and laugh merrily. Frenzied Sword had thought that Han Xiao would drive to their destination, but with just a phone call, two helicopters came to pick them up. At this moment, Frenzied Sword thought even higher of Han Xiao.
Employees from Fabian carried down the supplies from the helicopters, and most of the items were weapons that Han Xiao had deposited with Fabian. He thought that he could use these weapons for this mission. There was also a disassembled truck that Fabian's maintenance team was working on reassembling. All the while, Han Xiao and Antonio were chatting at one side.
Antonio had always thought that Han Xiao was only interested in the bounty and asked curiously, "I heard Stardragon and Hesla are planning to intersect the retreating Germinal Troops in the Tedramira River, but what bad blood do you have with Germinal?"
"How do you know which side I'll be helping?" Han Xiao chuckled.
Antonio held a cigar in one hand while the other tucked in his jeans pocket, and he frowned. "Are you thinking of helping Germinal instead?"
Although the Germinal Organization was big in the underground world, other forces always kept a respectful distance from them. Ultimately, the underground world preferred to coexist peacefully. After all, only a stable situation would lead to profits. The Germinal Organization was seen as a group of bandits who used hatred as motivation.
Han Xiao refused to comment and walked to one side. He took out his phone and dialed another number, and the voice of Blood Pact Society's personnel could be heard.
"Mr. Black Phantom, may I help you?"
Ever since Han Xiao made it to top ten of the killer list, the Blood Pact Society valued him greatly and gave him special treatment; there was someone on standby 24-hours to answer his calls and provide special services.
Yup, decent and proper services.
Part of the status came from his capabilities, and the other part was from his good relationship with Bennett, which was valued by the Dark Net Organization.
"I need the latest movement of both the retreating Germinal Troops as well as Stardragon and Hesla's troops.
"Sure, I'm accessing the documents now. The information will be sent to your computer shortly."
"Ok, I also need a helicopter on call at the small dock near the estuary of Tedramira River."
"As you wish."
Frenzied Sword, who was listening at one side, heard everything clearly. From his tone, he could really feel how powerful and strong Han Xiao was.
After hanging up, Han Xiao noticed Frenzied Sword, who was idling at one side. He thought for a bit and decided to give him a mission that he just came up with.
_____________________
Mission: [Get High!]
Requirement: Dance sexily to brighten the mood."
_____________________
Frenzied Sword's face was full of tears.
Ah, the familiar taste of evil pranks!
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Tedramira River divided into branches flowing through Cloud Valley and eventually reaching the sea.
The location where Han Xiao had landed was on the edge of Cloud Valley. According to the information from the Dark Net Organization, Germinal’s evacuating land troops would converge with their maritime troops after passing through the valley.
Han Xiao’s target was to intercept the land troops. He was clear that the two countries would have planted their land troops in ambush; it was highly possible that the troops were placed within Cloud Valley. If he got any closer, he would be discovered. At this juncture, he did not wish to be in contact with the two countries.
Looks like I’ll have to choose a good spot.
With that thought in his mind, Han Xiao folded his arms and watched Fabian’s team assemble the truck’s front and frame. They also hung up the mechanical equipment in the cargo properly. While they were working, they were shockingly watching Frenzied Sword seductively dancing at one side.
“The item is delivered. I’ll get going now.”
“Alright, send Matthews my regards.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile.
Antonio waved before rising into the sky on his helicopter and disappeared swiftly over the horizon. The Fabian Company was only responsible for the transport of weapons and ammunition and had never taken part in battles.
Han Xiao sat inside the truck and took a look at the detailed map that had been sent over through the Dark Net. He was about to drive off when his phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Black Phantom, you’re joining in the Germinal commotion?” Bennett asked over the phone, surprised.
“Yes, you should come and play, too,” Han Xiao jokingly replied.
“The Dark Net has always been neutral; don’t go overboard. The Germinal Organization is a crazy bunch of old hags; they’ll attack whoever they see. I’m very frustrated because of them,” Bennett said helplessly.
“Don’t worry, I’ve never cheated my teammate.”
Bennett doubted his words. “Forget it, anyway, I will need your help with some matters later on.”
Over these past two months, Han Xiao had often called Bennett to keep in touch since he had Bennett’s number. Furthermore, with Han Xiao’s growing fame, Bennett was more than happy to converse with him. Hence, the relationship between the two of them was good.
After pocketing his phone, Han Xiao shook his head, stepped on the accelerator, and drove along the edge of the valley toward the area of his selected spot.
…
The river flowing through Cloud Valley provided moisture for the fertile soil. The terrain was relatively diversified; there were plains with shallow grasses, forests and hills. The scenery was beautiful; it calmed and relaxed one’s mind, compelling people to put down all their hatred and troubles.
Stardragon had a massive amount of land troops lying in ambush in the area, and they were armed with all kinds of battle equipment—tanks, attack helicopters, a coverage array of medium-distance guided missiles, and also a large number of minefields.
The commander of the land troops was a Stardragon official known as Huang Qiuming who had over twenty years of military service. His style was serious and meticulous. The reason Stardragon’s higher-ups had decided to use him was because they had taken a liking to Huang Qiuming’s stable style. As long as this battle followed the plan, victory is assured.
In the command vehicle’s position, Huang Qiuming looked at the map filled with markings and nodded expressionlessly.
“Everything is in order; the first layer of ambush is a minefield. If Germinal do not come in, they will miss their chance to meet with the maritime forces. Therefore, even if they are aware of the traps, they will still have to advance forward. The armed helicopter troops are always on standby; they can attack the minesweeper enemy troops from above, and the array of missile vehicles is always aiming at the edge of the woods. Once the enemy crosses the woods, we can strike…”
As long as everything went according to the plan, the enemy would have no way to escape.
…
The evacuating Germinal troops in the Southern Continent formed a large fleet with hundreds of different tanks; this huge army consisted of all the survivors of the retreating troops.
Lin Yu was the chief commander while the person in charge of the land troops was a white man known as Ugar.
Ugar was well aware that the troops were about to be ambushed. In order to keep up with the maritime forces, they had to pass through Cloud Valley. Hence, they were unable to avoid this confrontation. However, he had already made preparations for it; the evacuation troops of these bases carried with them new weapons, and some were rather formidable, definitely able to catch the enemy by surprise.
All these experimental weapons were important goods, and they even had some secret weapons who had undergone human experiments, specifically, the [Super Soldier Project].
…
After one big lap, the truck stopped at the edge on the other side of Cloud Valley. The tip-off had shown that this was a route that the Germinal land troops were unable to take as it was very far away.
Han Xiao did not enter the woods and took out a pile of spider detectors, more than forty in fact. They were activated through his tablet computer and started vibrating. They looked like a bunch of troops waiting for orders.
After two months of accumulation, Han Xiao’s skills had improved again; thus, his existing machinery had been renewed and strengthened. The spider detector was equipped with a low-level smart chip that automatically detected threats and fed them back to the computer. Hence, there was no need for Han Xiao to constantly refer to the screen. By adding a new drawing SUI anti-radar detection coating, it could better conceal its tracks, which was suitable for designated surveillance.
Han Xiao sent most of the spider detectors into the woods and left a few to advance in the opposite direction to scout for the Germinal Organization’s arrival.
While doing this job, Frenzied Sword got off the truck and noticed an extra line of words appearing in the status column.
_____________________
You’ve gained [Severe Car Sickness].
30% deducted from all attributes.
_____________________
“What the hell is this?” Frenzied Sword was flabbergasted. The experience feel he set was twenty percent true. He did not fully experience the thrill of the old driver’s driving skills, but the interface showed his physical state truthfully.
“Need me to do anything?” Frenzied Sword asked, thinking he could trigger a mission.
Han Xiao shook his head. “Not at the moment.”
Frenzied Sword’s combat strength was too low for this type of battle. He would only be useful as fearless cannon fodder.
Various minefields and radar detections had been laid in the woods a long time ago. Anyone entering the area would draw attention. Patience, adequate preparation, perfect planning, and calibrating other mechanical weapons were all he needed to do for the time being.
There were still a few days before the arrival of the Germinal Organization’s troops. Han Xiao had been preparing and waiting in the van. Frenzied Sword was by his side, receiving small tasks from him every day.
Even though he thought that Frenzied Sword had potential, he would not groom Frenzied Sword fully. The EXP he gave Frenzied Sword was limited compared to those players in the same period, yet Frenzied Sword was extremely satisfied.
Han Xiao was also reading the forum every day; the players were still as enthusiastic as before. He mainly paid attention to the Aquamarine section to know the progress of the players. It was still the novice phase. After they had grown, there would be a huge event that targeted the players waiting for them, and that was the prelude to the chaos.
Does me disrupting the quest mean that the player’s misfortunes will be delayed… or will they be brought forward?
Han Xiao rubbed his beard stubble, silently pondering. That was the first time the players had raised the attention of major forces on the planet. He still remembered that the previous generations had caused a ruckus that resulted in an extensive discussion, which was highly praised.
…
The moon was covered by dark clouds, and there was a thick fog that made it impossible to make out one’s own hand.
Spider No.1 was in the plains under the night sky, motionless, and faithfully executing the orders in sequence.
Boom!
The ground suddenly vibrated, and Spider No.1’s sensor felt the tremors. The detector immediately charged toward the direction of the vibrations.
A huge fleet of Germinal Troops could be seen in the distance, and Spider No.1 was right in their path.
Spider No.1 loyally transmitted out an alarm signal in the form of electric waves.
The vehicle was nearing, yet Spider No.1 foolishly remained, not knowing to hide.
Whoosh!
The huge fleet rapidly rolled passed, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.
It was not until the smoke and dust dispersed that the appearance of Spider No.1 could be made out.
Its body was covered in dust, yet it was not damaged in any ways; it seemed like the compressed wheels surprisingly did not grind over it at all.
Spider No.1 moved its limbs and turned around before continuing to follow its orders and dumbly following the fleet.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao’s tablet received real-time alerts from Spider No.1. He immediately hopped off the driving seat of the truck and signaled Frenzied Sword, who had been waiting online for two whole days. Han Xiao remembered that the VR-Capsule of this era had yet to perfect the body analysis and nutrients-balancing functions.
No wonder he is a professional player. Guy’s got great kidneys.
“Let’s go,” Han Xiao said.
“Okay…” Frenzied Sword was confused, but following Han Xiao would never be a bad choice.
The pitch-black truck had a layer of SUI anti-radar paint coated over it. Han Xiao came up with this using the basic theory of Spatial Sensing, and it had been effective at reducing the chance of being discovered by radars.
The second the armies from Stardragon and Germinal met each other, a massive war would break out; that would be the perfect time for a third party to take advantage of the situation.
First, they needed to find a suitable hideout to snipe from. It needed to be some distance away from the battlefield. Han Xiao had found a spot long ago, and it was a cliff along the mountainous range in Cloud Valley. That location was perfect for aiming at the barren fields beyond the forest. This meant that the moment the Germinal Organization’s troops stepped out from the jungle, he could start firing away.
The only problem was that he had to arrive at the mountain range fast and avoid getting detected by the army radars in the process. The painted layer could not guarantee evading detection, so there were risks of getting exposed. However, Han Xiao was not too worried because by the time Germinal’s troops drew near, the army in the valley would be too occupied to be bothered with him.
The truck sped into the valley jungle.
…
“Commander Huang! The radar is showing a suspicious target!” shouted a soldier in the Stardragon Strategic Department tent.
Huang Qiuming strode over to the radar display screen, which was showing a flashing light entering Cloud Valley region. The signal was inconsistent and weak, and it seemed that the target had a certain level of anti-radar capabilities. It only showed up because Stardragon army was using an army radar this time, which was extremely powerful.
“Only one target?” Huang Qiuming’s eyebrows were tightly knitted together. He felt that it might be a Germinal scout, but the location of target was very far-off from the path that Germinal was taking.
“Whatever it is, just deal with it first.” Huang Qiuming did not want any unwanted surprise elements to hinder the plan, and he was about to send out a stand-by troop when all the radar detection screens blacked out simultaneously!
“What’s happening‽” Huang Qiuming shouted.
Soldiers rushed to recalibrate but to no avail.
“Reporting to you, Sir. The radars have been deactivated by very strong electromagnetic radiation, which is coming from the direction of the Germinal army. We found the Germinal army’s tracks three minutes ago, and the preliminary conclusion is that they have some sort of advanced device that can destroy radars!”
“They want to take away our sight. Activate the spare radars, mute their electrical signals. Make sure they are powered on randomly once every five to twelve seconds.” Huang Qiuming seemed composed and quickly issued his commands. As for the suspicious target, he could only leave it aside. It was more critical to deal with the huge Germinal army at this point in time.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a screeching sound could be heard coming from the horizon.
A dozen mid-range missiles were steadily approaching Stardragon camps, leaving fiery trails behind them. These missiles suddenly split into countless bullet heads in midair and started raining down.
…
At the same time, the Germinal army emerged from the jungle region on the edge of Cloud Valley.
Ugar’s face was dead serious. The vehicles were carrying anti-radar equipment, created by the Germinal Organization, that was still in the experimental stages. It was capable of catching radar detection and emitting strong long-distance EM radiation waves that could destroy radars that were in use, all while simultaneously detecting the exact location of the enemies’ radars.
Ugar decided that he had found the enemies’ base, so he ordered for the beehive-type missile assault vehicle to launch attacks, firing the cluster munition missiles, which was a mature weapon that had already gone past the experimental stage.
What he did not know was that he had indirectly done Han Xiao a favor by destroying Stardragon’s radars.
Surely, such attacks could not injure the Stardragon army. Indeed, the Stardragon army aimed and fired their missile intercepting machine guns toward the cluster ammunition, creating explosions and intercepting the bullets in mid-air.
Both sides were ready for the battle. The only question here was: who was more prepared?
“Enemies will soon reactivate their radars. We don’t have much time left; we need to launch attacks now!”
Ugar commanded in a dead serious tone, “Bomb-detecting team, you go first!”
With the vehicles carrying portable bomb-detectors leading the way, the Germinal troops were able to quickly detect where Stardragon had planted bombs and detonate them with their machine gun. Germinal was steadily and safely advancing.
This time, when the anti-radar equipment discovered signals from Stardragon’s radars, it was unable to destroy the radars as Stardragon’s radar would switch off before anything could be done to it. Ugar knew that the real fight would be starting soon.
The helicopters’ rotors were roaring as they flew close to the ground. The Germinal troops had to advance against the merciless firing.
Among the flames and explosions, Ugar commanded in fury, “Fire the graphite missiles!”
A handful of graphite missiles soared through the air, landing among the helicopters. Graphite missiles could cause local short-circuit, hitting the helicopter squad hard, causing many to malfunction. The enemy firepower was reduced significantly.
“Mihawks, after your troop gets out from the jungle, lead the assault troops to fight the enemies head-on! Your task is very important; you have to distract the enemies!” Ugar spoke into the walkie talkie.
Mihawks was sitting in one of the transport vehicles, and he replied with a light grunt. Mihawks was extremely well-built, and he was a master of martial arts. His strategic task was to lead a few teams of elite fighters to assault the enemy camps with bombs. His agile combat style, coupled with bulletproof vest, allowed him to dive smoothly through the bullet storm.
Superhumans were mainly assigned to assault and assassinate on the battlefields.
At the Stardragon base, Huang Qiuming stared at the Germinal army expressionlessly as they trod through the jungle. “Artillery, get ready; armored vehicles, stand by; elite team, prepare to fight the enemy assault team!”
Stardragon’s elite team consisted of the strongest and the best soldiers, including Superhumans who were biologically equipped with skills to fight. Stardragon was very prepared for this battle.
This large-scale battle scene left the logistic team leaders—Sleepy Winter, Flash Fried Rice, and Rainy Kim—in awe. Judging from the intense atmosphere, hazy smoke, and deafening explosions, they knew that the battle was too high level for them to join in.
“Thought I was going to die when the missiles flew over just now.” Twinkle Fried Rice heaved a sigh of relief.
Sleepy Winter laughed bitterly. “Let’s just stick to delivering resources. No way we can handle any battle tasks.”
Rainy Kim’s expression was calm. With a hint of determination, she said, “I want to give it a shot.”
“We only have a few handguns, what can we do?”
“I want to try.”
“Forget it. If we go, we will just court our own deaths!”
“I. Want. To. Try.”
Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice made eye contact and relented. “Okay, okay. You’re the boss; you are the prettiest. We’ll follow you. Let’s go together.”
Expressionless, Rainy Kim started walking right away after getting their agreement, and the other two could not do anything but keep up behind her.
…
It was a party of gunfire and explosions. Han Xiao slowly drove his car to the target location on the cliff, where he could see the grand fireworks in the distance in the jungle.
There were spider detectors hidden in the jungle. Some of them had been destroyed, but some lived and were loyally updating the battle situation for Han Xiao. Judging from their location, Germinal troops were going to get out of the jungle and into the open fields very soon.
In the distance, on the Tedramira River, explosions appeared on the surface of the water as well. Han Xiao took out his binoculars, and he could see that the Germinal ships were also getting attacked, and the attack was worse than the one they were facing in the valley.
Germinal ships had yet to reach the straits, and they were already getting bombed heavily by fighter jets. The missiles rained down like a storm, and the machine gun interceptor array would not stop even for a second. Huge fiery explosions lit up the night sky and seemed just like fireworks.
“It’s time to get ready.”
Han Xiao took out a few foldable battery ports, came up with a task with decent rewards, and issued it to Frenzied Sword.
Tasks like setting up traps and stuff were obviously for these fresh, young players.
As Frenzied Sword rushed off to set up the traps, Han Xiao took out a mechanical neck brace and wore it around the back of his neck. It was a soft layer made from unknown material. He turned it on, and a numbing electric shock started to spread from his neck to his brain. Han Xiao shivered slightly and felt adrenaline rush through his body.
_____________________
You have entered [Excitation] mode.
All attributes +5%
Duration: 20 minutes
_____________________
This machine was called [Electromagnetic Pulse Controller]. It was a special piece of equipment that used EM waves to adjust biological conditions and improve the user’s attributes. Han Xiao had gotten this blueprint from talent fusing by accident.
After getting ready, with all the needed attributes turned on, Han Xiao lay down with his Ghost sniper rifle in hand and the Red Falcon lying next to him. His eyes were sharp as eagles, and they were glued to the battlefield.
BOOM!
An area of trees was blown up. The Germinal troops had finally made it out of the forest.
“Come on, baby.”
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and aimed.
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“Airstrike!”
Stardragon’s missile-carrying vehicles fired mercilessly at the Germinal troops. The missiles approached with high-pitched screeches, adding to the heavy atmosphere
Ugar did not panic; he commanded the troops to close up the gaps in their formation, with the vehicles carrying multi-barreled machine guns at the front, forming an assault formation. This reduced the area of target, and the machine guns destroyed all the missiles in the area in midair, forming a vacuum, allowing the troops to smoothly sail through the explosion waves.
Huang Qiuming paused.
He had just received news that the battle at Tedramira River was at a heated stage; the strategic team had primarily marked out a few locations where Germinal teams could have gathered. The strategic team advised him to change from the original plan to use Plan B. Huang Qiuming made some rearrangements and instructed the interception ring to leave a gap.
At the same time, Rainy Kim and the others made it to the front line. Large number of soldiers gathered with proper attire and equipment, armored vehicles had their engines running, and elite soldiers were standing by.
“How are we going to join in the fight?” Sleepy Winter asked helplessly.
Rainy Kim frowned and thought for a while before nodding. “I don’t know.”
Then why are you nodding‽ Sleepy Winter wanted to bang his head against the floor.
Twinkle Fried Rice suddenly pointed to the battlefield and shouted, “Someone is coming! Oh sh*t! It looks like a high-level player!”
The other two turned to look in the same direction. They watched as a buff man led a team of well-armed soldiers on heavy-armored motorbikes to separate from the main troop. They sped toward the Stardragon base while smoothly dodging all the bullets.
…
Mihawks dodged a series of attacks on his heavy-armored bike, but he inadvertently triggered a mine, and his bike was blown apart. He began to run, at a speed almost as fast as the motorbikes, through the bullets. His task was to deliver the bomb that he was carrying to the Stardragon base.
Superhumans usually fought in assault teams on the battlefields. Mihawks could see that the enemies had sent their elite teams toward them.
He concentrated expressionlessly and adjusted his inner energy to save up for later.
Suddenly, Mihawks instinctively felt that there was imminent danger, he reacted extremely quickly, pushed hard with his legs, and was going to change direction.
But he was not fast enough.
A bullet with blue light trailing behind it hit Mihawks’ neck from the side and caused a huge splatter of blood. He was critically injured. He groaned and spat out mouthfuls of blood. There was absolutely no cover on the fields; his only choice was to keep running forward, but his wound caused him to slow down significantly.
A combat fighter, who could fight through gunfire, had been critically injured by one shot!
Huang Qiuming was shocked.
“That was not us. Who’s the sniper‽”
He remembered the suspicious target that had been detected at the start and felt that this shot seems really familiar. He pondered for two seconds, and his eyes widened.
Only a monster sniper could critically damage a superhuman—the Black Phantom that only recently had become involved in underground activities.
Bullet with blue light, it must be him!
What is he doing here? Why help us?
“Commander, what do we do now?” the vice-captain asked.
Huang Qiuming considered and made up his mind decisively “He doesn’t look like enemy. Don’t care about him; focus on fighting Germinal.”
Usually, snipers’ skills would be of very limited use in this kind of battle, but when super snipers like Black Phantom came into the picture, it would be a completely different story.
The Stardragon did not know why Black Phantom was helping them, but needless to say, this helped them greatly!
…
Ugar was furious.
“One shot to critically injure Mihawks, that must be that damned Black Phantom! Not long ago, he got Freire’s team too. This monster must have joined the fight at Stardragon’s request!
Ugar felt immense pressure when he thought of Black Phantom’s kill statistics that had been circulating on the Dark Web. He had been crowned a ‘Superhuman killer’—way too dangerous. Even though Ugar was stronger than Mihawks, he did not want to have a taste of Black Phantom’s strength.
Mistaking Han Xiao for someone on Stardragon’s side, Ugar angrily commanded, “Team 3, locate and terminate the sniper. Take the test subjects with you; you must at least divert his attention away from us!”
One armored vehicle left the main troop and sped toward Han Xiao’s location.
…
_____________________
You have dealt 1,297 actual damage to Mihawks (LV 40)!
You have critically damaged Mihawks!
_____________________
Mihawks has entered a weakened state. All attributes have decrease 50% for 10 seconds.
_____________________
Wow, this guy is quite tanky. Han Xiao was surprised. This shot’s theoretical damage was 1,600. Taking combat fighters’ body attributes into consideration, it would be about 1,300. This had knocked out Bai Jin, who was LV 48, in one hit, but Mihawks was still up and running. Combat fighters are indeed very tanky.
This time [Flaming Will] was not too good; it only buffed his attack by 148%. His Ghost sniper rifle had been maxed out in all its attributes after the strengthening. None of the EXP earned had gone to waste. Han Xiao either saved the EXP or used it to level up skills, talents, and equipment, which were the key to having strong firepower!
After his first shot, Han Xiao activated a new task.
_____________________
[Tedramira River Warfare (Misc.)]: You have joined in the battle between Stardragon and the Germinal Organization. Since you have chosen your side, see what you can do for your allies.
_____________________
This was a class C mission. The player had to kill Germinal soldiers and prevent them from escaping. Reward would be based on task performance.
The reward EXP shouldn’t be less than three hundred thousand. Han Xiao was satisfied that he could earn EXP by being a busybody.
Han Xiao fired single shots at Mihawks, who could not escape the fate of being swallowed by the explosions and shots. His death was tragic.
This marked the end of a combat fighter who was even stronger than Pan Kuang.
Combat fighters are great in close quarters against few people, but if you want to deal with armies, even if it’s not technologically advanced, you must at least be half as strong as Bennett, Han Xiao thought to himself.
Combat fighting makes use of energy. Everyone wants to be a hero, and combat fighting allows fighters to dominate whenever and wherever, without the need of weapons.
However, even though this style of fighting is very strong, one must have gone through the necessary growth. C class marks this line, the level cap for players of in the 1.0 version.
…
The snipers had greatly weakened the assault team, which had been caught by the counter troops from Stardragon. The assault plan had barely started and was already failing terribly under Han Xiao’s intervention.
At this moment, he noticed that a troop had veered off from the Germinal main troop and was moving toward him. He changed his target and started firing using the Red Falcon sniper gun. Because Stardragon was also present, Han Xiao intentionally avoided using the high-explosive bullets.
A sniper rifle could only deal limited damage to armored cars, so Han Xiao activated the portable battery that had been set up beforehand.
Three hundred meters in front of the Germinal troop, four portable batteries transformed into small multi-barreled machine guns. They fired rapidly, and some of the armored vehicles exploded on the spot. The remaining soldiers had to spread out and launch counterattacks on the portable batteries.
Once the team spread out, the portable battery was a lot less effective because it had to rotate and aim instead of aiming at one spot.
The portable batteries did not have defensive mechanisms, even if Han Xiao used platinum as the surface material, and two out of four were blown to bits very quickly. Overall, the result was good. More than half of the vehicles were destroyed, and the enemies were significantly weakened.
At this moment, the troops did something that Han Xiao did not expect. The opened the rear of one of the armored vehicles. Three humanoids jumped out of the car and ran toward the portable batteries at a speed faster than car. They looked really strange, and Frenzied Sword was taken aback.
“What in the world are those things?” Frenzied Sword wanted to use detection on them but was informed that he was too far away.
The three humanoids were well-built and expressionless. There were large amounts of metallic joints and structures inside the arms, legs, and spinal regions. The metal was fixed into the bones at joints, such as in their knees and elbows. As they were running, the metallic joints would have blood seeping out. There was no doubt that every movement would inflict great pain, but the trio seemed emotionless as if they could not feel any pain.
Moreover, there was a layer of thin armor growing from the skin of the humanoids.
Han Xiao recognized the humanoids the second he saw them.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Germinal’s super soldier project has been brought forward a year?
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.
This project was originally intended to create humanoids with battle potential. Through exoskeletons cybernetics, they improved test-subjects’ physical capabilities by experimentation. Through the pure strength of the technology, it supported their physical body, and as a result, warriors with the battle power of super-soldiers could be mass-produced.
However, the technology was still in its infancy. The process was very painful because the exoskeleton had to be directly connected to the nerves, and various mechanical parts had to be implanted into the body to strengthen the physique.
Only experimented Valkyrie specimens whose mental resilience was strengthened could withstand such modifications. At the end of it all, their sense of pain would fade away, and they would only move on instinct.
By the whole of Galaxy’s standards, it was a very undeveloped modification technique and had already been eliminated long ago. But on Aquamarine, the Germinal Organization was able to develop the technique further by neglecting the physical condition of the test-subjects.
The exoskeleton was not only a piece of equipment that could be worn externally, but it could also be infused as a part of the body. Doing so would connect one’s nerves to the armor, giving the person greater mobility. However, the Germinal Organization had yet to develop the technology to maturity. By experimentation, they only managed to develop to infant stages of the technology.
Aquamarine’s major players each held one or a few advanced skills, and [Nerve Integration] was an advancement knowledge that was in Germinal’s hands.
The advanced skill that Han Xiao had learned was only [Advanced Material Composition]. For the players on Aquamarine to obtain the advancement knowledge, they had to have a large contribution after entering the camp. Han Xiao set his sights to the very distant future. Advancement knowledge was very rare on Aquamarine, but in the long term, one could also spend some Aquamarine dollars to obtain it easily. If he were unable to obtain other advancement knowledge from Aquamarine, there would still be other opportunities to do so in the future.
In the original plan, these super soldiers had special effects, but the three experimental super soldiers before him were not yet complete. The bodies even had a large amount of heat armor equipped, and these three were only using the external exoskeletons to strengthen their physiques, which were also incomplete.
Looks like Germinal’s experimental project hasn’t matured yet. Exoskeletons… Come to think of it, when I was escaping the lab, I left a Lightweight Mechanical Arm behind. Seems like Germinal has been using it to experiment.
Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. Such a thought was not without reason. The three test-subjects’ mechanical arms resembled the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. They were very sturdy and even had extendable golden shields embedded that could block shots fired by the portable batteries.
The three test-subjects separated from the vehicles and started spreading out the firepower from the portable batteries. The three successfully drew close to the portable battery, bombarding it with countless attacks using their fists wrapped in exoskeleton armor. The exoskeleton that was rooted to the joints released smoke. As they used more power, they instantly destroyed the portable battery, causing it to fall to its side as it cracked open.
After taking down the remaining portable batteries, the three sprinted toward Han Xiao, each step moving them seven to eight meters ahead, with an overwhelming killing intent completely directed toward him.
Han Xiao’s gaze remained unfazed as he pulled out his tablet, quickly unleashing another hidden weapon.
The trailer shook violently as two Second-Generation Rovers rushed out to Han Xiao’s side. Instantly, they activated [Furious Fusillade]. With both hands, the machine gun released its rounds, as their chests shot out mini rocket missiles, ravaging the three test-subjects. The damage was dealt heavily but was almost entirely blocked by the exoskeleton armor, with only its endurance dropping.
The three test-subjects’ stats were also exposed.
_____________________
Based on your level, you acquired the following information:
_____________________
Super-Soldier Experimental Body (042)
Level: 40
Classes:
– [Special Agent] Lv.10
– [Low-level Machine Equipment] Lv.30 (Endurance to Health Conversion Ratio 1:10)
Attributes: 51 Strength, 54 Dexterity, 70 (80) Endurance, 25 Intelligence, 8 MYS, 4 Charisma, 6 Luck
Energy: 0
Energy Rank: 500
Grade: E
Health Points: 534/650
Status: [Violent Modifications]: Health Point -150, Endurance -10
Abilities:
– Low-level Spiritual Resilience: +3 Psychological Resistance
– Effective Training: +100 Health Points
– Immunity to Pain: Injuries do not affect combat ability
Skills:
– Basic Close-Quarter Combat Lv.7
– Basic Shooting Lv.5
– Capture Lv.3
– Precise Shooting Lv.1
Equipment:
_____________________
Crane Exoskeleton Arms:
Lightweight Mechanical Arms, equipped with extendable golden shield.
Grade: White
Basic Stats
– Damage: 32–45
– Defense: 20–24
– Power Level: 45
– Endurance: 250
Ability effect: +8 Strength
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Predator Power Legs:
Lightweight Cyborg Legs increase sprinting speed.
Grade: Gray
Basic Stats
– Damage: 27–31
– Defense: 15–18
– Power Level: 53
– Endurance: 230
Ability effect: +8 Dexterity
_____________________
P-2 Embedded Armor Inserts:
Implanted lightweight gold in the skin, provides some defensive ability.
Grade: Gray
Basic Stats
– Defense: 15–20
– Endurance: 500
_____________________
The three test-subjects’ stats were considered extremely low for LV 40. With such a high level but low-level stats, it meant that they had no potential.
Individually, their health points were very low, but the defense and endurance provided by the exoskeleton was able to reduce the damage to the body to a large extent. Han Xiao did some calculations and realized that this set of exoskeleton armor provided 1,460 endurance points, and nearly 100 defense points. This was the effect due to the equipment. If they only looked at the health points, one would think that it was just a useless clothed armor.
The Second-Generation Rovers fired several rounds, which only took off a fifth of their health bar.
Han Xiao realized that Experimental Body (044) was actually at LV 45, and his stats were at an even higher level that his two counterparts. Perhaps he was the leader of the three.
Meanwhile, Germinal’s vehicle team circled back. With the two rovers’ firepower, it was difficult to monitor both sides. Han Xiao immediately made a decision.
“Take the briefcase with the red-triangle marking from the trailer. I have something I want you to do!”
Frenzied Sword instantly carried out the orders, carrying the briefcase in hand. Inside it was a bomb with massive destructive power. Han Xiao quickly scribbled down the task and tossed it over.
_____________________
[Brave Sacrifice]: Take your unfulfilled dreams and explode into glorious sparks!
_____________________
Frenzied Sword unconsciously gulped down his saliva.
“Go for it, youngster. I’ll leave the stage to you,” Han Xiao casually remarked as he continued to barrage the test-subject with attacks.
“I… I got it…” Frenzied Sword clenched his jaw. The rewards from the task were extremely attractive and could definitely make up for the death penalty.
The strengthened Red Falcon released a series of shots, leaving bullet holes in the three experimental subjects’ bodies. Han Xiao’s aggressive abilities had already reached the maximum level. Through the cracks in the exoskeleton, he dealt damage straight to the flesh. His attacks were on point, restricting the three test-subjects.
Soon, No. 042 was shot in his vitals by the barrage of attacks. His health bar receded to zero as he fell to the ground, dead. The other two, however, were nonchalant to the death of their ally, continuing to charge forth.
On the other side, the other military truck closed in rapidly toward them. Han Xiao redirected the Second-Generation Rover toward it, opening fire against several military vehicles. The tightly packed firing left red streaks amid them, as though it was a rainbow that linked them together.
The rover’s endurance rapidly fell. Seeing that they could not withstand the attacks, Han Xiao commanded the rover to dive into the team and execute the self-destruct function. The enemy, unable to react in time, was enveloped in striking flames that swallowed up several vehicles as a series of explosions ensued.
Both sides were decimated at once.
With the loss of two Second-Generation Rovers, Han Xiao remained unfazed. Technology-based warfare was just like that, money-burning… But he was indeed generous. If it was another player, they definitely could not bear to do such a thing. However, Han Xiao had all the money he needed.
The sniper rifle had a limit to its firing speed. Finally, both test-subject were within fifty meters of him.
Frenzied Sword remembered the contents of the task. Steadying his heart, he leaped forward, lunging onto No. 043 as a fist pierced through his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood and clenched his teeth as he activated the bomb in the briefcase.
Boom!
A mini mushroom-shaped cloud rose up into the skies. The sweltering wave of hot air mixed with dust exploded, and the fully-equipped Han Xiao was splattered with dirt.
Through the smoke, the debilitated No. 044 Experimental Body rushed over again. In the moment when the explosion took place, No. 043 was ahead of him in the rush and exploded into nothingness. No. 044 immediately dropped to the ground and was still able to move as his gaze oozed with bloodlust.
With only the last ten meters left, in a second, he would be able to lodge his steel fist into that foul sniper!
At that moment, [Flaming Will] finished its cooldown!
Han Xiao suddenly threw aside Red Falcon, reloaded the Ghost sniper as he activated [Overload], reinforcing it with [Flaming Will], and fired.
The bullet, with blue light trailing behind it, disappeared from sight as it shot straight through No. 044’s head. Blood spurted out like an arrow, leaving a thin, long streak of blood on No. 044.
No. 044 took several steps forward without losing momentum. Suddenly, his body tilted, falling to Han Xiao’s feet. Just one more step, and he would have been able to reach Han Xiao. His still eyes had a trace of unwillingness.
This scene was far too familiar to Han Xiao. Fighting with a Mechanic, distance was always the determining factor between a win or a loss. Many other enemies had fallen right before reaching their target, just like this.
It’s a shame. Even if you managed to engage me in close-quarter combat, you wouldn’t have lived.
Han Xiao shook his head. There were still many cards that he had not shown yet. These immature test-subjects were far from his match.
_____________________
[Second Advancement]
Current Progress: 1/3
_____________________
The battle this time could be considered an easy fight. Mass-produced assembly line soldiers were the easiest enemies for him to take on.
There’s still two more.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He only needed two more higher-level kills before he could increase his rank. The interface displayed a sea of EXP, and he was looking forward to advancing his skills.
Frenzied Sword sacrificed his virgin death. Ten seconds later, he was revived next to the trailer. Looking at the quest rewards and enemy kill experience, he could not hold back his grin.
The Germinal team that had come to intercept him had been eliminated. The heated battle grounds were already at the pinnacle of its battle. Stardragon’s and Germinal’s foot soldiers had both been massacred. The battle was at a standstill and in a complete mess. Han Xiao spared a few glances and decidedly knew that he would no longer get a chance to interfere.
After contemplating for two seconds, he quickly made a decision. He beckoned the grinning Frenzied Sword onto the car.
The vehicle continued to travel onward, circling around the heat of the battle, and headed in the direction of the Tedramira River.
…
In the battlegrounds, Sleepy Winter taunted, “Did I see that right? Is that Frenzied Sword‽”
Han Xiao’s battle was very conspicuous. They saw Frenzied Sword’s ID floating above his head and got a shock. Twinkle Fried Rice was at a loss; even the cold, prideful Rainy Kim had her mouth wide open.
Sleepy Winter remembered that even at the internal examinations, Frenzied Sword rejected his goodwill and did not enter the Stardragon Army. So, how could he be on the battleground now? And by self-destructing, he defeated a high-level monster; they saw all of it happen!
“If my eyes didn’t play tricks on me, that black-clothed person he’s following… that was the Black Phantom, who appeared a while ago at Big Horn Mountain,” Rainy Kim suddenly said.
“Are you sure about that?” Sleepy Winter asked.
“I recorded the entire battle just now. Just watch it and you’ll know,” Twinkle Fried Rice said.
Sleepy Winter seemed to be a little depressed. Frenzied Sword and the three of them had started on the same foot, but now he seemed to have gotten way ahead of them. It made Sleepy Winter feel a little pressured… and curious as well.
No wonder he didn’t want to join us during the internal beta. What exactly happened to Frenzied Sword? Why is he with Black Phantom?
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The battle was raging on the Tedramira River.
Hesla was responsible for securing the waters. A naval formation was stationed at the estuary, and a huge portion of them were battleships loaded with large-caliber artillery. The Germinal Navy was bombarded from a distance of over ten kilometers away. The cannons firepower could reach ten over miles, piercing through the air at high speed, forming a parabola in the night sky. This brought significant damage to the Germinal fleet.
The destroyers in the formation launched several homing missiles at the beginning of the battle, but they were intercepted by Germinal Fleet’s cannon in the air. They were now useless. All they could do was maintain the defense line.
The command ship, Scyther, positioned itself in the center of the formation.
“The enemy is roughly twelve kilometers away from the water mines near the exit of the sea. Don’t give the enemy any time to break out of the trap.” Scyther’s Admiral assigned the tasks in a swift and decisive manner. “Deer, Carp and Shark units have been preloaded with torpedoes. Await Germinal’s entry and then fire away! Feed them full with a round of firepower.
“As for the offense formation, maintain the intensity of firepower; no change. Sonar scanners take note of the surrounding waters; there could be a chance for Germinal reinforcements to appear. Inform the Stardragon’s men to release some infantry units whenever necessary. Delay the Germinal Navy’s time…
“Transfer this message to Stardragon’s Commander: We need their assault troops to be on standby!”
On the other side, the troops that were deployed to fight the battle surrounded and harassed the Germinal fleet. Using bombs as their main form of attack, this caused quite some trouble for the Germinal fleet. There were bound to be some lucky cannon balls that escaped their intercepting fire, and when this happened, three of their ships sank. As the fleet’s main purpose was to evacuate, their weaponry was not sufficient to wage a war. They were not even able to lock on to the high-speed battleships, let alone trying to deal any damage.
However, Germinal still had a plan of their own!
A fighter jet poured another wave of ammunition, and while the pilot was preparing to make another round, a shroud of dark fog exploded around him all of a sudden. A figure appeared out of thin air. It was a demon with dark eyeshadow and ear studs, with a sharp blade in his hand. He quickly sliced through the pilot’s throat, splashing blood upon the window.
The fighter jet crashed down in the water with the pilot’s corpse. The demon smiled coldly and disappeared, leaving only a dash of black fog.
Teleportation ability! Germinal Organization executive officer, Renette.
…
Hila stepped onto the bow of the ship. The wind was blowing through that red hair of hers. She took in a deep breath, raising both her hands as though worshipping the sun. Gray air slowly flowed through from the fresh dead bodies in the battlefield. It gathered from all directions and tingled Hila’s five senses.
Her face flushed as if she had breathed in God’s medicine. She closed her eyes and then opened them even wider than before. An invisible sound wave rose from her lungs out to her throat, and she screamed.
“Ah—”
It was like a ghost’s piercing scream.
The eyes of the pilots in the sky burst, their ears bleeding. Their brains were shaken into a state of confusion. The pilots fell one after another like broken kites, crashing onto the ground and water. They were fried into balls of fire.
A no-fly zone had formed in the sky, and the fighter jet formation had single-handedly been taken down by Hila! The remaining fighter jets received orders and hurriedly retreated!
This was the horrible threat of military operations. They required people to operate the machines. If the operator was too weak, Hila’s killing threat could disrupt their mind. Aquamarine’s technological advancements did not hold much against Hila’s mental disruption skills.
Only a few reconnaissance drones continued to track and observe the sky.
Renette teleported to Hila’s side, with one hand painfully rubbing his head. His nose was bleeding, and he had a dark, gloomy expression. “Were you trying to kill me as well‽”
Hila gave him a cold shoulder, refusing to answer. Renette could only swallow this breath, not daring to provoke her.
In the command room, Lin Yu did not really pay much attention to the battle. He looked at his watch and whispered to himself, “It’s almost time.”
The Germinal Organization’s infantry had broken through the defense line and was now rapidly approaching their intended destination. Stardragon’s army executed according to plan; they opened the gates to allow water to gush in. They wanted it to be a naval battle. Hila would take over the confrontation after the infantry units had boarded their ships. These infantry units would just be useless in a naval battle; they would also become a burden. They were reducing their death toll but weakening themselves too.
There was a new type of missile up on the destroyer ship that could cruise and split and avoid attempts to intercept it. The very moment Germinal’s fleet and their infantry linked up, they would fire, and one round of it would cause major deaths to Germinal’s fleet. The Germinal troops would then begin to flee. Division 13’s ambush units would then board the ship and slaughter everyone aboard.
That was the next step of the plan.
However, in reality, things never went according to plan. Accidents were bound to happen.
Dududu!
The piercing sirens upon Hesla’s command ship sounded. The radar detected dozens of targets approaching at high speed underwater.
Ghostly torpedo!
Where did it come from!
It was too late to intercept it. A warship near the seaport exploded, fire spurting everywhere.
Hesla’s high-ranking officers had been paying close attention to the battle. The naval formations made them extremely furious.
“Anti-sonar submarines‽ How did the signal not sound anything at all? How far is the enemy’s range‽”
These could only be Germinal’s submarines. Where did they come from? Could it be that Germinal had planned this all along, to withdraw some troops from Andrea? Or was there a secret base on an island nearby‽
No matter the reason, the enemy had reinforcements, and they now needed to deal with the unexpected situation!
“Where are our submarines‽” Hesla’s officers roared. They had planned for several submarines in the vicinity as backup and immediately activated them to search for the enemy’s submarines.
The navy suffered heavy losses and were busy tending to emergency repairs. They could not proceed with the missile strikes. This caused strategic disruptions, and the situation was getting out of hand.
Germinal’s fleet took this chance. They changed their formation. The ship sailed to the shore, opened up, and lowered the slats, providing a bridge for the ground troops to cross. The edge of the stern dragged along the shore of the beach. This method came with a huge risk of beaching the ship. Other ships would throw a hook to link the ship. That way, even if the ship became stuck, it could be pulled back to sea anytime.
The root of Lin Yu’s confidence came from their submarine team. They were reinforcements that Germinal’s forces had called for early on. They relied on this ambush, breaking Hesla’s blockade and strategic formation!
In order to break through Stardragon’s ambush, Ugar had lost more than half of the troops, and when this opportunity arose, he immediately ordered the team to speed up and rush toward the barge ship.
Stardragon’s assault troops, which were on standby, became anxious. They followed Hesla’s plan to launch a round of missiles first before rushing up. If there was no such link, rushing up would simply be equivalent to commiting suicide!
“What shall we do?”
If they waited any longer and the Germinal Organization’s forces manage to link up successfully, there would be no more chances.
The assault troops were all from Stardragon’s Division 13. They were all specialists and elites. They could hear their superior’s command. It was only one word.
“Forward!”
There was no hesitation. The assault teams rushed forward. Germinal’s Navy fired a round of missiles at once, and the ambush troops forced their way through the gunfire. Fireworks lit up beside. Their comrades fell and exploded, but they remained unfazed. They were fearless.
As a soldier, they always followed orders. Even if it was a magma in front of them, they would still have to jump. It was with this steel-like will that Stardragon stood out from hundreds of countries since the beginning, becoming one of the last six winners.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wearing his power suit, Zhang Wei stood at the front of the battleship as the barrier. Lambert dealt damage by sniping.
This assault boat did not only have Zhang Wei’s team of four—as Lin Yao was not taking part in battle—there were still ten elite fighters.
The battleship surged forward through the waves, surfing through the onslaught of bullets and missiles before it collided into the Germinal ship with a loud bang. The infiltration team jumped aboard and began exchanging blows intensely with the Germinal soldiers.
The infiltration team’s attack strategy only had two goals. The first was to massacre the barge’s attack forces and destroy the land vehicles that were on the boat. The second was to take control of the boat. As Hesla’s backup troop did not arrive as planned, the infiltration team was not in a good position. They were falling into a difficult battle.
The Germinal Organization’s plans were affected, causing their progress to slow down. The Germinal executive officers set out to counter Stardragon’s infiltration team.
Zhang Wei’s team was struggling to get the upper hand on the barge. Suddenly, a strong gale came rushing over without warning, like a ghost. The team’s internal alarms rang on high alert as they hurried to dodge it. However, they still could not dodge the shockwaves of the wind. A strong wave of dizziness overcame them.
Clenching their teeth, they looked toward the direction where the enemy was standing. There, they saw Hila whom they had once crossed swords before.
Hila had a cold expression. She still remembered she had once fought the Stardragon soldiers. Last time, she had taken a small loss because of them. Remembering that, her killing intent was more murderous than before. Both of her hands emitted a dim, gray light, as if they were balls of mysterious, sinister energy that could suck them in. Furthermore, it was continuously growing in size. It would be hard to imagine how frightening the next blow could be.
Hou Yue had a pained expression on his face as he held up both his guns with the intent to aim. But with a light sneer from Hila, her voice carried forth an overwhelming psychological suppression from the Necromastery ability. As if he had taken a hard blow, Hou Yue staggered backward as his nose spurted blood.
Hila did not even spare him a look as she turned her gaze to Li Yalin. Her killing intent was clear. This was the special female assassin that had used the Lightweight Mechanical Arm; she definitely knew Zero’s whereabouts!
Li Yalin had a look of steely determination. She pulled out her Foldable Machete as she lunged toward Hila fearlessly. As the pugilist in the team, she had to initiate battles.
Hopefully I can last the first bout. Li Yalin quietly clenched her jaw. As long as she could hold out till Hila’s next attack, she had confidence that she could close in to restrict Hila’s movements such that she would not have time to release another one of those psychological attacks. Even though Hila’s abilities were strong, she was only using the attack on a superficial level, and every release required build-up to release the skill.
“Naive.” Hila remained expressionless. Flipping both her palms, she was about to use the highly-concentrated Necromancer’s abilities to shock Lin Yalin into an idiot.
However, the next second, a sudden large wave of power surged toward the side of her ribs, causing her to fly off sideways as she collided into the side of an SUV, and her ribs throbbed with pain.
Hila was in so much pain that her face turned ashen. With a deep heave, the Necromancer’s power on her hand suddenly dissipated. In her shock, she turned to look at the source of the attack.
There was a van driving along the shore, staying alongside the boat. From the driver’s window seat, a sniper was hinged on the window as a black-gloved palm held onto this deadly weapon with its muzzle releasing thick smoke.
Han Xiao cocked the gun, and another smoking bullet was released from the muzzle. He sat in the main driver’s seat, and the smart-chip system in the van began driving on autopilot. Driving at a constant speed, it drove alongside Germinal’s boat. When they reached the valley, he had spotted traces that Stardragon might let Germinal troops off the hook. So, Han Xiao drove to the lake beforehand; his target to capture the Germinal executive officers.
He spotted Hila in an instant, then he saw Zhang Wei and the others. Slightly taken aback, he did not expect this coincidence. Seeing his former teammate fall into danger, Han Xiao did not say anything else before pulling out Red Falcon and firing. Hila’s defensive air barrier was weakened to a large extent, and its penetration abilities dissipated, turning into momentum that pushed her away.
The interface displayed Hila’s abilities. After one year, Hila had leveled up from LV 30 to LV 40, and Han Xiao was at the same level as her. He could see her stats, and her two strongest stats were Mystery and Intelligence. Her abilities were described as well.
_____________________
[Necromancer’s Power]: Dictating death and capturing souls.
Potential Rating: S
_____________________
Outsiders could only see the description of the ability. Only the master of the ability could see the specific effects and the extent that it was developed.
Through her basic knowledge, where she used her genes to develop her ability, more applications for her techniques could be obtained.
Even though Hila’s ability potential was high, she was only at LV 40 now. Her strength had yet to be completely used to its fullest potential, but Han Xiao did not have any interest in Hila’s battling methods. Hila’s special abilities seemed to lean toward attacking, but actually, it was actually a versatile ability. From Hila’s abilities, he saw several textbook specialties as well.
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[High-speed Fusion]: Grim Reaper’s power is able to heal flesh wounds—Under regular circumstances, +500% health regeneration speed. While using energy, +1000%–2000% health regeneration speed
[Vitals Immunity]: Scent of death supports your life—Vitals are immune to critical attacks
[Soul Disregard]: Dictators of Death fear nothing—+20% resistance to negative effects, +30% psychological resistance
[Ignore Sudden Death]: Death is like the wind, always by your side—Will not receive any fatal attacks. When health points are lower than 1%, a special status effect will be obtained
_____________________
Han Xiao was helpless; these abilities made Hila practically impenetrable. No, it should not be described as impenetrable, but rather like a cockroach that would not die no matter how much one hit it, unless one used an extremely strong attack ability to finish Hila off.
Oh, I forgot, she was even immune to instant death. Forget it, I’m probably better off just taking a nap…
Han Xiao shook his head.
As expected of the future big boss, the number of her abilities is almost as high as Bennett’s. The only difference between the main roles is just luck.
Hila, the hardest person to take on, was the first person he had met, but Zhang Wei’s team had fallen into a difficult situation. Since he had the means to help out, he naturally would not stand aside and not lend a helping hand. After all, they had fought together side by side before.
Taking advantage of Hila’s distraction, Li Yalin closed in and slashed at her. Hila, as she staggered back in pain, was infuriated by Han Xiao’s sneak attack. Meanwhile, her wounds’ recovery could be seen by the naked eye. However, her being on the boat meant that she could not take out the sniper on the shore. After all, she did not specialize in speed and could only use a vehicle as a barricade against the sniper.
Yet, once Li Yalin, Zhang Wei, and the others found an opening, they instantly engaged in battle with her, forcing Hila to move out of position, exposing her to Han Xiao’s sniping view.
Even though they did not know who the sniper on the shore was, they knew that he was evidently there to help. So, Zhang Wei’s team took the initiative to launch a cooperative attack.
This strategy was very effective. Hila’s movements were instantly restricted, and with the sniper’s uncanny ability to find openings, he managed to stop her from counter-attacking at the right moment every time. This synchronized perfectly with Li Yalin, Zhang Wei, and the others’ movements. Hila realized that she had actually fallen into a situation where she could not retaliate at all. Thus, she could only stay on the defensive, dodging every attack.
But from Zhang Wei and the others’ perspective, it was a ray of light for them. Originally, the team of four had created a battle strategy. But after Hou Yue received heavy injuries, it rendered him unable to fight and left a hole in their teamwork. But that sniper was able to patch up that gap. At every critical moment, he managed to fire a timely shot to assist them.
It was as if he was someone who had a solid grasp of their fighting style.
Who was he?
Li Yalin and Zhang Wei began to have such thoughts.
Hou Yue, who was still suffering from dizzy spells, could only fend off regular soldiers. Watching Zhang Wei and the others coordinate with the sniper, he suddenly felt as if that sniper was actually a real team member of theirs, and it was he who was only an outsider.
“Hila is held up?” Lin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. Looking toward the van at the shore, he squinted. “Black Phantom? What is he doing here?”
They were almost at the end of the estuary. Just slightly ahead of them was the sea. Lin Yu was in dire need for Hila’s abilities to deal AOE damage. She definitely had to get out of that situation. He ordered, “Ugar, get rid of Black Phantom.”
Ugar had already boarded the ship. Overwhelming with his dark purple aura and without any further orders, he was about to lunge toward Han Xiao, who was in the van. But suddenly, he sensed a wave of energy from someone with pugilist powers that were equal to his. When he turned to look, a middle-aged Stardragon special agent had just stepped onto another ship. His fists, wrapped with a flaming-red aura, slammed into the side of an SUV that was parked on the deck with a force comparable to a steam hammer.
That car instantly deflated as it flew out like a bullet shell. Along the way, it collided with a few of Germinal’s soldiers and another two cars as they simultaneously flew off the ship.
That fist was as strong as a missile!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Division 13’s trump card!” Ugar’s face was solemn, and he no longer cared about Han Xiao. He was locked onto the middle-aged man. Both were powerful martial artists, and as their eyes met, it was as though a bomb just exploded.
Both of them were fuming, and their fists collided like two streaks of transverse lightning striking the sky. The scene seemed to freeze while the sky roared. Ripples could be seen on the surface of the river.
“What a chill!”
Martial artists specialized on controlling their own spirit, and it specialized on training body energy.
Division 13 had played their trump card. Lin Yu had no choice but to send out Ugar, who was at the same rank, to fight back. Exasperated, he ordered, “Renette, go get rid of that Black Phantom.”
“Easy,” Renette uttered.
As an assassin with a teleportation ability, Renette believed he was the nemesis of all snipers, even if it was Black Phantom. With a snap of his fingers, the tired Black Phantom would be gone from this world.
Renette had always seen himself as an artist.
The next second, black mist flashed, and Renette was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, he appeared in the driver’s seat of the truck and was going to stab the sword through Han Xiao’s head.
“Teleportation?” Han Xiao was alert and immediately activated the full body electromagnetic armor.
However, the sword was unable to reach even his armor. Frenzied Sword had reacted quickly. He had rushed to block the sword for Han Xiao and died on the spot.
Both were taken aback. Eyes filled with bloodlust, Han Xiao reacted within seconds. He grabbed Renette by his hand using one arm while he activated the thermo-electrical incisor gloves on his other hand. Amid the buzzing of the electricity, he slapped the gloves onto Renette’s face, and immediately, a burning smell filled the air.
“AHH!”
The shrill scream was ear-piercing!
Renette was in crazy pain, and he teleported straight back to the ship. As he tried to move his arm, he realized that Han Xiao was grabbing onto his arm. Han Xiao was also brought onto the barge.
Han Xiao moaned angrily and just would not let go of Renette’s face. With his five fingers penetrating Renette’s skull, the damage dealt was increasing at the speed of waterfall. The pain was so unbearable that Renette let out painful beastly cry, and his expression changed. Han Xiao abruptly raised his other hand and gave him a violent slap. The strength of that slap was over fifty points and instantaneously smashed Renette’s brain into a charred lump of meat.
_____________________
You’ve killed Renette (LV 46).
You’ve gained 60,000 EXP.
Target was 6 levels higher than you. Energy expended: 82%
You’ve gain additional 49,200 EXP!
_____________________
[Second Advancement]
Progress: 2/3
_____________________
Han Xiao panted, trying to catch his breath. Teleportation is indeed powerful but can be weak too. He is suitable to be an assassin, but he thought my weakness was close range attacks.
Teleportation was not a bad ability. If the Superhuman was careful enough, they could be unbeatable. In fact, there were small differences in various teleportation abilities. For instance, when one teleported, could another be brought along as well? How big was the range? Was it within visible range, or was it anywhere one could think of? What kind of teleportation was this; was it imagination, or was it the recombination of matter? Was the energy consumption constant, or did it depend on the distance travelled? Was it purely just traveling from place to place, or could it be aggressive too?
It was all in the details. These were the death-causing reasons.
In the past, he had encountered other characters capable of teleportation, such as a guy with recombination of matter type of teleportation ability. Once he crashed into a battleship’s ionizing shield, he would instantly dissociate into powder. One with the imagination type of teleportation ability would teleport all over the galaxy and ended up overexerting his energy and become weak. Renette’s teleportation seemed to be a mix between imagination and recombination of matter. When he grabbed hold of another person’s body, the other party would also teleport together. This belonged to contact type of teleportation and could be dangerous once one was trapped in it.
His sniping seemed to be the reason that led to Renette’s death. This was also an idea that Han Xiao liked to mislead the others. When assassins thought that close-range attacks could kill him, it usually led to their own death. This disguise instantly tricked one teleporter. If it was a normal battle, Han Xiao knew that he would be helpless against Renette.
Han Xiao stood up and finally understood the situation he was in. First, he got brought onto the ship by Renette, and then Germinal troops were all around him, with their weapons all pointing at him and preventing his escape.
Completely surrounded!
Han Xiao’s eyes froze as he covered his chest with his hands.
“Fire!”
Endless bullets drowned Han Xiao.
All of a sudden, with Han Xiao in the center, a strong invisible force was released. Enemies and vehicles within the range of twenty meters all flew out and fell into the river. This area became empty.
Han Xiao was the only person left behind. His chest was not covered by the electromagnetic armor, revealing a palm size big precise device tied to his chest. The device was creaking, and slowly, it became softer, eventually coming to a stop.
_____________________
Field Repulsive Machine
Type: Extraordinary Machine
Quality: Green
Energy Capacity: 110/150 (requires charging)
Effective Range: 20m
Effect: Releases a strong repulsive field and pushes away and objects in the range
Cooldown Time: 6 minutes
Remarks: Get lost
_____________________
After experimenting for two months, Han Xiao had obtained a variety of blue prints and had already started to suit himself up.
Han Xiao pulled out his two third-generation Berserk Eagles, activated his Electromagnetic Hover-boots, and jumped onto another ship.
Since I am here, I might as well kill some people!
With Renette’s blood on his body, Han Xiao started his killing on the barge.
The Berserk Eagles had bullets coming out of them non-stop, and because the recoil was too strong, he was unable to move his wrist. The bullets penetrated through every single Germinal soldier, either through their chest or head shot, leaving the floor full of corpses. It was just like a dark movie, whereby no one could stop him.
Soon enough, he arrived on the ship with Li Yalin.
Han Xiao’s willful actions soon caught the attention of everyone.
Lin Yu was furious. Renette, that idiot, did not just get himself killed but had even brought the monster onto the ship. Their ship was about to leave the estuary, and yet he still made such a mess!
“Quickly, get rid of that Black Phantom!” Lin Yu demanded. As their commander, he could not attack easily. If he did, there would be no one left to observe the battle.
Hila had long discovered Han Xiao, and she was already full of anger. She clapped her hands and created a mental shock to deter Li Yalin and the others. She took a deep breath and gathered all the power of the corpses, turned, and screamed at Han Xiao. She used all the gathered power on Han Xiao, and the air rippled like a sound wave.
This was like an exploding bomb in the brain!
A sudden pain hit Han Xiao. It felt as though someone was using a spoon to stir all around his brain. The sky in his sight seemed to be tilted as he lost control of his body and stumbled to one side. Feeling nauseous, the veins on Han Xiao’s temples seemed to jump vigorously as if they were going to explode.
_____________________
You have suffered 211 mental damage!
You are in a dizzy state!
_____________________
With my intelligence characteristic providing me with a mental defense, I still suffered 200+ damage! If I did not have [Low-Level Strengthened Life], I could have lost almost one fifth of my HP!
On a technologically-advanced new planet, Hila’s combat strength was scary!
Bearing the pin-pricking pain in his head, Han Xiao whipped out a gray grenade from his waist and threw it out. His accuracy was compromised, and the grenade landed ten meters away from Hila.
Hila thought that this was the side effect from him being dizzy and did not pay attention to it. She decided to return with a more impactful one, but out of the blue, the grenade detonated. There was no flame nor shrapnel, only an ear-piercing high-pitched sound that rushed directly into her eardrums.
Hila’s brain started hurting, and she felt the world was turning, too.
“You can make people dizzy, so can I!” Han Xiao gnashed his teeth.
_____________________
Burst Grenade: Uses high frequency sound to disrupt the eardrum.
Range: 50m
Effects: causes one to feel dizzy
Magnitude of affects determined by Endurance.
Stunning enemies was a tactic commonly used by psychics. Their strong willpower resistance was their strength. However, burst grenades would cause a sense of dizziness at a physiological level because it caused ear fluid imbalances. Therefore, despite the strong willpower resistance psychics possessed, endurance was key in this case. That was the biggest weakness of all psychics, leaving them defenseless.
Hila immediately suffered damage from the attack. Agony was all over her face as she stumbled from one side to another like a wave.
No matter who Hila was, during a battle, she only had one identity—enemy! Han Xiao knew no mercy and continued shooting coldly. The bullets landed all over Hila’s body. Eventually, when the bullets ran out, he set the Electromagnetic Hover-boots to the highest power, and before Hila could retaliate, he kicked Hila. She flew up into the air, knocked onto the railing, and finally fell into the river.
The river was stained with blood as Hila’s body sank. Han Xiao did not believe that Hila would die so easily, and there was no news on the interface. He expected that after all these attacks, Hila would be able to recover soon enough, but there was no need to worry for the moment.
This enemy is so difficult to kill; I can’t just tackle her right now.
As this thought flashed through his head, Han Xiao then had time to think about Li Yalin, a team mate from the past, who was now looking at him with shock.
“Black Phantom?” Zhang Wei asked carefully. He could not help but feel a sense of familiarity.
Zhang Wei did not seem to not recognize him, and that was great. Thinking about the feud between the Germinal Organization and Zero, it was best if he continued hiding his identity. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled and heard Li Yalin suddenly yelling, “Han Xiao‽”
“Han Xiao? Who is that? I think you’ve got the wrong person.”
“It’s you! Stop pretending! I could recognize you even if you turned into ash!” Li Yalin gnashed her teeth.
Damn, how did she recognize me? Based on my polished acting skills, how could I still be exposed‽
Han Xiao was dumbfounded.
This young lady is really unpredictable!
Members of the troops were stunned. They were doubtful about Li Yalin’s judgement, but at the same time, they were a little convinced. At that moment, Han Xiao, who was in full black, holding Berserk Eagles in both hands, suddenly revealed his own face.
“Oh, that’s what you actually look like…” Zhang Wei murmured as he finally understood why Han Xiao had always worn a mask in the past.
In the past, when they were working together for Division 13, Han Xiao had always worn a mask. Members of the troops never saw what he looked like and never knew Han Xiao’s true identity. At the moment, they thought that the face they saw on the facial simulator was Han Xiao’s actual face. They had expected him to be quite handsome.
No one expected that the famous Black Phantom would turn out to be a former comrade. Everyone was puzzled; had he been that strong in the past? Why didn’t he show that, and why did he want to leave Stardragon to become an assassin? The higher-ups seemed to have acquiesced, too.
Wait, he became the Black Phantom of the Dark Net Organization, and the higher-ups were so ambivalent about it; was this actually a secret mission?
“You got it wrong. No time for nonsense now, the enemies are here!” Han Xiao said sternly.
Li Yalin raged. “It’s no use even if you deny!”
Right! The higher-ups must have sent him for a secret mission; that’s why he cannot reveal his identity! Could it be that Stardragon is going after the Dark Net next?
The crowd was unknowingly forming a misunderstanding about the situation.
The conversation ended quickly. On the battlefield, everyone could only suppress their doubts and focus on dealing with the enemies. It was a fierce battle between Stardragon’s commando squad and Germinal Organization’s troops. Superhumans were found all over the battlefield, launching attacks with their powers. A symphony of cries of agony and gunshots played through the battle.
A Germinal executive headed straight for Han Xiao. Han Xiao pointed toward the executive with his hands forming a pistol and signalled to the Stardragon team to join forces against the enemy. Zhang Wei and his team naturally had no objection and started fighting by his side.
As the Germinal executive rushed over, his body suddenly swelled up like a balloon and transformed into a four-meter-tall white beast. The white beast started running on the deck like a wolf, and his heavy body caused the deck to vibrate. He opened his big mouth and pounced over. This action was full of elegance and strength.
Transfiguration was a common branch from the Esper family. They could take different forms—some weaker, and others stronger. The forms they took on could be so strange that they could even be out of the imagination. It was said to be related to evolution and various gene mutations. Some would transform into an alien creature while some would transform into wild beasts. This Esper branch appeared most commonly on planets that were magic based. This trait could be passed down through blood inheritance or be acquired through training.
Science and magic formed different civilizations, and there were differences in the understanding of certain things. In addition, their methods of experimentation could be different, too, and each had its own unique points in terms of advancement.
The great white wolf hopped around the deck as it tried to attack. Han Xiao, Zhang Wei, and two others joined forces to try to takedown the wolf. Han Xiao felt it was no one of his business. He allowed Zhang Wei and his power suit to act as the tank while Han Xiao stood at the side and tried to launch some sneak attacks. Sometimes he would use his thermo-electrical incisor gloves to slice a piece of meat off the wolf.
Hou Yao also used his Berserk Eagles, and his action was swift as the coursing river. Initially, he was proud of himself. After witnessing how skillful and minimalistic Han Xiao was and how he would never miss a single bullet, Hou Yao felt like he was making a fool of himself.
You really live up to your name, Mr. Black Phantom, such dexterity in handling double guns, Hou Yao admired secretly.
He had joined Zhang Wei’s team mainly because he had received the orders from the high-ups, and he had never ever heard of Zhang Wei’s team being able to produce good results. To his surprise, the extraordinary Black Phantom had actually been part of this team in the past.
The great white wolf was beaten up badly. Realizing that it was beyond its ability to retaliate and other executives were unable to help, it turned and fled the scene. Han Xiao had already expected this, and right then, he fired his Berserk Eagles at the great white wolf’s eyes, activating the [Flaming Will].
This time, the damage was increased by 3.2 times!
Boom!
The great white wolf’s eyes exploded, and it groaned in pain as it fell onto the deck. The whole barge shook for a second. Zhang Wei immediately dealt another blow. With his ammunition emptied, Zhang Wei’s arm armor extended into a golden sword. He leapt as his exoskeleton provided him with the energy and latched onto the great white wolf’s body as he slashed it violently many times.
The others came forward to help and eventually killed the great white wolf together.
Just then, the backup troops finally arrived at the port and let off a signal flare to signal for them to retreat. At that moment, Zhang Wei turned and asked Han Xiao, “Han… Black Phantom, do you want to leave with us?”
“No, thanks.” Han Xiao waved his hand.
“Alright, thanks for your help, I’ll remember this. Stardragon will also remember this!”
Zhang Wei’s speech had a hidden meaning. Together with his troops, he turned and leapt onto the assault boat. Lin Yalin stared in Han Xiao’s direction.
As members of the Division 13 were withdrawing, Han Xiao activated his electromagnetic skating shoes and jumped onto the shore. He rushed for the truck that had been following him around automatically, jumped into the driver’s seat, switched it to manual driving, and left the shore speedily.
Hila, who was wet through and through, climbed onto the ship. Fighting off her dizziness, she glared at the departing truck. She was always the one treating people like that, but this time around, she had actually had a taste of her own medicine.
“Black Phantom, I will remember you!” Hila eyes froze as her body healed quickly.
The Germinal troops arrived at the port and released a torpedo, causing the sea mines to explode. With the water exploding, they successfully entered the open sea.
Hesla’s navy also came by and was not reconciled to not giving chase. Both ships were restricted by each other. In the midst of the firing the cannons, the Germinal ship sank.
Based on the battle strategies, the Germinal’s forces broke free from the attacks and escaped.
However, based on the damages suffered from the battle, Germinal lost seventy percent of their troops while Hesla’s losses were less than ten percent of what Germinal had lost. With that being said, victory was definitely not Germinal’s.
Although they had not been able to stop all the Germinal forces, both nations were able to achieve the battle objective of damaging the enemy.
All in all, the winners of the battle were Stardragon and Hesla.
…
Through the window, Han Xiao glanced at the sea. As the destruction from the sea battle slowly went out of sight, he shook his head.
“The battle is over.”
Han Xiao glanced at Frenzied Sword, who seemed to have revived and was sitting beside him, and wrote him a mission with no requirements. Frenzied Sword had taken a stab for him, and thus, he would give him some EXP even if he did not need to.
The description of the mission was actually the reward for taking a stab for Han Xiao, and that made Frenzied Sword surprised. His action was purely voluntarily as he thought it was okay for him to die but Han Xiao must not. He did not expect any reward, and he became even more determined to protect Han Xiao.
After giving the reward, Han Xiao turned to his own interface and grinned from ear to ear.
_____________________
[Second Advancement]
Progress: 3/3
_____________________
The great white wolf that he had fought against with Zhang Wei was a LV 45 character. As it was a joint battle, the additional EXP obtained was little. However, the requirement for advancement could be said to have been completed, which meant…
I can advance!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao was right in the middle of a battlefield. He decided that it was not an appropriate time for his advancement.
I should get out of this battlefield first.
He decided to look through other information first, such as the results from [Tedramira River Battle]. His final evaluation was a B. He had 450,000 EXP on hand, which was far more than what he had expected, and he had millions of EXP accumulated on his interface as well.
[Fall of the Germinal]—the progress of that level A mission had increased by two percent, and the improvement for automated destruction was even better. The evacuating Germinal troops had been a large force made up of many different troops from different settlements. Therefore, when Stardragon and Hesla crippled the evacuees, he also took a share.
The total gain had reached twenty-one percent. This meant that he had completed the requirements of this quest. The Southern Continent could not offer him any further improvements. He could go to the Western Continent and the Northern Continent next to anticipate a large battle like this again. Then he could earn more EXP. After that, he would have to go to Germinal’s home base on Andrea Mainland.
There would still be more gains he could reap in the future. So, Han Xiao would not cease [Fall of the Germinal] so quickly. Since the minimum standard was twenty percent and he had already completed the task, it gave him some confidence. This meant he could try and get a higher rating the next time around since he was no longer in a hurry to complete the task.
Based on his experience, the ratings from A-level missions would be higher. The reward was special this time around and not limited to experience, skills, expertise, talent points, special equipment, or even direct rewards of attribute points.
Han Xiao arrived at the location where the Dark Net helicopter was stationed. The driver was on standby as he moved the useful machinery up onto the helicopter. He then blew up the truck without leaving a single trace behind.
The truck had cost him a sum of money, but since he had an abundance of funds, he did not feel the pinch at all.
As the saying goes, it is easy to enter the luxury lifestyle when you’re poor, but it is way more difficult to go back to a pauper kind of lifestyle when you’re rich.
Han Xiao was very fortunate to step on the wealthy path. The market was huge, and he need not worry about money anymore.
“Everyone says that a man turns bad when he becomes rich, and that is so true,” Han Xiao mumbled as he smoked a few cigarettes before getting onto the helicopter, instructing the pilot to take off.
The wind from the rotors was strong, forcing Han Xiao to squint.
…
Waves raged on the dark sea surface, and the smell of blood filled the air.
Breaking away from their pursuers, the Germinal fleet sailed in the boundless sea. They turned on anti-detection to prevent themselves from being discovered by the satellites.
There were many satellites orbiting Aquamarine, and many were from the previous civilization who had fallen. These satellites had been taken in by the Six Nations, but some of them had fallen into the hands of other forces. Some became public satellites for some hackers, and others became space junk.
Each ship had been charred by explosions, and the repairmen were busy fixing them, riveting the steel plates and repairing the damaged mechanical components one by one. The rest of the personnel were cleaning the deck and washing away the blood stains.
Breaking through the blockade made them suffer heavy losses, including the lives of 17 executives. Han Xiao alone had killed three. When Lin Yu was reporting back to the commander, he emphasized on these statistics.
Black Phantom’s intervention surprised the commander. It turned quickly into anger as the commander started to feel like the Germinal Organization had seemed to turn into a tiger without teeth. Anyone dared to bully it. At the same time, it also increased his hatred for Zero.
He had disrupted the plan that they had laid out laboriously and also put the entire organization in grave danger. The commander remembered his conversation with Zero before he escaped from the lab. It angered him more whenever he thought of how this traitor managed to fulfil his promise.
The commander then made people add Black Phantom to the watch list as he had no energy to focus on a small assassin at the moment. The main problem on the commander’s mind was the next step of the plan for the organization.
All the sub-bases of three continents had been evacuated. Now that they had lost the ability to be proactive, the Six Nations had no more reservations, and it was likely that they would seize this opportunity to start the war. The commander did not wish to see this happen as it would bring about critical damage to the organization. He needed time for the Germinal Organization to recuperate. They had to eliminate Zero, who could see into the future.
Germinal had been in Andrea Mainland for a long time, and if the six Nations were to start a war with them, there was no other choice but to leave the mainland and fight from the sea.
Release the Intercontinental Nuclear Bomb? Not to mention that there are civilians living on Andrea Mainland, Germinal also had anti-missile facilities. If they were forced to their wit’s end, they could just set the nuclear bomb off and destroy the world… mutually assured destruction. Of course, that would be his last choice; he could not keep that as a trump card. Even if he were to use this as a threat, the Six Nations would never allow Germinal to continue to grow.
Maybe Red Maple, Ordina, and Hesla would come to a compromise at different stages and start to launch sneak attacks behind the scene, but the rash fool from Theseus and the madman from Raylen would not hold themselves back. They would likely reject any form of compromise and would only launch more aggressive counterattacks. They were not afraid to get destroyed together with Germinal if it had to be.
In the original plot, the four continents were the battlefields for the Six Nations. The secret sub-bases bound the Six Nations and affected the war to a huge extent. Only by having luck on their side, would they have been able to break the stalemate.
When the war got fierce, Germinal troops suffered many defeats and were hugely crippled. As there were not many armed forces left of Germinal, some politicians in the Six Nations perceived their goals to be reached and were voting to compromise. From their perspective, the goal of destroying Germinal had been achieved, and the Six Nations had suffered losses too. They had chosen to allow the Germinal Organization to stay on Andrea Mainland. After all, that was a place where no one wanted to be. Although it was impossible to remove the roots, it could prevent their resurgence.
Any hindrance to the Six Nations had been removed. The Germinal Organization had lost their powerful threats to the Six Nations, such as killing of civilians and destroying cities. Only the Andrea Mainland base camp was left for them, and the Six Nations could combine their powers into one, making the situation for Germinal worse than it already was.
The most urgent task at the moment was to divert the attention of the Six Nations, not allowing them to have time and resources to start the war. The commander gave this thought some thinking again, but he could not think of better ideas.
“Commander, Base 13 has something urgent to report. It is regarding a recent successful test subject from the [Genetic Improvement Plan]. This is the observation record.” An assistant handed him a report.
The moment the commander heard the words ‘test subject’, he felt a headache. He was stunned when he looked at the report.
The assistant then said, “Cases like this did not just happen on one person. As you can see on the following list, this phenomenon seems to have occurred on a large scale, and it is spreading like an infectious disease.”
The commander stayed quiet for a while, looking as if he was digesting the information. He then made a sneer under the mask.
“There are weird phenomena, but it seems like luck is on our side. The Six Nations will have to start worrying now.”
…
In a room on the boat, the light was dim and kept blinking. Hila took off her black combat uniform and faced the mirror to count the number of wounds on her body. The most obvious one was a bullet at the side of her rib, and the dark blood clot that had formed was terrifying.
Hila was expressionless as she rubbed the wound to reveal her tender flesh.
She looked at the mirror and remembered how her skin used to be smooth and fair with barely any scars. Unlike now, she had so many marks of serious injuries on her body.
Hila lowered her eyelids, and her long lashes covered her eyes. She put on her clothes again and went out to stare at the sea silently.
She had to live and wait for the next battle.
…
Zhang Wei and his team took the plane back to Division 13. Other than Zhang Wei, who had to write the report, the rest of the team closed their eyes as they were overwhelmed with fatigue from the battle.
“Say… how did Han Xiao become Black Phantom?” Li Yalin suddenly opened her eyes with a confused look.
“What, Brother Xiao is Black Phantom‽” Lin Yao was taken aback as he had not been involved in the battle and did not know about this matter.
Zhang Wei then explained the story to him.
Lin Yao was flabbergasted and could not help but ask, “You couldn’t have recognized the wrong person, right?”
“I could recognize him even if he turned into ash!” Lin Yalin coldly laughed with confidence.
“Are we not going to look for him and bring him back?”
“He was embarrassed when he left. He must be on a secret mission. I will ask the higher-ups when I report to them,” Zhang Wei said as he shook his head.
Lin Yalin could not help but add, “Do help me ask when he is intending to repay me as well…”
Zhang Wei was lost for words.
“Little Lin Lin, you do not seem to be hurt.” Di Susu, who was in the same plane, came over. Li Yalin’s face suddenly slammed down as she turned her head, ignoring her.
Di Susu was not bothered. She pushed the shy Lin Yao aside and sat down beside Li Yalin. With a playful smile, she moved closer to Li Yalin. She then moved further away hurriedly as if Di Susu was the source of a virus.
Di Susu loved Li Yalin’s face of discomfort. She laughed, turning her eyes away, and asked, “Are you guys talking about Black Phantom? I met him once in the past and heard he took part in the war as well.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Li Yalin’s eyes lit up. She was very certain that Black Phantom was Han Xiao. Curious about what happened to him after he left Division 13, she looked past her annoyance with Di Su Su and asked her eagerly, “What was he doing when you met him?”
“At that time, his code name was still Mr. Black, a Scorpion-level assassin, who was involved in a defense mission in Seagull City with the leader of the Dark Net.”
Li Yalin pumped her intently for more information. “Have you heard anything else?
Di Su Su raised her eyebrows. “Why are you so concerned?”
“I’m curious about him,” Li Yalin explained. She felt that there must have been a deeper reason for Han Xiao becoming Black Phantom. He would not have exposed his identity easily.
Curious? Oh no, that would usually be the first step to the beginning of a love story. We must kill that possibility in its cradle. Di Su Su’s eyes froze but her smile remained. She said slowly, “Oh, I got some information about Black Phantom from a female assassin with codename Golden Fox…”
Five minutes later, the listening crowd was staring with glazed eyes, trying their best to process the huge amount of information.
Lin Yao trembled with fear. At some point in time, Lambert stopped wiping his blade.
Lin Yalin mumbled under her breath, “No wonder he had no physical urge when he was touching me…”
Hou Yue swallowed dryly and told himself that he would hide away if Han Xiao ever returned to the team.
“When you meet him next time, be careful.” Di Su Su chuckled, got up, and sashayed away, leaving the group staring at one another.
Zhang Wei coughed. “He is our teammate after all. Don’t discriminate against him.”
Everyone nodded hesitantly in agreement.
Zhang Wei coughed again as he continued to write the report. However, the news was unsettling. He could not ease his mind to focus fully on his report but pushed on nonetheless. As soon as he was done, he got up to look for his Commanding Officer. After submitting his report, he requested to speak to the Secretary.
After a few minutes of waiting, his request was approved, and the video communication was put through. The bald head image of the Director of the Secret Service appeared on the screen. Zhang Wei went straight to the point and said, “We saw Han Xiao.”
The Director of the Secret Service was surprised.
Since the last tip off, Han Xiao seemed to have vanished from the face of earth. He could not be contacted no matter how they tried. Although Division 13 had stopped their search for Han Xiao, they were still very curious about his whereabouts.
The Director of the Secret Service said in a serious tone, “Go on”.
Zhang Wei phrased himself carefully and explained how they had discovered that Black Phantom was Han Xiao.
The Director of the Secret Service had initially thought that Zhang Wei had seen Han Xiao with his own eyes. Little did he know that it was only a speculation without hard evidence. He stared blankly for a moment before he muffled a chuckle and replied, “You… must have confused the two people.”
How could Black Phantom be Han Xiao? One was a super assassin in the Dark Net Organization with an extraordinary level of combat capability. Although Han Xiao had demonstrated his capability previously, he was far weaker than Black Phantom. This guess was just too far off the mark!
The Director of the Secret Service was really amused. He almost blurted out that Han Xiao was Zero, but he stopped himself. The bureau had tight confidentiality rules that prevented him from disclosing Zero’s identity to others.
Even though Han Xiao’s whereabouts were highly erratic and unpredictable and the Germinal Organization was greatly undermined, hence there was probably not much of a need to conceal Han Xiao’s identity, rules were rules.
After all, Han Xiao had been known as a field agent all this while. Concealing his identity could reduce the risk and lessen the trouble. Even though the Germinal Organization knew that Zero was liaising with Stardragon, they had not been able to find Zero all this while. Thus, the Director thought there was no need to let Zhang Wei in on this information.
Zhang Wei had never seen Han Xiao’s real appearance, so he could not have found out that Han Xiao’s true identity was Zero.
“Um, regarding Han Xiao’s real identity… He cannot be Black Phantom.”
Zhang Wei stared blankly. He thought, perhaps, that this was a hidden message from the Secretary, for him to stop being nosy about this issue. So… Han Xiao was most likely sent out by the higher-ups on a special mission, which would explain why he needed to conceal his identity.
“I understand,” Zhang Wei replied with a knowing nod.
The Secretary was puzzled.
What do you understand? Strange…
…
Stardragon’s Division 13 sorted out all the reports and intelligence information and handed the final document to the Seven-Seat Committee. The Committee held a meeting to sort out all the important issues that needed to be discussed, and finally, there was only the issue regarding Black Phantom left on the table. All six knew Black Phantom’s reputation on the Dark Net. The discussion was more focused on how they should treat Black Phantom.
“He offered a helping hand, but it could have been at the Dark Net’s request or because of his own personal decision.”
An elder knocked on the table top and said slowly, “The Dark Net came to us previously. They are going to start the shelter program, so they are requesting our aid. So, this should be a friendly gesture from them.”
The members nodded in agreement. The Dark Net had always remained a neutral party. If this was a sign that they are leaning toward the Six Nations, it would definitely be a good turn of events. The Seven-Member Committee quickly concluded that it would support the Dark Net’s shelter program and approved their request for material aid. This was their opportunity to return the favor and win them over.
After the meeting was over, Gu Hui and Elder Gao pushed open the heavy door of the conference room and walked down the quiet empty corridor side by side, discussing a separate issue in a hushed voice.
“Have you gotten any other news about Han Xiao?”
“He has not been seen ever since he gave us some intelligence two months back.”
Gu Hui shook his head. Han Xiao was the person who provided the information. Division 13 was eager to get in contact with him again, but he was not picking up the calls nor answering any messages. As if he had vanished off the face of the earth, he was completely off the grid. No one was aware of his whereabouts or his plans.
Gu Hui’s heart sank as he recalled Han’s scrupulous nature.
Please don’t be wreaking havoc again…
As for Zhang Wei’s speculation, Gu Hui had only heard from the Director of the Secret Service who briefly mentioned it. Without any real evidence, he would not be too bothered. How could Black Phantom be Han Xiao? His looks and combat capability were just not comparable.
Zhang Wei did not know Han Xiao’s real identity, so he was blindly guessing, but Gu Hui was aware that Han Xiao was Zero. Their intel was asymmetric; that was probably why it caused a misunderstanding.
…
Information was updated on the Dark Net, and some of the information regarding the Battle of Tedramira River was circulated out. Most people were worried about the volatility of the situation, as if the dark clouds of war were looming on the horizon once again.
The information contained news of Black Phantom’s involvement in the fight. Many forces were very concerned regarding the actions of this super assassin. It was apparent that Black Phantom was an extraordinarily powerful Mechanic. There were quite a number of powerful Espers and Pugilist, but Mechanics with high combat capability were rare. Black Phantom should be added to that short list of powerful Mechanics.
“He still made a high profile move.”
Bennett sighed with profound resignation and sipped his herbal potion that was meant to suppress his wounds.
Out of the blue, Wang Yuan received a call. His face lit up with joy and exclaimed, “Stardragon has promised material aid!”
Bennett was surprised. That was not a small sum, but Stardragon had agreed to it so readily. He asked, “What did they say?”
“Well, they said they are very grateful for our help.”
Bennett frowned in puzzlement. “Help? What did we do?”
On second thought, Bennett realized that Stardragon must have thought that they had sent Black Phantom. Black Phantom was seen as a representative of the Blood Pact Society, and his actions were inevitably labelled as representing the Dark Net Organization.
Bennett was at a loss, not knowing whether to cry or to laugh. Black Phantom had unintentionally done him a favor. He would definitely not clarify this wonderful misunderstanding. “Well, I guess I owe him a favor then. Oh, what did Hesla say?”
Wang Yuan pushed his black-frame spectacles. With a flash of contempt in his eyes, he snorted, “They are still pushing away the responsibility.”
Bennett shook his head. He had long known Hesla’s way of doing things, and only Stardragon was easier to talk to. If he really wanted to dig out some material aid from the five other stingy nations, it would not be without some long, tedious negotiation.
“With Stardragon’s assistance, the initial resources are more or less enough. Let’s start the shelter program as soon as possible. The war will break out any time now. The sooner it is implemented, the more people we can shelter.”
…
Sleepy Winter and his group finally completed the Camp-destroyer series mission [Battle of the Tedramira River]. Their evaluation was naturally low, but because it was a Super-Level mission, the EXP they had gotten was considerable.
They should have been very happy with the results, but whenever the three of them recalled Frenzied Sword’s performance, they immediately felt that the reward from the mission was just too meagre. Comparison always made it worse. The feeling of being far behind someone just felt horrible, not to mention that they had in fact started out at the same time. Rainy Kim was rather calm, but Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice were really fed up.
Thinking about it again and again, Sleepy Winter finally sent a chat request to Frenzied Sword.
“Frenzied Sword?”
“Sleepy Winter, why are you looking for me?” Frenzied Sword asked in a humble voice.
“I just wanted to ask, did you trigger a secret quest? We saw you on the battlefield…” Sleepy Winter sent out the video message.
“Oh, you guys were there, too?” Frenzied Sword was surprised.
Why does this tone feel so annoying? Sleepy Winter coughed dryly and chatted half-heartedly before asking about Black Phantom. The video showed Black Phantom in action. Sleepy Winter was well aware that Black Phantom was an advanced figure who had been seen around Big Horn Village, and he was very curious about how Frenzied Sword came to know him.
Frenzied Sword kept beating around the bush and refused to talk about the main topic. Sleepy Winter knew that he was unwilling to share information about the secret quest, and he could only bid farewell and hang up the communication sullenly.
“Did he say anything?” asked Twinkle Fried Rice.
“No.” Sleepy Winter shook his head. He was in fact a little envious of Frenzied Sword, but he knew secret quest was something that came with luck. Then, an idea came to his mind.
“Why don’t we try speaking to Black Phantom?”
…
The sky was turning bright near the horizon. It was dawn.
At Han Xiao’s request, the helicopter landed on a hilltop in the wilderness. Han Xiao asked the pilot to stand by, and stepping off the plane, he took a deep breath. The fresh air invigorated him.
After flying through the night away from the Tedramira River, he was getting ready for his Advancement when Frenzied Sword dropped offline.
A player going offline is akin to disappearing. That gave the pilot a shock. Seeing that Han Xiao’s expression had remained unchanged, he suppressed his shock.
Different players had different peculiarities. Although the world had all kinds of Espers that made everyone well accustomed to abnormalities, over time, more and more people would realize the peculiar nature of the players’ community, and there would definitely be some interesting developments. Han Xiao could not wait to see this happening. Then he could validate some of his guesses.
Putting aside these thoughts, Han Xiao focused his attention on the interface—the requirements for advancement had been met, so a level-up would mean an Advancement.
He looked at the EXP that he had accumulated over the past two months. Minus the EXP that he had used up for skills improvement and integration of blueprints, he still had a full 6.1 million EXP left!
Finally, a second Advancement! Han Xiao was secretly leaping in joy. His progress had been as fast as a rocket, especially since he had gotten a huge channel to reap EXP after the players appeared!
After this Advancement, he would officially become the top figure on Aquamarine, and this was only the beginning. This meant that he could set foot in areas that he had previously found to be too dangerous, to acquire those rare Abilities and Skills. Quests that could trigger dangerous situations, Abilities, Skills, and Equipment—all that would have a huge impact on his combat capability.
He was already halfway there to becoming someone like Bennett and Hila who could take on BOSS Level Quests with their template Abilities.
Advancement!
Han Xiao entered his EXP.
_____________________
[Mechanic (Trainee)] Level-Up LV 5
+50 Energy, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +4 Intelligence!
Attained 3 points Unassigned stat points!
Attained 1 Talent Point!
_____________________
You have completed your second Advancement.
Endurance and Health points ratio increased to 1:20!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After the Advancement, Han Xiao’s health point conversion ratio increased from 1:15 to 1:20. It was obvious to him that his body was stronger. He could feel a ball of energy down in his abdomen, invigorating him.
This second Advancement did not unlock as many skills as his first Advancement did. His first Advancement had felt like a complete rebirth, while this second Advancement was way smoother a process than his first one.
Though not explicit as a description on the interface, Han Xiao noticed that his perception had become more acute. The world was more vivid in his eyes.
If he had to describe how the Advancement felt, it would be ‘natural’. He could feel the breeze flowing around his limbs and smell the mix of particles in the air. His senses were amplified by several notches.
The second Advancement was a prerequisite to unlock many skills, and of course, the most obvious benefit was that he could upgrade to LV 60.
He had plenty of EXP on his interface, so he need not stay at his current level to accumulate EXP. He could first take [Night Stalker], which was at Lv.6, to its highest level. This would bring him a total of 30 Dexterity, 20 Strength, 10 Mystery, as well as 10 Talent points and 20 Unassigned Stats points.
Han Xiao then assigned his EXP to [Mechanic (Trainee)], a main class with an upper limit of Lv.15. As he progressed, it took more and more EXP for a level-up. He had used up a significant amount of EXP to level it up from Lv.5 to Lv.10.
His level skyrocketed by tens of level and rose directly to LV 50!
As his Energy exceeded one thousand points and reached Energy Level 6, Han Xiao received additional milestone rewards.
_____________________
+6 Strength, +8 Dexterity, +6 Endurance, +10 Intelligence, +400 Max. Stamina, +8% Machinery Quality, +8% Production Speed, Energy Stats Strengthened
_____________________
As one’s Energy Level grew higher, the bonus addition became more significant. Levelling up to Lv. 6 was a significant milestone. He could receive a new bonus addition of Energy Stats Strengthened that made the benefits of his attributes more prominent. To a Mechanic, Energy with magnetic properties could be used for producing and utilizing machinery. He could increase the speed, improve the quality, and amplify the power more easily. The actual effect would be far more useful than the numbers on the interface looked.
Mechanics were not like Pugilists or Espers who would require huge amount of Energy. In the beginning, additional Energy might not be very useful to Mechanics, but once he had the ability to utilize his Energy in this manner, his strength as a Mechanic would be more apparent.
[Mechanic (Trainee)] reached Lv. 10. To level up further, Han Xiao would need 800,000 EXP. Han Xiao had around 1,300,000 EXP left on his interface. He decided to save half of it as a backup to integrate blueprints and upgrade other skills.
In the last two months, he had occasionally upgraded some important skills, such as [Sniper], [Moving Snipe], [Continuous Gliding Shots]. Not forgetting his blueprints, his core [Magnetically Controlled Retractable Armor]was already at Lv 5. He was already donning on a new set of armor where his Stats were strengthened. He had also upgraded blueprints like[Ranger Robot], [Low Level Smart Chip]. These blueprints were the ones that were relatively useful.
Han Xiao took a look at the Skill List and entered his EXP into [Flaming Will]and[Fine Intensive Modification]. These two Skills had better value for EXP. After his EXP dropped to half of its initial level, Han Xiao stopped the upgrading process. These two skills were each upgraded by two or three levels.
He had accumulated thirty-eight unassigned stat points, and he threw all of them into his Intelligence stat. That was the crude yet simple manner in which Mechanics upgraded themselves.
After all this was done, his combat effectiveness soared. Without even relying on his equipment, his Energy Rank reached the standard of 12,000 Ona!
_____________________
Level: 50
Attributes: 69 Strength, 94 Dexterity, 82 Endurance, 200 Intelligence, 11 MYS, 6 Charisma, 1 Luck
Health: 2,970
Energy: 1,230 [Lv. 6]
Power Level: 1213 Ona
Grade: D
[Take on your equipment. You can be a Boss level figure on this planet if you work hard.]
_____________________
Han Xiao was very satisfied with the growth in his strength. Intelligence had become his strongest stat—it had reached two hundred points! He could be way more productive when he utilized his machinery now.
With the speed at which he was gaining EXP, he would rise to LV 60 in a very short period of time. This was the upper limit for a second Advancement; he was at the top among the version 1.0 players.
My combat capability now, combined with my mechanical equipment, means that I am among the top few fighters in Aquamarine.
Even at LV 50, my Stats are very strong. That is partly because of my expertise and partly because my main vocation is at a high level. This means I can take care of most superhumans without too much difficulty.
I can count on my machinery to help me win, but my expertise and skills are too limited. I’m just too far off from someone like Bennett.
Han Xiao had been busy harvesting EXP from players, and he would continue doing so, accumulating EXP and gaining exposure to increase his popularity. He would be travelling to the novice villages beyond Andrea to teach the novice players basic skills first, and after that, he could proceed to teaching the [Energy Forging Technique]. Through this, he would accumulate a great deal of EXP. With this, he was confident that he would be able to invest in rare skills and abilities very soon.
Two months’ worth of EXP was just wiped out in an instant. It would not have been so easy if he was still his old self. He would have wanted to level up the moment he had gotten some EXP. Now, Han Xiao was not too worried about how he could get more EXP.
Players, they were the biggest market!
[Energy Forging Technique] was his trump card. Once he let the news out, it would trigger a frenzy. In fact, any player that had been through their first Advancement would eventually awaken this skill. But most players are unaware of this. As long as he imparted this skill to a player below LV 20, he would be able to harvest a huge amount of EXP.
But there was a condition; he needed to raise his profile so that more players could get to know him.
There are two ways. I could take the initiative to find players or create opportunities for players to find me…
Han Xiao stroked his stubble and was deep in thought.
If he chose to look for players proactively, it would be a trip like his recent trip to Big Horn Village. Other than the novice grounds beyond Andrea Mainland, he could go to the Southern Continent, the Western Continent, and the Northern Continent to harvest some EXP.
It did not seem like he had much of an opportunity to get players to come to him on their own. He could release more tasks after his Advancement, but it was still a drop in the ocean if he looked at the entire player community. There was no way he could attract all the players. He had made a good start at Big Horn Village—quite a number of players thought that Black Phantom could trigger secret quests. But that was far from getting enough players to come to him. He needed a more concrete plan.
After the battle, the Germinal Organization had withdrawn its forces from the three continents and gone into hiding. For the time being, the global situation would remain stable. At the very least, there would be no public declaration of war for some time. The tide had changed. Germinal would not declare war. However, on a second thought, the power had now come to the hands of the Six Nations. It might just bring the eminent war to an earlier date. This was not his original intention.
Resigning to his fate, he could only shake his head.
Nonetheless, the situation was not too bad. If the Six Nations went ahead to start a war and destroyed the Germinal Organization, it would not bring any harm to him. With this thought in mind, Han Xiao was relieved. After all, he was not an egotistical person; he had never felt like he could control everyone. What he had always wanted to do was to make full use of his extraordinary foresight to reap benefits from the power struggles between the different forces.
Even though the situation had deviated from its original track, war was still not avoidable. Han Xiao could not help but sigh. He was powerless as an individual to try to revert the situation. Instead, he was embroiled into the maelstrom. However, precisely because he was whirled into the situation, he could seize opportunities that came his way. This was really energizing for Han Xiao.
For any player to reach LV 20, they will take roughly two months… But now, two months is just nice for me to run a trip to all the novice villages, Han Xiao thought to himself with a smirk.
Having hammered out his next plan of action. Han Xiao began to think about another issue—his own strength.
After his Advancement, he was able to move closer to the upper limit of version 1.0. Of course, there was no real upper limit for him. He was more concerned about his combat capability. Ranks were only a part of his combat capabilities. His capabilities would be more dependent on his skills, expertise, and mechanical equipment. It went without saying that Mechanics were more dependent on their equipment than other classes.
Han Xiao was using his sniper without a hitch. Naturally, he did not want to give up on his sniper. However, he felt that it was time to develop a second combat style to deal with the increasingly complex situations that he would be going in to.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Mechanics were known for having a wide range of tactics. Just like how saints would never fall for the same trick again, mechanics would never rely on a single set of tactics. To develop new tactics, one would only need to develop new tactics centered around a core gadget, just like how the core of Lurker Sniper Flow was the sniper itself. Using additional tools like electromagnetic skating shoes, special ammunition, stealth ability, and so on could further strengthen one’s prowess.
To a mechanic, developing a new battle tactic was a challenging yet fun task. Brainstorming on new ideas and then being able to bring it to life enabled one to achieve a sense of fulfilment, just like role-playing games.
I have quite a few choices, Rovers, Portable Batteries, self-created Mechas. However, the rovers’ attributes and intelligence are weak on their own, and besides, due to their large sizes, they cannot be easily carried around.
Moreover, even if the only model is placed into the robot troop, the outcome will still be unsatisfactory. They are way too expensive.
As for the battery… Even though there is a ‘Portable’ in the name, the pedestal disc is still too large. If I cannot assemble it within seconds, I can’t use it with the flamethrower style. Perhaps, I can only use it as a trap ambush…
There’s also the self-created Mechas…
Han Xiao had a lot of blueprints that he could use for the armor suit, such as K600 Endoskeleton, Smart Chip, Exoskeleton limbs, Electromagnetic Hover Boots, Basic Storage Cube, and other modules. In addition, he had acquired all the basic knowledges, including Bio-engineering, Mechanical dynamics, Assembly, and Energetics. He had already fulfilled the criteria for creating his own armor.
This was not a bad idea; however, some problems might still arise. For instance, to equip the Mecha, he would first need a support vehicle that could repair and replenish the materials. Prolonged battling could weaken the attack power, just like a problem every guy would face.
Besides, he did not want to run around wearing a tin can, and it would be best if he could fly. He did actually develop a jetpack, but it still needed some adjustments. When activated, the jetpack would fly away without the pilot. If the jetpack was secured tightly, one could experience what a hundred times the speed of a Ferris wheel would feel like. Han Xiao did not want to try that for the second time, and as such, apart from the small drone, none of his other machines had a flying ability.
Medium scale and large scale Mechas required advance knowledge of [Heavy Machine Modification], and he was only capable of modifying light Mechas. Nano-Muscle Suits were more classic but required advance knowledge of [Miniature Machine Modification].
Suddenly, Han Xiao had a eureka moment and came up with a new idea.
Almost made a grave mistake. Actually, I do not need armor as my tactic core. I can start from the assisting type of light armor, neglecting the firepower and focusing on my personal attributes…
He had an idea. As he recalled the armor he had used or seen before, he thought that basic light armor looked reliable and would be easy to replicate one.
As for robots and turrets, he decided to give up on them since they were inconvenient to bring around, and it was impossible to always bring along a truck. Even with airdrop support, there must be a transport aircraft, and then there was the money… No planes could fly in a country’s airspace. Even Fabian Company’s planes, which had licenses, had to follow a fixed route, and they were not allowed to fly wherever they liked. It would be alright to fly into the wild, but there would not be stable supply stations in the vicinity, and it would be difficult for airdrops.
As the night faded away, the golden glow of the sun reappeared, turning the sky from pitch black to a light blue.
Han Xiao stretched his neck, and from his collar bones came a cracking sound. He was re-energized and full of enthusiasm, ready for the fresh day. He felt like he could puncture the sky with just one punch.
Of course, that was just an illusion due to his overflowing energy. His senses, after becoming stronger, were also sharper. Han Xiao felt his vision, hearing, and sense of smell had all improved. As such, he was even able to see the details on the rough surface of a tree trunk from afar.
Han Xiao boarded the helicopter and ordered the pilot to take flight.
…
Han Xiao travelled on Dark Net’s helicopter and finally arrived at another new village on the Southern Continent after landing several times in between to refill the fuel. This village was also a place where Vagrant Warlords gathered, and it was called Green Valley Ville.
There was a total of nineteen beginner towns for new players’ on Planet Aquamarine: five in the Southern Continent, four in the Western Continent, four in the Northern Continent, and six on Andrea Mainland.
Green Valley Ville was a land controlled by the Vagrant Warlords and belonged to the Alumera family.
Alumera, a well-known Vagrant Warlord force with family style management, were headquartered on the Southern Continent. They also had a land on the North continent. In addition, they were in partnership with Theseus. The chief in command was called Darryl Alumera. Anyone with the same last name would be his immediate family member. His other top commanders were all strong players that he had been headhunted to join him, like Second Leader Xiao Jin, Third Leader Bi Qi, and so on. The force was formed by surviving members of various extinct states, and hence, they were a diverse people.
The Vagrant Warlords called themselves different names, including ‘Family’, ‘Group’, ‘Financial Group’, ‘General’, and so on. They believed that if they formed groups, they were less likely to be bullied or threatened. When the force eventually became stronger, Alumera took control of the military and became an authority in the wild. Many Vagrant Warlords chose to join them, as after all, the Aquamarine wild was not a safe place for most.
All Han Xiao wanted now was to continue searching for players and earning experience through them. Time was limited; hence, he did not stop after the battles but immediately proceed to new villages to search for players.
There were three scenarios when players went online and offline or respawn. The first was ‘same spot’ respawn. This required some explanation. When one went offline while being on a moving vehicle, then when one respawned, one would not respawn back at the same location, but one would be respawned back onto the same vehicle. For example, if one was travelling in space, but the location one respawned at was not on the spaceship, then that would be crazy.
The second scenario was respawning at the nearest city. That only applied to respawning players and not for those that were logged in. This meant that if one was killed, one would earn a chance to travel to a city for free, and it was either the city that one wanted or the city that one did not want.
The third scenario was binding to a certain respawn location. However, this required special conditions, including affiliation to camps, special items, or through agreements with NPCs. For example, when one joined a secret camp, one could bind to the camp and select it as one’s respawn point, but others would not be able to do so.
Frenzied Sword would come online on the helicopter. As such, Han Xiao had left a phone behind and instructed the pilot to wait. He then trudged through the forest, heading for the Green Valley Ville.
After two hours, the outline of the Green Valley Ville could be seen from a distance away. It was situated at the side of the forest on a flat land. It was fortified and surrounded by barbed wire fence, and there were vagrant warlords patrolling around. As expected, all the players were gathering at the camps outside of the settlement, just like in Big Horn Village.
Han Xiao did not bother to hide himself. The sentry of the Green Valley Ville spotted him from far away and reported right away to the person-in-charge, Balsas.
Balsas was a bald black man, neither tall nor strong. Instead, he was tiny and thin. He had a pair of triangular eyes that seemed gloomy. Upon hearing what the sentry had described, he was shaken. “Sounds a little like Black Phantom.”
Balsas took out his computer and searched for Black Phantom’s photo. Upon getting confirmation from the sentry, Balsas’ expression changed. “Didn’t he just interfere with the battle at Tedramira River. Why is he here? I have nothing to do with him.”
Just the name ‘Black Phantom’ alone made Balsas anxious. Even though Green Valley Ville was heavily armed, he still felt unsafe. Balsas then muttered, “Should we approach him and find out why he is here?”
Since Alumera did not have a previous relationships with the Black Phantom, Balsas thought that it would be impossible to clash with the Black Phantom, and there was also no one who had published a wanted notice on Black Phantom on the dark net. Balsas calmed down and called for an assistant. He ordered his assistant to take his place and approach the Black Phantom as he was afraid to do it himself.
When the assistant headed out of the gate and walked toward Black Phantom, Balsas moved beside the big gate and observed through the barbed wire fence. He seemed really careful.
However, Balsas very soon witnessed a scene that shook him. He saw that the villagers living outside were actually excited and friendly toward the Black Phantom, actually gathering around him.
Balsas was surprised. [How do all the villagers know about the Black Phantom?
…
There were fewer players at Green Valley Ville compared to the number of players at Big Horn Village.
When Han Xiao arrived at the players’ camp, he was warmly welcomed by everyone. It was so crowded, and everyone surrounded him, obstructing his route.
Through the forum, the incident at Big Horn Village had spread across Aquamarine players, and all other new player villages were envious that new players at Big Horn Village had a chance to switch their vocation. With the unexpected appearance of Black Phantom, all the new players from Green Valley Ville were thrilled.
“Black Phantom is here!”
“We are going to be lucky too!”
A player with the ID ‘Bun-hit-dog’ was more exhilarated than the others. He was quite a well-known video game graphic designer, and his ‘XX Adventure’ series, which was humor-based and full of content, had gained him a lot of fans.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Bun-hit-dog saw Galaxy as a potential television series. As there was limited information online about it, he keenly realized the hidden potential and decided to create a series that introduced and explained Galaxy. Moreover, he himself really liked Galaxy as well.
It was inevitable for many to start a series on a popular game. Normally, as long as the content was interesting, the first person that produced the television series would easily gain popularity through the game.
Wandering around a new player village, Bun-hit-dog had yet to find the starting point for his series. The first episode of a series was the most important, and he did not wish to do it carelessly. It would be great if he could obtain some exclusive information that ordinary players could not get easily.
Han Xiao’s appearance made Bun-hit-dog feel like his chance was finally here.
Since the Black Phantom was a hot topic on the forums, many people would be drawn to his television series if his first episode was about the Black Phantom. Who was not curious about this mysterious high-level character? He would then be able to ride on Black Phantom’s popularity and make the series a successful one.
Bun-hit-dog, who was among the crowd, switched on his video function, panned toward Black Phantom, and started recording. He then added his own explanation and comments into the footage afterward.
Players were clustering toward him due to the event that happened at Big Horn Village, and that helped save Han Xiao some time. Han Xiao thought he might as well not sell any items. After all, he did not bring any with him. Instead, he went straight to releasing the list of skills that he could teach. The only request was to give five reputation points, which meant….
Wish to change your vocation? Give me some money!
“Black Phantom isn’t selling anything? Then how am I supposed to increase my reputation?”
“This… Giving him free money?”
Players were stunned and whispers started among the crowd.
Han Xiao was calm and thought he did not want to go through so much trouble in Big Horn Village, since the players all knew that they could advance through him. His offer seemed like he was trying to scam the players, but in reality, it was just a simple deal: 2,500 Aquamarine Dollars in exchange for a chance for advancement. Deal or no deal, it was all up to them to decide.
Compared to the normal route for obtaining basic knowledges, paying 2,500 Aquamarine Dollars was already considered a cheap price.
At the time, Balsas’ assistant approached and nervously swallowed his saliva. He was trembling with fear every time he took a step closer, and he was afraid of getting too close to Han Xiao.
“What is it?” Han Xian glanced at him.
“Cough cough, may I know why you are here at Green Valley Ville?” The assistant asked as he braced himself.
Han Xiao took a puff of his cigarette and said, “I’m just walking past here. Don’t worry, I’m not here to cause any trouble.”
The assistant heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Oh, Alumera welcomes you, and Balsas wishes to invite you into the city so that he can give you a treat.
“No, thanks, I’ll just stay here.”
Han Xiao declined as it would be inconvenient to communicate with the players once he entered the town. Since there would not be anyone who dared refuse him, he would leave once he had gotten the experience. As such, he did not pay attention to Balsas.
“Al, Alright…” The assistant left hurriedly as his heart raced, and he was dripping with cold sweat. The legendary killer seemed to be emitting a scary aura. The assistant was scared stiff even though Han Xiao was just standing still.
Especially his eyes, they were like those of wolverines wandering around the dark forest. One could get goose bumps just by staring into Han Xiao’s eyes.
This was one of the effects of having Universal Reputation. When dealing with certain forces, there might be additional effects.
When the assistant returned into the village, Balsas asked, “What did he say?”
The assistant then repeated everything that had happened.
“Just passing by?” Balsas frowned and pondered. He suspected that there were some secrets going on between Black Phantom and the refugees outside the village.
After contemplating for a while, he ordered, “Get someone to observe Black Phantom and report to me if anything is weird. Also, go get some information from the refugees outside. I think Black Phantom is here for them.”
On the other hand, all the players had witnessed the conversation between Han Xiao and Balsas’ assistant. A question then arose among the crowd.
Everyone was able to detect and know the name of Black Phantom because they had sensors in place, but why would the Balsas’ assistant know of him too?
Could it be that Black Phantom was a very popular character on the planet?
The players were all still trying to figure out the structure, background, and the power balances on Aquamarine. They were only able to get a glimpse or two of the world through the maps, which was not helpful at all.
Everyone was suddenly curious about Black Phantom’s background.
Exploring the story of the planet and being able to participate in it was one of the joys for this game.
Bun-hit-dog focused on recording the full situation. Hiding his excitement, his instincts told him that this was definitely the best video material. Exclusive information and the identity of Black Phantom could be used as the prelude to the background of this planet.
…
While Han Xiao was getting a windfall in Green Valley Ville, the world situation was quietly changing.
Stardragon, Hesla, Red Maple, Ordina, Theseus, and Raylen—the Six Nations’ wipe out operation against the Germinal Organization had ended, and the subsequent impact was gradually emerging.
The Six Nations had only held three conferences so far. The first was held after the war in the past, when the Six Nations were first formed and the lands were first claimed.
The second conference was held two months after the war. The pollution from the war was affecting living conditions. Since it was a problem regarding the whole planet, all the nations came together to try to come out with a solution.
The third time was five years after the war, whereby the security and defense issues posed by the vagrant warlords were discussed.
The last six ruling nations on Aquamarine did not have a close relationship with one another. If it was not for a worldwide issue, they would never have worked together.
Today, the fourth Six Nations’ conference was held. The topic was about the next step in their plans regarding Germinal and whether they should go to war or not.
The conference was done in the format of a conference call, and the leaders from each of the Six Nations joined in.
In a meeting room in Stardragon Tower, the metal door was locked, and the leader of Stardragon was sitting at the desk. On the other side was a big screen where the other five leaders could be seen.
The corner of the conference room was filled with people. All of them were the elders from the military, and Gu Hui was also among them. The conference had already been going on for two hours.
“So, has everyone decided?”
Ordina’s leader was emotionless in his tone, and no one was able to tell his stand.
The leader of Theseus stood up confidently and said, “I, Raylen, and Stardragon have all agreed to send out our troops. Hesla and Red Maple object.”
Ordina pondered for two seconds. “I give up my vote.”
Everyone looked as if they had expected it.
Gu Hui, who was standing by the side, remained calm. There were two that agreed, two that objected, and one that gave up. He had already expected such results. Theus and Raylen were the toughest while Stardragon had a strong grudge with Germinal, so they would definitely not miss this chance. Hesla and Red Maple were unwilling to waste money on war. It seemed that Ordina was the greatest slimeball, always thinking about other things instead.
The six leaders discussed for another hour and finalized their direction. They all decided that the final decision was to be determined by the military forces of each nation.
The screen turned black; the three-hour meeting had officially ended.
The elders who were listening by the side seemed shocked. During the conference, it was decided that the six nations would conduct a large-scale military operation similar to the previous major war that had uprooted the political balance. The six nations would move forward and retreat together, attack the Andrea mainland from six directions, and finally destroy the Germinal Organization completely.
War is coming!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The players in Green Valley Ville took a screenshot and showed off the arrival of Black Phantom on the forum, which sparked another round of heated discussions.
“Previously, it was Big Horn Village; now, it is Green Valley Ville. Will he move on to a new location?”
“Is this high-ranking character arranged by the game developer? The times at which he appears feels weird. If he was a mechanic instructor, his whereabouts would be uncertain. Unless he is the planet protagonist who manages the information written on the net.”
“It doesn’t seem like it. I think the planet protagonist and the plot should be related. It is unlikely that we could come in contact so early. Black Phantom should be another type of mysterious character. Since it is difficult to switch vocation, could it be that Black Phantom was sent by the game developers to compensate us?”
“What! Does it mean that in order to switch our vocation, we have to do it now or else we’ll miss this opportunity with Black Phantom?”
The speculation regarding Han Xiao had not stopped, and the commotion in Big Horn Village had not subsided. His popularity had once again been pushed all the way to the top by the players in Green Valley Ville.
Han Xiao read up countless posts about himself with great interest and summed up the impressions that most players had of him.
The first kind—some players thought he was a mysterious businessman who would appear in the early stages to provide benefits to the novices.
The second kind—some thought he was a mechanic instructor.
The third kind—they thought he was an important character who was in charge of handling important tasks. Due to this statement, Han Xiao had to handle a group of players who wished to trigger hidden tasks every day. After reading about Maple Moon’s example, some players thought that by showing hostility to Germinal, they could exploit the hidden quest.
As the statements made by these people were very strange, Han Xiao rejected all of them. However, there were still players who thought they were highly charismatic and chose to explore any backhanded ways to convince Black Phantom. Since there were more female players, the leader of Sky Territory had a post saying that that would be a benefit when they talk to Black Phantom. Han Xiao was then surrounded by female players who were trying to charm him.
Yet he remained indifferent.
You think that just because you have looks, you don’t have to pay? Dream on!
However, some players were very arrogant and even tried to attack him. Han Xiao adopted the responsibility to right them of their baseless arrogance. He would kill any of these players once they resurrected to teach them a lesson. The game would only refresh the number of deaths every six days. This resurrection could also be called anti-addiction mechanism, and players who dared attack him would be forced to go offline.
These kinds of lawless players obviously played more stand-alone games. Unlike other players who were more cautious in progressing in the game, they were risk takers. No one took pity with these players. This game had been released globally, and there would definitely be a rare madman who wanted to challenge the entire game world; they were used to it.
One player after another queued to pass Han Xiao their money, and Han Xiao realized the mechanics department had attracted quite a number of players. However, as there was a request for the gifts to be sent directly this time round, some petty players were rather hesitant. As a result, the queue was also rather sparse.
Han Xiao just went with it and browsed through the forum at one side. Suddenly, a new post caught his attention. The topic was Galaxy Times.
The column is released! Han Xiao’s face changed as he felt the nostalgia.
Galaxy Times was a sub-column, and the content varied. The column talked about the news on Galaxy, including all kinds of anecdotes, stories from professional players, and analysis of the game process. Han Xiao had once been a follower of Galaxy Times, and he would always have the urge to be the first to watch it. Now that he himself had joined the game, he was unsure if the content would have changed.
In the video, a male and a female host were sitting in front of the camera, like a news broadcast. Behind them was the scene of Galaxy, showing the background of the new planets.
“Hello players,” the male host greeted, “this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority.”
“The public beta has been going on for ten days, and the players’ enthusiasm has not changed a bit,” the female host said. “Now let us first review what has happened in the past ten days…”
The first issue of the Galaxy Times was informative, and the next ten minutes was a quick review of the beta players during the ten days, introducing the various planets and the civilization background. Among them, there was a planet with an ancient civilization, where players were mostly wearing amour, carrying swords, spears, and hammers as weapons. Their background looked like a mix of Chinese and Western medieval times. It was obvious this planet was dominated by martial arts and magic. If there was a need to add a subtitle to the plot, it should be ‘World Hegemony’ and ‘I Will Use Your Skull as a Bowl’.
There was also a highly-modern planet called Planet Brighton. The city was like a floating island with ninety-nine towers scattered on the edge of the city, forming a defense, and the main tower in the city center. The large crystal ball at the top of the tower provided magical power to suspend the city. Occasionally, there would be sightings of a dragon across the sky. New players would have a slim chance of survival in this world as it was very easy to hit the death limit.
Of course, there was an even more difficult way to start, and that would be Planet Winterfrost. The base of the Hell Demon Military Troop was also the only one where players could see the Galaxy Starships. Hell Demon Military Troop’s starships were crazy powerful, and this planet was a mix of magic and technology.
The troops themselves had powerful combat power. They could also ride the cosmic creatures into space for a short while, and their level was high. Fortunately, Planet Winterfrost was just a sub-base camp for the troop. Otherwise, the American players who chose Planet Winterfrost as the base camp would not even be able to get out of the novice village.
The richer the resources were for the novice planet, the more challenging it would be at the beginning. In contrast, the difficulty of Aquamarine was moderate, and the technological background was similar to that of many years ago. Unlike other planets where even trash cans on the street could incite the player’s curiosity, there were not many surprises on Aquamarine.
However, the popularity of Aquamarine on the forums was rising, and the main reason was the appearance of Black Phantom. He was the first high-ranking character to interact with the players.
The two hosts then turned around and talked about the Black Phantom.
“Next, we’ll talk about an incident that happened in Aquamarine, and friends who have been active on the forum all know that Black Phantom is the first mysterious high ranking character to appear in front of the players. The players do not have much information about him. Qiu Qiu, what role do you think he plays in the plot of Aquamarine?” the male host asked.
“Based on the current information, Black Phantom seems to have a high position, and his identity is extremely mysterious as well. Furthermore, he and Germinal are enemies.
“Oh, does this mean he’s on the same side as the Six Nations?”
“I am not sure. Perhaps only the developers can answer this question.”
“Alright, after listening to this lame joke, let us return to the topic,” the male host said. “Speaking of the Black Phantom, he seems to be a mechanic instructor and can expose hidden plots. The latest news suggests that Black Phantom has appeared in Green Valley Ville of Aquamarine. Therefore, friends who wish to transfer to the mechanic class should seize the opportunity. The Black Phantom is by far the easiest way to obtain the knowledge.
“However, there has been a different opinion on the forums recently. Some players who transferred to the mechanics department are starting to regret.”
The female host feigned her surprise, “There is such a thing?”
There was a quarrel at this point, and most of the players had been simply choosing their vocation based on which vocation was the strongest. After they had switched to being a mechanic, they found out that mechanics were not up to their expectations and would naturally be full of complains.
Before the topic came to an end with the two hosts, Han Xiao looked at the responses and saw one response at the top. The ID was called ‘Luzman’.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“I am a beta player in Big Horn Village. A few days ago I changed my vocation to mechanics with Black Phantom. Initially, I thought this is a very strong class, but after switching, I realised that being a mechanic is totally different from what I had expected. The skills are trashy and the equipment are easily damaged, but I could only repair them after I have bought the materials. My gun just died like this! I’m so mad!
“The combat power is rather weak too. One public beta test player who was 4 levels lower than me came up for a challenge. He didn’t even have a main vocation, and his sub-vocation was a mere [Hunter]. We fought for 11 rounds, and yet I didn’t win any of them at all! For a main vocation to lose to a sub-vocation, while being 4 levels higher, this mechanic vocation is just a pile of shit.”
… I was fooled by that video of Black Phantom. Damn I was scammed. Those senior NPCs always have NPC templates as bonuses. Black Spirit is not even a player! His combat power doesn’t even have much of a tingle!
… This mechanic vocation is so weak in its early stages. Maybe it would be as strong as Black Phantom’s eventually, but you will be starting way behind others from the beginning. It takes even longer to reach the same level as the rest! What’s more, the mechanic vocation relies on machineries, and the materials used to make the machinery costs a lot of money. This class is perfect for the local tyrants. If you don’t have money, don’t even try!
This mechanic vocation has no future, seems like I cannot use this account anymore. I can only restart another account and retrain. What a trash vocation!”
Luzman’s response was full of resentment. He had even uploaded videos of him losing in battles. Many people had echoed him in the comments, pushing his post to the top of the responses.
After glancing through other posts, Han Xiao realised that most of the posts had traces of Luzman. That guy copied and pasted the comments so many times. Many others found his resentment to be over the top and they argued with Luzman on the forum too.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. This was not totally unexpected. The players would realise sooner or later that the mechanic vocation is not suitable for combat in the early stages. Luzman was the first one and he would not be the last. These grievous people only fell for the trap because they were attracted by his video and had simply chose whichever vocation that was strong. The moment they realise that it wasn’t what they had imagined, they would feel deceived and angry.
There were also players who liked the mechanic vocation who ignored these useless arguments and complaints. Some players were in the game for entertainment while others wanted to be the strongest in the game. Luzman was clearly one of the latter.
These negative comments would definitely affect his business, and since there was only one chance to choose a main vocation, players would become more cautious, especially first-time players.
Han Xiao shook his head. He had wanted to attract more players into the pit of mechanic vocation to expand his market.
“Seems like I have to reaffirm players in the value of the mechanic vocation, I can’t just rely on displaying my strength…”
The programme continued running. Off the script, the male MC said, “we have just received the unreleased promo clip on the next version of the game from Galaxy. Do take a look. ”
The screen began to play another video. Just as what <Galaxy> had announced, this promo video focused on the battle scenes of each vocation.
The heavy armoured knight appeared full of energy. The tip of his gun emitted smoke, and it hit a group of iron-shielded guards. The crash was loud like a thunder, and bodies were flying all over.
A tribe with horns controlled the elements around them. Flames slithered and wrapped around their body like a snake.
A magician stood in his cloak, and a web of light appeared beneath his feet as he chanted. Light rays of magic shone out from his fingers.
The bald-headed sorcerer used his mind to manipulate objects around him. He released an invisible strike his opponents around him, causing them to fall one by one with their noses bleeding.
The clips were all very realistic. It was gorgeous!
This was only a demo of the promotional clip. Nothing was finalised. The clips were recorded by new players from every planet, and there were only a few clips from senior players for the time being. They barely got together the battle scenes of the five main vocations. The battle scene for mechanic vocation was a clip of Black Phantom in action. Han Xiao was the first advance player to demonstrate his combat power.
There were a several clips showing the jaw dropping scene at Big Horn Village, as well as scenes of the interception battle at Tedramira River. Sniper, rifles, turrets, squadrons, and even the vicious Fury Blade was featured in the clip.
The players was all engrossed in the scenes. They were all exhilarating moments.
“I didn’t know I got selected to be in the promotional video!”
Han Xiao was a little surprised. He still remembered last season’s promotional video. The scene for the Mechanic vocation was just the process to produce a machinery, and most players assumed that it was a more of a support role. Hence, only a few players switched to the mechanic vocation.
According to the first version, the proportion of players in the mechanic vocation was only 9.7%! This promotional video alone attracted tons of interest from the players. Mechanic vocation wouldn’t be as bleak as before. He wasn’t afraid to risk players complaining and regretting on the forum in exchange for attracting more players over.
This promotional video also improved his popularity, and this was much more effective than word of mouth. Han Xiao was overjoyed. He expected his fame to shoot up in no time.
The next line-up on the programme was about professional players. The male MC said, “Within 10 days of public beta, tons of famous e-sports clubs have shifted to the game <Galaxy>, and according to statistics, Esper is currently the most popular one. This class is a lucky draw, if you get a high level skill, it is equal to 10 million lottery tickets! The future is unlimited!
It is known that the United States, South Korea, France, Japan and Switzerland all have accounts with A-class potential rating, and the various big clubs have offered prices for these accounts, worth millions of US dollars.”
The screen flashed wildly. Almost a million US dollars to buy a novice account? It was simply a lottery! Good luck would mean making a fortune immediately.
“Flashing News: The American Devil Club, Sandstorm Club, France Tulip Club, and the Korean Four Star Club have already bought the accounts. They will be used by the club’s elite players.
And the God-level players will still be using their own accounts… American elite player ‘King and Queen’ has changed to the magician vocation and was rewarded with a rare skill through a hidden quest. French elite player ‘Lost Angel’ has chosen to start at random and he seems to have obtained a opportunity. South Korea…”
Foreign e-sports players all seemed to be performing very well. China’s e-sports scene wasn’t weak either, but only a few managed to hit the top spots. Champions of many events had long been occupied by players from the United States, France, Japan and South Korea. If you coud win a championship, local players would celebrate as though it was a festival. They would be bringing honour to their country.
“Local players are performing rather well. A player by the name of ‘Feng Yue’ completed the reward pool quest on her own, gaining over hundreds of thousands of experience points, becoming the biggest winner. It is extremely beneficial for her future development. Who knows, maybe the advantages would come snowballing in. This task was related to Black Phantom…
A dark horse by the ID of ‘Fury Blade’ was among the professional players. During a meeting at Jiang Cheng club where Fury Blade was at yesterday, they had released a video. It was the battle scene in the promotional clip with Black Phantom, and I believe everyone had also noticed Fury Blade. He seemed to have triggered Black Phantom’s hidden quest…”
The clip of Fury Blade was sent in by Luminous Moon. In order to raise their profile, the club had used it for publicity, just when the Chinese professional players were feeling down about their lack of outstanding performances. This brought Fury Blade lots of attention.
“… This would be the end of this week’s content, we look forward to seeing you next time! The following are details for the lucky draw. During this episode, how many times was Black Phantom mentioned? Please drop a message to the official account. We will draw 10 people…”
Han Xiao couldn’t stop laughing. He then switched off the screen.
Han Xiao’s name came up the most in the entire show. The audience had the perception that that everything good had some kind of correlation to Black Phantom:
Black Phantom = Opportunity!
Han Xiao didn’t expect that his name to appear on the screen so many times. His plan had some good returns. His popularity rose yet again. And more importantly, after the programme was broadcasted, more players would come aboard to change their vocation, allowing him to earn more experience points.
He did a rough estimate, based on this trend, the number of mechanic players on Aquamarine would likely be two or three levels higher than previously.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
There were some wild beasts spotted around the Green Valley Ville, and they had been causing problems for the town. Before Han Xiao came, Balsas had used some small sums as a bounty to incentivize the refugees to hunt down the beasts. Slowly, he had noticed something strange: the refugees would be able to hunt down the wild beasts without any casualties. After some observation, he found out to his surprise that these refugees seemed to have revival Espers and would never really die.
Balsas was shocked. It might have been normal for one person to have the revival Esper ability, but it would be a different story for an entire group. Could it be that this ability could be spread, just like the werewolf tribe in myths, where one’s saliva carried the mutated genes and could turn a normal person into another of their kind in one bite?
After some observation, Balsas was excited to find out that the refugees were easily satisfied by small incentives.
If I can get these strange refugees to work for me, their revival trait will make for a formidable army! I won’t have to fear anyone from Black Pine anymore.
Even though these refugees have revival abilities, they had limited combat strength. Balsas had asked them about their origins, but their answers were mostly gibberish. Despite some unresolved doubts about the refugees’ background, Balsas decided it was alright to go ahead and trade with them for their services.
He was about to take action when Black Phantom arrived and was warmly welcomed by the refugees. Balsas was alarmed.
Is Black Phantom here for these refugees too? Does he know about their ability as well?
Black Phantom was not someone to mess with, so Balsas decided to stay put and observe for the moment. However, an accident broke out—the beasts residing near the town attacked.
Countless wild beasts came from the jungle and caused the ground to rumble.
Gray Devil Wolves made up the majority. Their fur was charcoal gray, and they were as big as wild buffalos. There were also giant purple-scaled pythons that were ten to twenty meters long, slithering among the wolves.
Beasts in the wild were common, and they were a threat faced by every town. Balsas commanded for the town to be locked up without hesitation and asked his soldiers to ready the machine guns on the watchtowers to fight the beasts. Players that were left outside the town became the buffer zone for them to hold off the beasts. Balsas was glad that he had refugees that could be sacrificed at no cost.
Mature Gray Devil Wolves were about LV 20. They pounced into the crowd and ripped apart a player in two to three bites.
_____________________
You have started emergency quest [Protect Green Valley Ville]!
_____________________
Besides the normal players, Han Xiao received the emergency quest, too. However, to his dismay, the reward was at a newbie standard at only a few thousand EXP. Han Xiao watched with great interest at one side as the players fought against the beasts.
Balsas realized that Han Xiao had crawled to the top of the town wall while he was not looking and was watching the battle intensely. Balsas was alarmed. Black Phantom was able to silently crawl up the wall when so many people were staring down at the town wall; this meant that he could silently creep up on anyone he wanted to as well. Indeed, he was living up to his reputation as a skilled and accomplished assassin.
The players gave it their all to protect the town. The situation was bloody and violent. The players were not in complete defeat only because of the aid from the town’s machine guns. Han Xiao closely watched the players’ performances. Green Valley Ville consisted mainly of players from two classes—Esper and Mechanic.
He saw many different Espers: Attribute-boosting, Superhuman Strength, Stamina, Speed, Instant Healing, and elemental controls, which included skills such as gathering rocks or fortifying armor using rocks. There was a plethora of Espers, but most were low-level and short-lasting. They were dealing some damage to the wolves, but only a few Esper players were more notable.
The fight between the players and the beasts was a rough one, so some players were live-streaming the battle on the forum.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He decided to join and end this battle quickly. With that, he jumped off the wall.
Activating his electromagnetic hover-boots, he moved as if there was ice under his feet. He dived into the battle like a bolt of black lightning, zooming through the battlefield, straight to a relatively smaller Gray Devil Wolf, which was old and had little fur left. It was the leader of the pack, and Han Xiao noticed it when he was observing just now.
Han Xiao decided not to snipe these beasts. Sniping would limit the area damage, and he had limited ammo with him. It was the perfect chance for him to see what he could do with his LV 50 attributes against these LV 20 beasts.
Beasts were common on Planet Aquamarine. When fighting against beasts in large scales, he would not dive in alone. It would be extremely dangerous because it would be exposing him to high frequency attacks from all sides.
The herd of beasts in Gray Valley Ville was very small in numbers. With only thousands of wolves and snakes, Han Xiao could afford to show off his attributes.
A few strong-built Gray Devil Wolves immediately surrounded the Wolf King. With the howl from the old Wolf King, its guards pounced toward Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was clad full-body in his magnetically controlled retractable armor. He raised his arm to block off the sharp claws of the wolves, and the clashing sound was resounding. He was fighting off wolves, which were four to five times larger than him.
He had 69 points in his Strength attribute, way higher than the LV 20 Gray Devil Wolves. His fingers dug into the flesh of a wolf’s claws and threw the wolf over his head and onto the floor like a ragdoll. But unlike a ragdoll, the wolf landed and created a dent in the ground, whimpering.
Players who saw this scene were shocked. The scene was very impactful. It was as if a dwarf was throwing a normal person over their shoulders.
Han Xiao was elated to find out how strong his body was. His fists landed on a wolf like a pile driver with solid thuds. Every punch was filled with power that dealt damage right into the wolves’ lungs. A wolf was flung away, but it would get up and lunge again, only to be flung away once more. The place that was hit would be marked with a deep purple bruises.
The wolves began to crowd in to protect the Wolf King. Han Xiao’s view was filled with wolves that were attacking him with claws and fangs from all angles. The retractable armor clashed with the sharp claws, and sparks were flying. Han Xiao could barely hold the weight of the wolves off from all sides, let alone move.
It’s indeed very difficult to kill and get through the beast crowd. Han Xiao changed his plan and activated the Repulsive Force Generator, which sent a pushing force out and flung all the surrounding wolves into the wolves at the back.
With his path cleared, Han Xiao pushed with his foot and turned up the speed of his hover-boots. Wind was howling as he approached in the Wolf King at high speed. He blocked off the ferocious attacks from the Wolf King, grabbed the wolf’s head, and twisted it, throwing it to the ground. He pressed his knee tightly against the wolf’s stomach and pressed on its head with his left hand. Clenching his right fist, it landed right on the wolf’s head. The Wolf King’s head was crushed after a few punches. Blood spilled everywhere.
Every time he punched, the power surging through his muscles, tendons, and bones was like a tight bow that stored great strength. It was greatly satisfying to feel at ease and in control of such great strength.
A Wolf’s critical region was their stomach, but Han Xiao preferred attacking the head more.
After a few punches, the Wolf King was only a few breaths away from death. The wolf pack was howling and had all abandoned the enemies to attack Han Xiao. A huge pack of wolves piled on top of him like a small hill. Han Xiao was pressed against the floor.
The pungent wolf smell filled Han Xiao’s nostrils, and his face became scrunched up. He was almost choking. His sharp sense allowed him to identify the components of the smell.
Wolves’ urine, soil, sweat, dried excrement, and… Eh‽
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Pushing on the ground with both hands, he managed to support the weight of the huge pack of wolves on his back. Each wolf weighed at least eighty kilograms. While it was very taxing, Han Xiao finally spotted an opening and quickly tumbled out, simultaneously pulling out a hand grenade from his clothes and tossing it underneath the pack of wolves.
Boom!
A muffled sound erupted, and fragments of the grenade shot out with the flames caused by the explosion. The pack of wolves howled mournfully as fresh blood gushed out from their bodies. Han Xiao’s armor was also splattered red. Staggering as he stood up, his hand brushed past his side as he brandished a foldable machete that had undergone many modifications. It was newly improved and could be said to be a royal-edition.
Han Xiao nimbly sprinted through the pack of wolves, his blade slashing through his enemies, bringing waves of fresh blood along his path. The venomous poison spat out by the purple-scaled python could not catch up to his footwork. With a flash of his blade, he sliced off the snake’s head. The blade wound where the snake was decapitated was as smooth as a mirror, with fresh blood spurting continuously as the headless snake convulsed uncontrollably on the floor.
All the wild beasts rushed toward him. Purely by borrowing the speed from the Skating Shoes and the defense from the magnetically controlled retractable armor, he could single-handedly massacre the flock of beasts. The players were left to the side-lines as they could only stare in shock and bewilderment as Han Xiao killed every beast that came his way.
He was a Mechanic, so how did he end up in a melee close-range fight?
The players’ eyes were all drawn to Han Xiao’s elegant fighting style. It was undeniable that he was really suave. He was redefining the way most of them viewed Mechanics!
It turned out that it was not true that Mechanics could only fight long-distance. Their close-quarter combat skill was also of note and could be very aggressive. Also, they had a clear style of close-quarter combat that was distinctly different from pugilists.
Frenzied Sword finally came online as he arrived at the outskirts of the town, out of breath. Seeing the situation with the wild beasts, it was also his first time watching Han Xiao display his skills. In that moment, he felt that he had found his guiding light. This was exactly the fighting style that he loved! One can tell just by looking at his ID!
Choosing to follow Han Xiao was definitely the best decision! Frenzied Sword could barely suppress his excitement; he really did make the right choice back then!
Not only Frenzied Sword, but a lot of other players were influenced by what has been going on in the forums. Players who were contemplating on whether to change classes began to take interest in Mechanics again.
After killing however many wolves and snakes, Han Xiao’s field of vision suddenly cleared. He realized that the wolf pack was gradually withdrawing amid whimpers, and the group of purple-scaled pythons fled as well. Soon, the wild pack of beasts had all retreated, leaving corpses strewn across the floors, soaking the ground in bright-red blood.
He exhaled a breath and wiped off the traces of blood left on his armor. With his stats, dealing with such low-level beasts would leave them completely crushed. He still had forty percent of his stamina left.
Mechanics rarely fought their enemies by close-combat. However, doing this occasionally did make him feel refreshed. Rather than using a fighting style that relied on sniping, which would lead to an instant death with each shot, this kind of real fist fighting feeling was much more suitable for destressing.
Green Valley Ville’s guards came out to clean up the battlefield, carrying the dead corpses of the wild beasts back to the town as food supplies. Han Xiao rejected Bashas’ repeated invitation. Under the eyes of the excited players, he returned to his original position indifferently, pretending to rest as he closed his eyes.
The interface indicated that the mission was complete. Also, he killed over a hundred beasts, obtaining more than 20,000 EXP points in total. As his own level was much higher than his massacred targets, the EXP points he gained would be cut down by a lot, but no matter how small it was, it was EXP nonetheless. The almighty Mechanic Han would not mind it at all. The main purpose behind this fight was to test his current reflexes and to have a clearer understanding on his physical caliber. Only by doing that could he take care of smaller details in future battles and perform at his best. Another reason was that he wanted to continue to show off a Mechanic’s abilities. He realized that Esper players often showed off their coolest abilities, but new Mechanic players were still a minority. He guessed that Mechanics would become a class that would be questioned, so he wanted to shift the players’ focus from Espers by showing them how Mechanics could be great players too.
Opening the forum, Han Xiao realized that there were players who had uploaded a video footage of the fight just now. The title was shocking.
“Overpowered! Mechanics can actually fight like this!”
The recording showed Han Xiao almost single-handedly conquering a wild-beast fight. The visuals were very impactful. In the past, he had mainly used sniping, killing his enemies in one shot, or used his turrets’ and rovers’ high firepower, but he had never showed off his individual fighting ability. This time, he highlighted this, and the real-time comments and replies mostly conveyed shock and amazement.
But he realized that below the post, there was a reply that was manually pushed up. Looking at the ID, it was Luzman. His tone was as harsh as before.
“Black Phantom is indeed very strong, I won’t deny that, but Mechanics are really trash. Look carefully at the start of the video. Espers are the central force when fighting with wild beasts, and those players who advanced to become Mechanics can only sit at the side and fire aimlessly without a single use for them.
“I presume this clip was probably recorded by a Mechanic. Other than the Mechanics who can be idling at one side, I guess no other players would have this kind of time in an actual fight…
“Also, stop sharing Black Phantom’s videos, this asshole wants to trick me into becoming a Mechanic again!”
As he continued down the post, the replies split into those who supported Luzman and those who disagreed with him.
Han Xiao smacked his lips. He was a little annoyed. Luzman held onto that point and had been smearing his reputation. This would be a hindrance to his business. The players’ attention was drawn toward this discussion. His display of abilities seemed to be less impactful now. With Han Xiao’s rich experience in discussion, with one look, he could tell that Luzman was a keyboard warrior who posted derogatory comments everywhere to trigger fights online.
Scratching his head, Han Xiao did not really have a good solution to this. This was a discussion that would obviously come up, just like picking between sweet tofu or salty tofu. As long as nobody restricted it, there was no way to stop others from commenting online.
But I’m only an NPC now. Even if I showed off my abilities, it isn’t enough to get more people to believe in Mechanics. There isn’t anything else that I can do either; it’s not like I can go in front of the players and shout ‘I’m actually a player’… Han Xiao felt helpless.
The NPC template was his secret that he did not want to disclose. From the perspective of a player though, seeing an NPC shout “I’m a player” would only cause them to feel curious and amused. Not many would believe it to be true, and most would think that it was an easter egg or a character design, just like Deadpool.
There were some simulation games in the past where fictional characters inside would say that they knew of the players’ existence, but who would believe it to be true? Those who really did believe it had already been corrected by Yang Technologies.
The smell of blood had yet to fade away. Frenzied Sword, who had run over from a distance away, attracted the attention of the players. Galaxy Times had announced his movements, and Frenzied Sword had gained some short-lived fame. He was recognized in a moment.
The players around them began whispering to one another, looking in envy.
“Isn’t that the professional gamer mentioned by the program? He has a picture on the promotional ad.”
“He really does have a special relationship with Black Phantom.”
“I want to unlock a hidden quest with the Black Phantom, too.”
Frenzied Sword waddled over to Han Xiao’s side.
Han Xiao regarded this player, who had some potential, well. It was alright to embarrass Frenzied Sword in front of NPCs, but he did not have the heart to do so in front of the crowd of players. No matter what, Frenzied Sword was also a professional gamer, and his image was very important.
Han Xiao randomly assigned some regular mission. When Frenzied Sword received the mission, his face was overcome with disappointment.
“Collect materials? That’s so boring. You might as well tell me to dance.”
Han Xiao’s lips curved up. Habits were indeed scary.
Just then, a player walked over. The ID above his head read ‘Laughing Blade’. He asked, “Frenzied Sword?”
Once Frenzied Sword saw this person, his face fell as he dryly replied, “It’s you. So, you’re here to play Galaxy as well. Why aren’t you playing Knight anymore?”
“Haha, it’s not challenging enough,” Laughing Blade said half-mockingly.
Some players recognized Laughing Blade.
“Isn’t that the professional gamer, Laughing Blade?”
“I heard he was one of the top three players in Knight; he even won two championships before.”
Laughing Blade enjoyed the players’ surprise thoroughly. His eyes hid feelings of condescension as he looked at Frenzied Sword.
In the past, Frenzied Sword had also been a professional gamer in Knight. In official competitions, he had suffered countless defeats to Laughing Blade, and his fame was far from that of Laughing Blade.
Laughing Blade saw the rewards assigned to Frenzied Sword on Galaxy Times and realized that his old opponent was better-off than him. Feeling green from jealousy, he intentionally came to stir up trouble. After a few words, he pretended to ask casually, “Since we’ve met, let’s have a PVP duel. I’m an Esper, what about you?”
“… Mechanic.”
Frenzied Sword was slightly hesitant. Even though he was under Han Xiao’s mentorship, his current Mechanic abilities were very unsuited for battle. Subconsciously, he wanted to reject the duel.
Unexpectedly, Laughing Blade suddenly said, “Since we’ve known each other for so many years, let’s have a friendly duel. You can’t possibly reject a small request like this, or do you look down on me?”
Frenzied Sword was speechless. Those words made it hard for him to reject. There was no need to have a falling out with someone in the same industry over something small like this.
Laughing Blade laughed coldly in his mind. He had said that because he was afraid that Frenzied Sword would reject the deal. He wanted to have a duel with Frenzied Sword only because he had gained some popularity on Galaxy.
Once he obtained some fame, it made him easy to become someone else’s prey.
If he were to defeat Frenzied Sword, he could probably tone down the latter’s popularity. For a professional gamer who had attended a program to be defeated by him, he could become a little more famous as well.
Laughing Blade was very confident. He felt that an awakened Esper was quite strong. His elementary application was a rock-earth fusion armor that was suitable for defense. It was strong against pistols, so he felt that his chances of winning were quite high.
Even if he were to lose, he could test the gap between them. Anyway, at this point, they would not die. Laughing Blade felt that this deal only had benefits to him, and he would not have any losses.
Also… he looked toward Black Phantom, who was standing at one side, his gaze lighting up.
If Frenzied Sword can unlock a hidden quest, I’ll give it a try too!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao watched with interest from the side. Laughing Blade? No impression of him. Probably not important enough in Galaxy.
Frenzied Sword would eventually become a Legendary player in the future, but right now, he was bowing his head to Laughing Blade. This scene left him feeling nostalgic. For some reason, it brought him back to those days in the past, when he first started. Back then, there was a point in time when his power-levelling business was dwindling. To find other ways to get income, he had entered a small office to help them mine gold to earn some rewards. That office often forced him to work over-time and cut his pay. Asking them about pay would only elicit answers that were nothing short of excuses.
The office’s boss took advantage of being a business owner. When Han Xiao asked about his pay for the ninth time and started arguing with him, the boss told him that if he wanted to continue, he could; if he was not going to continue, he could just scram. If he continued to complain, then he would PK him until his level reached 0.
What else could Han Xiao do, he was also very exasperated. All he could do was to use his main account to show the boss why the business was doing so well. For a few weeks, he massacred all the players in the office till it suffered heavy losses and was on the verge of closing down. Then, he earned a reasonably large amount of reimbursement in exchange for his emotional losses.
In-game blackmailing was not illegal.
Aye, the happy times are gone, there’s no turning back. Han Xiao puffed as he smoked. As he overcame his obstacles, he could only appreciate it now because of his past experiences.
Frenzied Sword could only accept Laughing Blade’s request. Currently, he was LV 11, way ahead of average players’ levels. Other than a Mechanic’s repairing and reinforcement skills, he could only use basic shooting and fighting skills.
Han Xiao had complete understanding of Frenzied Sword’s fighting abilities. With a flash in his eyes, he called out to Frenzied Sword. “Come here.”
Frenzied Sword was a little confused as he followed orders accordingly. Han Xiao took off his thermo-electrical incisor gloves, secretly giving them to him.
With a look at the gloves’ stats, Frenzied Sword’s breathing stopped for a moment, his face overcome with shock and surprise.
“I’m only lending them to you; you have to return them.” Han Xiao erased Frenzied Sword’s unrealistic hopes.
Frenzied Sword was still very touched. It was the right decision to suck up to Han Xiao, he could even receive such a benefit! Is it because he’s afraid that I’ll lose, making him lose face?
Putting on the gloves, Frenzied Sword had a greater sense of confidence. Standing fifteen meters apart from Laughing Blade, both of them braced themselves, getting ready to attack.
Nearby, players began crowding around to watch the show. They were mainly curious about Frenzied Sword and wanted to see the difference between a professional gamer who had his name reported on the system and a regular player.
“Even if he is a professional player, he should be about the same level in these early stages.”
“With only a few basic abilities, he probably can’t show off his mechanic abilities as well.”
“I think there’s an advantage in these early stages. Maybe he’s practiced fighting before in real-life, or he’s someone who was in the military. After all, the controls here are so realistic.”
The players murmured to one another.
With a low cry, Laughing Blade made the first move, launching himself forward. With every step, the sand on the ground wrapped itself around his calves and snaked up to his body, forming a sandstone armor covering his body.
His pistol can only fire at most five shots, and my abilities can definitely hold him off. As long as I close the distance between us, he’s definitely finished! Laughing Blade thought.
The players were all new. The level of their control was only at a level where they understood how to use the skills and what they did. Laughing Blade’s decision was correct, but Frenzied Sword’s reaction gave Laughing Blade a shock. Instead of moving back and using the pistol to kite him, he rushed forward instead.
Both people quickly collided into one another. Without thinking twice, Laughing Blade sent his fist, which was wrapped in sandstone armor, flying toward Frenzied Sword, and Frenzied Sword met his fist with his black-gloved palm.
Could this glove be special equipment?
Just as Laughing Blade had this thought, he suddenly experienced a series of burning pains. Stunned, he realized that his health points were reduced to zero in that moment.
His vision turned black as he immediately died.
From the start to end, this duel only lasted three seconds!
On the battlefield, only Frenzied Sword remained. The wind blew up the edges of his clothes. Expressionless, he truly resembled a solitary professional at the top of his game.
The surrounding players watched, dazed, unable to react.
“Was… was that an instant KO?”
“That’s way too fast!”
“Too overpowered! No wonder he could get on Galaxy Times!”
“Could the secret quest really have given him such a huge lead over the rest of us‽”
Everyone was a new player. Technically, their battle power should have been about the same. Using a pistol, it would take at least four or five shots before one would die, and Laughing Blade’s Esper ability obviously strengthened his defense. Some players remembered Laughing Blade’s performance during the wild-beast attack. When he was surrounded by two gray wolves, he was still able to hold them off. But when he fought with Frenzied Sword, he died instantly just by meeting fists with him?
What kind of godly attack power was this?
Everyone stared at Frenzied Sword’s glove, envy showing on their faces.
“That is high-level equipment!”
“Mechanics can make something like that? I thought they could only make guns!”
“I really want one too…”
Not long after, the revived Laughing Blade ran over, his face looking dark as he said unhappily, “Didn’t we agree that it would be a friendly battle? How could you… you…”
He originally wanted to say how could he have killed him, but he felt that saying it would be too shameful.
Having defeated an old opponent, Frenzied Sword only felt refreshed from being able to settle all the discontent from the past as he chuckled. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were so vulnerable.”
This sentence made Laughing Blade so angry that he could felt the heat rising up from his chest.
Calling me vulnerable for dying‽
It was a complete loss for him. Dying once cost him a lot of EXP. Laughing Blade was very upset. He initially thought that once the duel reached a certain point, they would end it, but he did not expect to be an instant-killed, not to mention he could not even blame Frenzied Sword. He was so distressed that he could feel his heart tightening up over this horrible situation.
After the crowd around them had left, Frenzied Sword obediently returned the gloves to Han Xiao, hesitating as he asked, “Han… Black Phantom, are you selling these gloves?”
Han Xiao looked at him from the side of his eye, opening up the shop listing as he added “thermo-electrical incisor gloves” at a fixed price of 80,000 with a reputation of 15 points. This set of gloves was a prize that he had seized from Rose Militant. After learning the basic knowledge upfront, he had instead experimented to create the blueprints to create the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. By spending some EXP, he could make one on his own now.
Frenzied Sword was instantly motivated. Excitedly, he clenched his fists. This close-combat equipment designed for Mechanics was his favorite. “I can’t afford it now, but I will be able to, sooner or later!”
Then, Laughing Blade suddenly inched closer. His gaze lit, he stared at Han Xiao and asked, “Black Phantom, I heard you’re enemies with Germinal. I want to join you.”
In this time frame, the discussion board had all sorts of different guesses as to how one could trigger the Black Phantom’s secret quest. They thought that as long as one showed their intention to become Germinal’s enemies, there was a chance that they could trigger Black Phantom’s secret quest. Many players were guessing the phrase to trigger that. In his short time in Green Valley Ville, Han Xiao had heard several of such guesses and had rejected them all. This led the players to a final conclusion—it was all about possibility when one was trying to trigger Black Phantom’s secret quest.
Laughing Blade was also trying his luck.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh… You seem to be not bad.”
There’s a lead! Laughing Blade grinned in surprise.
Frenzied Sword’s heart fell. Getting nervous, he could feel a strong sense of discomfort welling within him for some reason.
“But you don’t seem to be up to par yet.” Han Xiao suddenly changed his words as he waved, rejecting Laughing Blade.
Laughing Blade had not even finished his breath and was left speechless for a while. His expression was annoyed. With his heart full of jealousy toward Frenzied Sword, he muttered to himself in anger, “This guy is really some lucky dog.”
Frenzied Sword heaved a sigh of relief, regaining his composure.
Han Xiao almost laughed aloud upon seeing Frenzied Sword’s reaction, as if he were a guy who had almost been cheated on…
Pfft, what kind of description was that? What would that make me? Han Xiao tossed aside this crazy idea.
On the interface, quite an amount of EXP had accumulated. For players in Green Valley Ville who intended to change their class, they all would have completed that by the next day. Han Xiao would prepare to leave after that.
While he was collecting EXP, someone recorded Frenzied Sword and Laughing Blade’s battle and uploaded it onto the forum.
…
Luzman was a player who came from Big Horn Village. By luck, he had managed to get into the phases of beta-testing and had been saving his money before he switched his class. He wanted to join the strongest class.
When it was time for public testing, he saw Black Phantom’s battle and was captivated. Hurriedly, he wanted to switch to become a Mechanic. Other players tried to complete tasks to improve their relationship with Black Phantom, but Luzman could not wait. He used his money to gain five reputation points with Black Phantom. From the five basic knowledges that Black Phantom taught, he learned [Basic Weaponry Knowledge] as he liked this name the most.
But Luzman quickly realized that Mechanics were not as strong as Black Phantom made them out to be. After losing continuously in the duel, he felt that he had been cheated; this class was way too weak! But he could not bear to abandon his beta-testing account and had asked the customer service if he could change his class, but that was of course not possible, leaving him infuriated.
What a waste of having this opportunity to enter the beta test! This account is useless now!
Luzman had been extremely frustrated. Going onto the forums, he had put up posts everywhere, regardless of topic. He had planned to thoroughly bash the Mechanic class by repeating how trashy it was and let all of the players know that Mechanic was a trashy class!
Players had debated after his comments. Initially, Luzman had been satisfied with what he saw. That was his original intention. He had also enjoyed the feeling of his words being taken seriously by others.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Scrolling through the forum, Luzman realized that he had been tagged. He clicked into the post, and there was a video of Frenzied Sword and Laughing Blade dueling, and people were gloatingly asking him to explain himself.
Luzman had recently gone crazy hard on mechanics on the various forums. His stance was not the most annoying thing; him posting everywhere was what annoyed people the most. He constantly forced people to read his post as if they were not already aware of his comments. This behavior made him loathed by everyone.
“@Luzman, a Mechanic has killed an Esper. Why don’t you come out and explain?”
After watching the video, Luzman immediately retorted, “This is just a rare instance. That Laughing Blade did not know how to play at all!”
“Ha, you’ve suffered consecutive duel losses, but how did someone else win? Just admit you’re a rookie, Luzman.”
Luzman stifled his anger and replied, “Frenzied Sword has triggered a secret quest. He was more advanced in rank and equipment; there is no point in battling!”
“Do you mean the equipment given by NPCs isn’t enough? Then what for are you doing missions for? Taking rewards for what? Collecting money for what? Just admit you’re a rookie and stand still when being scolded!”
Damn it! Luzman was fuming, he straight away came back. “What I said about Mechanics being weak was none of your business!”
“Then why are you posting that everywhere? Think before you speak, won’t you?”
Luzman was exasperated. “Damn you, can you stop barking? Are you that low for you to come and be scolded by me!”
“Finally, your true colors have shown. You’re a troll, stop acting. You chose this profession on your own, how can you say you were cheated? This is hilarious, who do you think you are? Why would the gaming company cheat you? Were you looking for your sense of existence everywhere?”
“I would not have chosen Esper if the Black Phantom did not lie to me!”
“Oh, it wasn’t my fault; it’s the world’s fault. Nobody pointed a gun at you, forcing you to choose your class, did they? Are you that dumb to push the blame to an NPC? If you regret it, open a new account, and stop posting everywhere, you brat!”
“Son of a b*tch…” Luzman was seething.
At this moment, an official message appeared on Luzman’s screen.
_____________________
It was detected that you frequently used insulting terms, hence your forum account will be banned for three days.
_____________________
Luzman was stunned. What the hell!
He was unable to reply. Naturally, the players on the forum soon discovered this and gloated at him.
“Haha, banned for cursing, aren’t you?”
“This is great.”
“Let’s go, he is clearly a troll.”
Luzman could only read and not reply. He was indignant and sullen, itching to smash something.
…
“That’s interesting.”
Han Xiao finished reading the forum’s comments, and his fingers were itching to reply, but sadly, he could not. Thinking back when he was on the forum, he loved to watch people getting into a catfight; that was a great pastime.
However, there were some people who got really angry because of the catfight; these were the people who were too innocent. If you are unable to win an argument, just treat it as something to do for fun. Everything on the Internet is pointless; it is all virtual and will not affect you in real life.
Han Xiao had also once been a despised power-leveler. He had been bashed by other players. When there was nothing to do, he could get into a catfight and treat it as something to lighten up his day.
Looking at the lively players on the forum while he himself could only be a spectator, Han Xiao felt very lonely. He missed the days when he was involved in a fiery verbal sparring… even though he had always felt that the term ‘verbal sparring’ was filthy.
Looking at the time, it was nearing dusk, and the battlefield had been cleaned up.
Han Xiao heard an engine from afar; he raised his eyes and gazed into the distance. There were a few off-road vehicles speeding across the muddy road. Green Valley Ville opened its gates, and Balsas was standing beside the gate to welcome these few vehicles with respect.
A thought flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. The vehicle has an Alumera crest.
…
When the off-road vehicle drove into the town, armed guards got off the bus and guarded a man who was dressed exquisitely.
Xiao Jin, the second leader of Alumera, had sent the emissary Xiao Rui to South Continent to find the Germinal Bounty, Zero. More than half a year ago, the Alumera family had realized that the appearance of this Zero was exactly the same as the missing Han Xiao, so Xiao Jin sent people to look for him. However, they had ended up empty-handed for a long time. Xiao Rui was the leader of the search team.
Balsas was extremely deferential toward Xiao Rui. He led everyone into the main house. The table was set with drinks and piping hot, fragrant barbequed meat. There was a cross-sectional cut on it, and the texture of the skin looked like a wave of an ocean. There was a hint of pink in the middle of the reddish-brown flesh. It was clear that the meat was tender even without biting into it. It was Gray Devil Wolf’s meat that had been collected two hours ago, and it was extremely fresh. Other dishes included some vegetables and mashed potato-like crop.
In this rogue town, the expenses of the dishes were considerable, and Xiao Rui was very satisfied with Balsas’ hospitality.
The group sat down around the food, and Xiao Rui, who was covered in dust, scoffed down the food. He ate three pieces of barbecue meat in one go and only slowed down after he swallowed them. He wiped his mouth and said calmly to Balsas, who waiting at one side, “I will rest for a few days in your territory and continue to find that damn bastard.”
“I’ll get someone to prepare the rooms,” Balsas replied. “Let me know again of any requests.”
Xiao Rui’s status in the family was higher than his, hence Balsas’ posture was awfully low.
“Okay.” Xiao Rui was pleased with Balsas’ attitude. He decided to stay for a few days more in Green Valley Ville. He had spent this last half a year searching for news of Zero in the South Continent, and he had enough of this aimless searching; it was a form of torture.
Ever since Han Xiao’s disappearance, the family thought that he was dead and did not take it to heart. However, after finding out that he had become Zero, everyone was shocked. Alumera did not wish to provoke Germinal. Thus, to find out what exactly happened, Xiao Jin assigned him to bring Han Xiao back to the family for questioning, yet the target had not been found after six months.
Xiao Rui was filled with resentment toward Han Xiao. It was all because of this ‘regenerated’ guy that he could not enjoy his life in comfort at his family’s headquarters.
He had met Han Xiao a few times before; he was weak and hopeless. If not for him being Xiao Jin’s biological son, he would have been sent to clean the toilets. Xiao Rui was an orphan adopted from a war, and there were many orphans like him under Xiao Jin. All of them grew up competing with one another, and each racked their brains scheming to improve their status. Hence, he was extremely envious of Han Xiao as he did not have to struggle as much.
Initially, when he heard that Han Xiao had died, he was secretly very happy during his funeral. He knew that his adopted brothers felt the same way even though they were grieving on the outside.
The first impression Xiao Rui had of Han Xiao made it difficult for him to link Han Xiao and the Zero that was talked about on the Dark Net.
Why didn’t you just die and leave me alone? Why must you give me so much trouble?Xiao Rui had grumbled on more than one occasion. He looked at Balsas and chatted for a while before asking casually, “Is there anything going on recently in this town?”
“Yes, those refugees outside…” Balsas told him about his findings.
Xiao Rui was surprised. “There’s actually such a weird crowd? You have to report your findings to the family.”
“I know… There’s something else. Black Phantom is also resting in this town. His reason is unknown; he claims that it was on the way.”
Xiao Rui’s heart skipped a beat. “Black Phantom is here, too?”
Recently, the Dark Net’s killer list had been updated. Black Phantom’s rank had risen to seventh, and he was very active. To know that this legendary killer was nearby, Xiao Rui was somewhat uneasy.
“We’d better not provoke him,” Balsas replied.
Xiao Rui was undecided as he knitted his brows together in a deep frown. He turned and saw Liu Cheng, his expressionless personal bodyguard who was right behind him. This eased his nervous mood.
Liu Cheng sensed Xiao Rui’s gaze and reassured him indifferently. “Don’t worry. Even if we face Black Phantom, I can still protect your life. He can’t do anything to me.”
…
The sun was setting.
Ever since the off-road vehicles entered the town, Han Xiao had felt a change in Green Valley Ville. The town’s look-out had kept a close watch on him, as if they were worried about his activities. From this small detail, Han Xiao was fairly confident that the person on the vehicle that had entered the town was an important character.
“I don’t have a deep impression of Alumera’s family. It seems like they were not a special group in the original quest… Oh, I’ve recalled. I think in the secondary quest of ‘The Power Struggle of Vagrant Warlords’, this family was the one of the strongest powers. Yes, this secondary quest and Bennett’s refugee quest had a partial conflict. The vagrants and I did not have a lot of interactions, don’t think it will affect this quest.”
Han Xiao had been eyeing Bennett’s quest for a long time. He did not know when it started, but with his good relationship with Bennett, coupled with the positive notes from the Dark Net Organization, as well as his Universal Reputation, there was a high chance that he would be invited by Bennett to participate in the refugee plan, and that would be Aquamarine’s second main quest.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As a participant in the main quest mission, the mission Han Xiao would receive should be quite different from the other players’, and he was very excited.
Alumera seemed like an indirect enemy. Han Xiao rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, “We’ll see when the time comes. There isn’t any cause for concern now. This is just a small territory.”
The interface showed that he had accumulated more than one million EXP. Aquamarine had nineteen novice villages. Excluding the six on Andrea Mainland and not counting Big Horn Village and Green Valley Ville, this meant that Han Xiao still had eleven chances of earning from teaching mechanic skills to those who switched to the mechanics class. This was more than enough for him to rise till LV 60, after which he could then go to some dangerous places, collecting rare abilities, skills, and machinery. Hence, it was rumored that ‘max level is the beginning’. Although he did not have a rank limit imposed by the version, the quality-price ratio to continuously increase his rank was not the highest.
Since Han Xiao possessed a huge channel of EXP, he used it extravagantly to improve his skills.
Talent points could not be used carelessly, but EXP did not really matter.
He straight away upgraded three skills to the highest level; [Flaming Will], [Overload], and [Moving Snipe]. These three combat skills were all important, and the explosive power was upgraded once again. If [Flaming Will] and [Overload] were to start at the same time, it was even possible for the Ghost sniper rifle to take over two thousand HP. The three skills were fully upgraded, and they brought along three talent points. His accumulated talent points were 24 now, and he saved them so as to not use them unnecessarily.
With the remaining EXP, Han Xiao fused his knowledge together and randomly obtained new blueprints. Fortunately, the fusion this time around was quite good.
[Sunworm Portable Flamethrower], the flame had continuous damage. The important point was that it had a small volume but a large range of impact. It could be carried with you or loaded as a small component on a vehicle or robot.
A player who took the role of patrolling in the town suddenly dashed over and shouted in fear, “I found an army. They are approaching, and they have triggered a mission!”
The players of Green Town Ville became restless and all went to check out their interface.
Han Xiao’s brow jumped momentarily. He actually received a mission too!
_____________________
You have triggered a random mission, [Invasion of Green Valley Ville].
Mission summary: Green Valley Ville, which is controlled by the Alumera family, is very close to the inhabited land, Black Pine, Lu Cheng’s territory. There has been continuous friction between them. Now, Lu Cheng’s troops are once again invading Green Valley Ville. You can choose to help the Alumera family protect Green Valley Ville or help Lu Cheng attack. Please choose your position.
Mission requirements: Tip off Balsas and protect Green Valley Ville. Otherwise, you can choose to join Lu Cheng’s troops and attack Green Valley Ville.
Note: Once you have picked a side, you are not allowed to switch.
Mission rewards:
1. By protecting Green Valley Ville, you will receive 12,000 EXP and 3,000 Aquamarine Dollars.
2. By helping Lu Cheng compete the attack, you will receive 10,000 EXP.
_____________________
I actually received the novice mission as well?
Han Xiao broke into laughter. He did not care about this small reward, but Lu Cheng, who was mentioned in the mission, caught his attention. If he remembered correctly, Lu Cheng was Old Man Lu’s son, a South Continent vagrant who was a big warlord.
Old Man Lu’s four blueprints could only be obtained from Lu Cheng. An idea came to Han Xiao’s head, and he immediately made a decision. As long as he got to interact with Lu Cheng, he would then be able to know when the secret quest would begin.
As for those four uncommon blueprints, he had been eyeing them for a long time.
I will observe for a while, see if the leader is Lu Cheng himself or his subordinate.Han Xiao took out his sniper rifle and oiled it. He idled around and appeared as a sharp contrast to the busy players around him.
This urgent mission resulted in the players taking action, some of them immediately chose to protect Green Valley Ville, which offered a higher reward, and went to tip off the guard. There were still some players surveying the situation first.
Balsas received the information and jumped out of his lover’s bed in shock. He hurriedly threw on his clothes and arrived at the town’s lookout tower with quick steps. The observatory was built with stones and bricks, and the top was spread with weeds as a ceiling.
“Damn it, the bastard of Black Pine came again!” Balsas cursed with a pair of gloomy triangular eyes.
Green Valley Ville was just one part of Alumera, and Lu Cheng was actually a local vagrant warlord from the South Continent. His power was even more tremendous. Lu Cheng’s headquarters were in Black Pine, and Green Valley Ville was located just dozens of miles away. Lu Cheng had eyed this strategic location for a long time and tried to invade several times. No one had expected him to launch an attack today.
Xiao Rui arrived beside Balsas and pointed at the dense mess of surrounding players and assured him, “Don’t worry, don’t we have cannon fodder?”
Balsas’ eyes lit up. With this bunch of unbeatable eccentric refugees, they were able to counteract Lu Cheng’s military advantage!
Balsas called the assistant and ordered, “Go tell that bunch of refugees outside that I need them to ward off Lu Cheng’s army. As long as they completed my mission, everyone will receive money.”
“Don’t give too much,” Xiao Rui added on. “Their lives are worthless.”
“I understand.” This bunch of refuges were the best cannon fodder; they were the trump card to defeating Lu Cheng. Balsas let out a sinister smile.
Luck is on our side!
…
Lu Cheng sat in the middle of a war chariot and looked serious. This unit had more than sixty off-road armored vehicles equipped with machine guns and rockets, followed by hundreds of fully-equipped elite soldiers. They were all trained and qualified soldiers; one soldier could fight at least three enemies, and the soldiers knew how to work together in different formations. They were not a common vagrant of the mob.
Lu Cheng had been coveting Green Valley Ville for a long time. There was a strategic mountain pass between this town and his land, Black Pine. Once he seized the town, there would be no worries in the future.
“We must capture Green Valley Ville this time round.”
The troops were getting closer to Green Valley Ville. Lu Cheng soon noticed the crowd surrounding the town; they wore ragged garments, like a group of refugees, guarding the town.
Lu Cheng’s face immediately darkened, and there was a trace of anger in his eyes. “What a despicable bastard to use refugees as cannon fodder!”
He ordered the military fleet to park a distance away from the town, just outside of the firing range of the machine guns. The smoke and dust quickly dissipated. The ruts left on the muddy road exuded a burning smell, and the heat from the friction somewhat contorted the air.
The players who chose to protect the town all held onto their weapons tightly and waited on high alert. The cold armored vehicles and the compressed gun barrels made many people nervous. They swallowed their saliva with unease. Beads of sweat on their foreheads were reflecting light under the sun.
Many observing players had some doubts. Were they not allowed to choose their camp? It seemed like that they would begin fighting any minute now, and they might have no time to choose a side.
“Balsas, are you thinking of blocking my gunfire with these pathetic fellows?” Lu Cheng took out a megaphone, and his voice travelled out. Everyone in the town could hear his voice clearly. “My men are able to tear them to shreds easily, do you want me to paint your territory with fresh blood?”
Balsas emerged above the wall and smiled coldly.
Lu Cheng frowned and looked at the group of shabbily dressed refugees. He calmly offered, “I’ll give you the opportunity to leave now. There is no need to die here.”
The refugees were restless for a while, but he realized that they did not waver despite that.
“Are these people unafraid of death?”
Lu Cheng was astonished. He realized that there was not the slightest bit of fear on this bunch of refugees’ faces. He hesitated to give the command of attack.
Balsas faintly guessed the values of this group of refugees; what they cared about the most was profit instead of their lives. Seeing Lu Cheng hesitation, Balsas was very proud of himself and was rather scornful of Lu Cheng’s indecisiveness. He ridiculed lowly, “What an excessive tendency to clemency.”
To be apprehensive toward endangering the refugees’ lives would only hinder his battle; Lu Cheng’s choice appeared awfully stupid in Balsas’ eyes.
Balsas grinned evilly and was about to order the refugees to counterattack when he suddenly realized that there was movement from the side-lines.
Black Phantom!
Han Xiao stretched his back and strode unhurriedly to the center of the confrontation. He instantly caught the attention of both sides and the players. He crossed his arms and called loudly, “Give me some face. If you all want to go to war, do it tomorrow!”
His voice was as good as a loudspeaker. Everyone was taken aback.
“Why is he intervening‽” Balsas immediately swallowed back his almost released order.
Lu Cheng froze, sizing Han Xiao up, before exclaiming hoarsely, “Black Phantom‽ Why is this fellow here?”
The commanders of both sides were afraid of the consequences, so they ordered the troops to lay down their weapons. The tense atmosphere of confrontation dissipated immediately.
The players were bewildered. They were not very familiar with Aquamarine’s background. From the mission brief, it was known that Balsas and Lu Cheng were warlords of influence. Black Phantom gave out an order on his own, and the two warlords with armed forces immediately feared the consequences. This roused the players’ curiosity.
With one sentence from Black Phantom, he was able to halt the war. He was able to make the two warlords overlook their feud, who exactly was he?
Just how high was his status to dare say the phrase ‘give me some face’? The most terrifying thing was that the two warlords halted immediately; how much weight does he carry‽
Then the players noticed something else. These NPCs all recognized Black Phantom. Exactly how big was his reputation on the planet? Could it already be to the point where he was able to cut in anywhere he went‽
Is this Red-Hair Shanks’ legendary ability, Fruit of Face 1 ?
Bun-hit-dog, who was secretly videoing the scene, was thrilled. This kind of news material was exactly what he wanted.
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“Retreat, set up the camp!” Lu Cheng took a deep look at Han Xiao and swept his eyes across the refugees. He let his troops pitch a camp in the distance and eyed covetously.
The players became restless. Some players who had yet to choose their side were surveying the situation. It seemed like the Green Valley Ville’s side had a higher possibility of winning.
The sky became dark.
Han Xiao walked over to Lu Cheng’s camp, and the guards hastily raised their guns when they saw him approaching.
“Relax, I just want to have a short discussion with your leader,” Han Xiao assured them.
The guards continued to hold on to their guns and did not allow Han Xiao to enter the camp.
At this moment, Lu Cheng heard the commotion and walked over. “Let him in.”
If Black Phantom wanted to kill him, there was no need to inform him. It seemed like he had other intentions. He permitted the guards to make way and lead Han Xiao into the newly built tent. Frenzied Sword followed after Han Xiao.
Lu Cheng sat down casually, not worried that Han Xiao might threaten his life. With his hands clasped under his chin, he remarked, “The famous Black Phantom actually appeared in this small place. I don’t know the reason of your intervention—I don’t think Balsas is qualified to hire a killer of your status—so what is you purpose of visiting me?”
Han Xiao got straight to the point. “I’m here to help you.”
“Help me?” Lu Cheng became suspicious. “We have not met before.”
Han Xiao casually made up a reason. “You are more likeable than Balsas.”
Lu Cheng felt strange and paused before commenting, “Balsas … He’s a despicable fellow. He actually let the refugees act as cannon fodder. I really don’t understand, why did this bunch of refugees disregard their lives? What benefits did Balsas give them exactly? Could it be that he detained their family to threaten them? I gave them an opportunity to live, yet they don’t want to leave.”
“They don’t have much combat strength, why don’t you just crush them? With your armed forces’ strength, it would be a completely one-sided massacre.” Han Xiao half-smiled.
Lu Cheng’s face was blank. He declined to comment and changed the topic. “Black Phantom, I don’t know you, and I don’t know why you want to help me. What do you plan to do, kill Balsas? I believe this is an easy task for you.”
“No, I don’t want to kill people,” Han Xiao said perfunctory.
Lu Cheng’s lips twisted. A killer said he did not wish to kill people? This is more ridiculous than saying a navy can’t swim!
“Then how do you plan to help me?”
“You are concerned about the refugees. I can help you resolve that.”
Lu Cheng raised his eyebrows. “You can convince them?”
“Perhaps.”
“… Then what do you want from me?”
Lu Cheng did not believe that a legendary killer, who was a stranger, would help for free. He was certain that the Black Phantom had a motive, but he did not understand what the Black Phantom fancied from him.
“I don’t need a reward.”
Lu Cheng’s eyes darkened, and he stared at Han Xiao’s eyes. What he saw was a dense fog, and he was unable to penetrate Han Xiao’s thoughts. Generally speaking, if one did not want a reward, it meant that the person harbored other intentions and bigger ambitions.
Silence.
Frenzied Sword felt lost as he was listening to their conversation, but that did not hinder him from sensing that the atmosphere had become rigid, and his nape somewhat tightened.
After two minutes of deadlock, Lu Cheng did not say anything at the end. He nodded and said slowly, “Then I’ll count on you.”
…
Han Xiao petted Frenzied Sword’s shoulder while walking out of Lu Cheng’s camp, saying, “I’ve things for you to do.”
_____________________
You triggered the mission [Disseminating of Information].
_____________________
The mission was to disseminate the information of Black Phantom joining Lu Cheng’s camp, using reputation as a form of reward. The greater the number of people who came to know this information, the higher the reward would be, and players were surprisingly counted in as the head count. Frenzied Sword did not doubt him and diligently went to disseminate this piece of information in Green Valley Ville.
Perhaps the ordinary players would be amazed to encounter this type of real-life interaction mission, but Frenzied Sword had gone through Han Xiao’s baptism of love, and hence was not shocked at any kind of mission anymore.
“Next up will be to see how much influence I have,” Han Xiao said.
Frenzied Sword was really efficient, and perhaps because he had a bit of a fame now, the news spread through words of mouth quickly. Very soon, it had spread throughout Green Valley Ville. Then there was a huge commotion among the community of players.
“If we choose Green Valley Ville, does it mean we’ll become enemies with Black Phantom?”
“How is it possible to beat him!”
“Is this a mission guide?”
The players were panicking. The image of Han Xiao ferociously killing the beasts was still deeply etched in their minds. Becoming enemies with Black Phantom would be equivalent to courting death. The situation of the mission was immediately turned upside down. The chances of Green Valley Ville winning had become an all-time low.
Also, choosing to protect Green Valley Ville meant that the players had to attack Black Phantom. That would result in a decline in their likeability with Black Phantom. That was too big a sacrifice for such a small mission. If they were to fight for real, should they attack him or not? If they did not attack him, how could they protect Green Town Ville? This was a thorny problem.
The players who had chosen Green Valley Ville were gloomy. They felt they had no chance of winning. If they want to complete the mission, they could only join Lu Cheng’s camp, but they were unable to re-elect their camp.
Bun-hit-dog was very decisive; he was the first to advance to Lu Cheng’s camp. The mission was second; his main objective was to capture more of Han Xiao’s acts.
The guards had received Lu Cheng’s orders and allowed the refugees to pass. Bun-hit-dog successfully joined Lu Cheng’s camp, and Han Xiao, who was observing at one side, narrowed his eyes as he noticed Bun-hit-dog .
This ID seems familiar… Isn’t he a video master? Han Xiao remembered Bun-hit-dog’s ID; he was a rather famous video master uploader. He had done many seasons of the Galaxy series and was very well-received.
At this moment, Han Xiao had another idea…
Han Xiao strode out and stopped in front of Bun-hit-dog.
“You made a wise choice; I feel that you have potential. Do you want to become my temporary assistant?” Han Xiao asked.
Bun-hit-dog’s eyes became as big as saucers. He was stupefied. Did he just trigger the secret quest?
He never had any extravagant expectations, but he did not expect himself to come upon it!
This is life; you might not get what you want, yet what you don’t want could be gifted to you. This is too unexpected. Bun-hit-dog was suddenly frozen on the spot.
There was an uproar among the observing players.
“He had triggered Black Phantom’s secret quest!”
“How did he do it‽”
“Was joining Black Phantom all it takes?”
“This mission was actually a chance to trigger a secret quest?”
Realizing this, the players who were still observing wasted no time in joining Lu Cheng’s camp. They were enthusiastic, joining the camp like a refugee tide. The camp was filled with players in an instant. It was overcrowded and jam-packed. The guards were stunned; they were unsure whether to chase people away or not.
The players who were done choosing their camps impatiently went to find Han Xiao, wanting to trigger the quest. However, they were faced with rejection.
“Why can’t we?”
“Is it only restricted to the first person who joined the camp‽”
That was the most possible guess; the players who were a step slower wanted to bang their heads on the ground. The pain they felt was as if they were notified of striking a lottery to only be told it was an error.
They had the chance of being the first, but this chance was snatched by Bun-hit-dog, just like that.
A step slower, a golden opportunity missed!
The players were full of regret.
Han Xiao brought the overly-excited Bun-hit-dog to one side and casually issued five reputation points. He secretly planned on how to make full use of Bun-hit-dog.
Bringing along a player who was a game video maker also meant that he was bringing a reporter along. He could then have a channel to disseminate news to players freely. He could choose to give players some news selectively based on what information he wanted the players to know.
After experiencing the baptism of information explosion, controlling the public’s opinion was equivalent to holding a weapon. He was able to defame the opponent, guide the public’s opinion, and shape his image to his benefit.
Looks like my manipulation is getting more and more high-end. Han Xiao was elated. He compiled an accompanying mission that was generous in rewards and gave it to Bun-hit-dog. Next, he took out a mobile that could be used to contact him and handed it to Bun-hit-dog as well. He urged Bun-hit-dog a million times not to lose it, so Bun-hit-dog nodded repeatedly and gripped the mobile seriously.
He had two accompanying players, Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword. The limit of Han Xiao’s mission was adequate.
After advancing the second time, the limit to what he could reward players increased from three hundred to five hundred per level. This also meant that at LV 40, the increment was at around twelve thousand, but after the advancement, it had doubled to twenty-five thousand. Now, the total value had reached up to fifty thousand.
Han Xiao did not think of any news to disseminate, so he first gave Bun-hit-dog his contact as it would inevitably be of use in the future.
Now I have three players that I fancy: Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, and Bun-hit-dog. The strength is slightly low, I’d need to expand my support team. Han Xiao was thinking ahead. He would rather focus on quality than quantity; he was destined to walk the elite route. If he was able to take in China’s past experts then he would have profited. However, he felt that this possibility was rather uncertain as those ultra-good players all had some strange personalities.
Having only gone to two novice villages so far, he still had ten more waiting for him. Thus, Han Xiao had tons of opportunities left to choose his men.
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Balsas arrived hastily at the lookout tower and saw a large number of refugees flooding into Lu Cheng’s camp. He was flustered.
This bunch of refugees are abandoning my town? How did Lu Cheng subdue them‽
It was at this moment Balsas realized that this special bunch of refugees valued profit over anything. The only reason they were easily manipulated by those small profits was because they had not yet been offered bigger benefits. Balsas thought that he was in control of the refugees, but that was just wishful thinking!
I’m doomed… Balsas was frantically running around in circles. These refugees were his trump card against Lu Cheng, and now that Lu Cheng had them, his advantage no longer existed.
Suddenly, he felt something was amiss. Lu Cheng should not have known any special aspects of the refugees!
At this moment, his assistant ran over panicky and reported the news of Black Phantom helping Lu Cheng.
This news was like a thunderbolt hitting him; Balsas was stood motionless in shock. He could not imagine being enemies with Black Phantom as he knew he would die miserably. Every superhuman that died under Black Phantom’s gun was a reflection of his own end.
Black Phantom was of a legendary rank; why would he help Lu Cheng suddenly?
It must be because of Black Phantom that Lu Cheng was able to subdue the refugees. Why does he have so much influence on the refugees? Balsas then recalled that Black Phantom had mentioned he was only passing by.
Liar!
Balsas had the idea of retreating. If Balsas retreated along with the armed forces, there was a high possibility that Lu Cheng would not pursue and attack.
“The battle hasn’t begun, and you’re already thinking of running away. Have you forgotten the Alumera family’s rules?” Xiao Rui arrived at the lookout tower, stood beside Balsas, and frowned.
“But that’s the Black Phantom! Also, half of the refugees have betrayed us…”
“Alumera would never withdraw from a war. Get your men ready for battle.” Xiao Rui’s voice was firm and full of righteousness.
“There’s the Black Phantom though…”
“My bodyguard, Liu Cheng, will prevent him from participating in the battle.”
Liu Cheng, who was standing behind Xiao Rui, stepped out blankly. His calm, confident manner soothed Balsas’ nerves.
Balsas clenched his teeth and hesitated for a while before making a firm decision and calling his assistant. “Mobilize everyone and kick that Black Pine bastard all the way back to his home! We have some of the refugees with us at least; we still have a chance at this battle.”
“Yes sir!” The assistant hurried went to convey the order.
There were only three people left on the lookout tower. Xia Rui turned his head and said lowly, “Prepare the vehicle in case the guards fail. We must ensure that we are able to retreat. Don’t worry, we are on the same side, the family’s side. I’ll vouch for you that we had went all out for this arduous battle.”
Balsas heaved a sigh of relief; having some support steadied his heart. He was afraid Xiao Rui would let this news get to him, but it seemed like he was still rational. Leaving the soldiers of Green Valley Ville behind to resist, this would delay Lu Cheng’s troops and aid them in escaping, and it would also be easier to account to the Alumera Family.
…
In the early hours, the sky was dark, and a thick fog had seeped in.
Green Valley Ville’s guards were waiting atop the wall behind their machine guns in their bunkers. Through the wall fencing, they saw piles of sandbags in position and supporting machine guns. If they broke through the city gates, the battle would begin.
“They have decided to defend till their death, so a fierce battle is unavoidable. Fortunately, the number of stubborn refugees has decreased greatly.”
Lu Cheng put his binoculars down and let out a sigh.
He did not want to massacre the refugees, and Han Xiao had done him a huge favor. Lu Cheng was flabbergasted at the fact that Han Xiao seemed to have such influence on the refugees. It only took him half a night to solve this difficult problem.
As for the refugees who remained in Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng had given them a chance, and there was also a limit to being benevolent.
“Attack in twenty minutes.”
Lu Cheng gave out a command and took advantage of the time that the troops needed to prepare to find Han Xiao to express his gratitude.
“It was all thanks to you that we managed to solve the issue of the refugees.”
Han Xiao smiled in response.
There was no free lunch in the world, and the more Han Xiao did not mention a reward, the more Lu Cheng felt uneasy. He paused before saying in exasperation, “I really feel that there’s nothing on me that such a character like you would be interested in.”
This sentence was caught by Bun-hit-dog, who was standing at the side. He sensed the hidden meaning.
This kind of character? Another clue relating to Black Phantom’s identity.
Bun-hit-dog thought of a vague outline for the first episode.
“We’ll discuss again after the war ended. These refugees will fight for you,” Han Xiao replied.
“The refugees are not soldiers, and I’m not Balsas; I’ll not let them throw their lives away.” Lu Cheng shook his head.
“Even without your command, they’ll still participate in this battle.” Han Xiao lowered his voice.
Are these people lunatics? Do they not fear death? Lu Cheng expressed his suspicions. However, the time for battle was approaching. He had no time to inquire more. He hurriedly went to command his troop.
Following the fleet of vehicles, a fierce battle began. Gunfire tore the darkness apart; Lu Cheng’s troops launched an intense attack on Green Valley Ville. The soldiers based on the wall and the vehicle carrying machine guns and howitzers were shooting across each other, and the battlefield was flooded with the sound of engines, machine guns, and screams of agony. The night sky was illuminated with the blaze of every exploded grenade and pervaded with the smoke from the guns.
The players also began their fighting at close quarters, Green Valley Ville’s players had clear commands from several small guilds’ leaders. While the players on Lu Cheng’s side lacked cohesion, they had a large number of players.
Han Xiao observed at one side as the situation did not require him to intervene yet. Lu Cheng had a high chance of winning.
Suddenly, a shadow traversed across the battlefield and made a beeline toward Han Xiao along the battlefield’s edge; an artillery shell’s flame and bullets landed on Han Xiao’s body, yet he was not at all injured.
“Black Phantom, I’ll be your opponent!”
Liu Cheng rushed over with giant strides.
“I can’t even mind my own business now?” Han Xiao grudgingly took out and fired a machine gun. Three bullets hit the space between Liu Cheng’s eyebrows, heart, and lower region of his body, but there was no expected blood splattered.
The moment when the three steel bullets hit Liu Cheng, it seemed that the kinetic energy suddenly disappeared. The bullets bounced off Liu Cheng’s skin, and the might was not even as good as a slingshot. Light blue smoke showing the damage dealt could be seen floating above his head.
-0!
-0!
Han Xiao clearly saw the moment when the warhead hit, and the target’s skin rippled with fine corrugation. After which, the bullet lost its kinetic energy.
His eyes darkened.
Kinetic energy absorption?
The interface showed Liu Cheng had reached LV 44. The level was not as high as Han Xiao’s, but Liu Cheng’s ability was very tricky. It was the natural defense against a kinetic energy weapon, and this happened to restrain his machinery.
Han Xiao was unlucky. He just had to meet an enemy who was able to restrain him.
With kinetic energy absorption, one could dissolve the various power exerted on the body. If the power could not breakthrough the ability’s support limit, the power would then be absorbed and transformed into the opponent’s power. Using physical property to attack was ineffective toward this kind of ability. To deal with Kinetic Energy Absorption, using either quantity or mental form to attack was the best choice. The support limit of this type of ability naturally depended on the level and strength. Unfortunately, in general, the support limit would always exceed the combat capability of the same level.
Liu Cheng stopped a few meters away from Han Xiao and said coldly, “Black Phantom, this battle is unrelated to you. Mind your own business.”
A legendary killer was eyeing covetously at edge of the battlefield, so Liu Cheng took the lead to prevent the Black Phantom from participating in the battle.
Han Xiao’s response was simply two bullets going for Liu Cheng’s eyes, and they had resulted in zero damage still. The warhead fell to the ground disappointedly, Liu Cheng’s eyes did not even blink. He was not harmed at all and said indifferently, “You’re Dark Net’s top killer and the Blood Pact Society’s trump card. Others may fear you, but not me. I’ll give you a word of advice, stay away from this battlefield.”
“The Dark Net? Blood Pact Society? What power is that?” The observing Bun-hit-dog had an idea and hastily stored these two important keywords in his heart. He was finally seeing the tip of the iceberg of Black Phantom’s mysterious origin!
Han Xiao’s mind quickly filtered through his equipment at hand. Coming up with a preliminary plan, his feet slammed onto the ground and the Electromagnetic Hover-boots lit up. The exerted power made him recoil rapidly. He touched his waist swiftly and pulled out two Berserk Eagles. In a quick move, he changed to a Hayme bullet and opened fire. The bullets hit the side of Liu Cheng’s feet, and poisonous gas began to rise and pervaded the air.
Liu Cheng detected the poisonous gas and frowned. He held his breath and charged in large strides. While he was traversing through the battlefield earlier on, he had absorbed a large amount of kinetic energy from the crossfire. The kinetic energy shot out from the bottom of his feet as he dashed toward Han Xiao. With every step he took, his footprints formed big pits. He was like an unstoppable tank as he caught up with Han Xiao. He gathered an enormous amount of kinetic energy and directed it at Han Xiao’s chest.
Bang!
As if having a head-on collision with a mad rhinoceros, his body flew out uncontrollably. The remaining power was unstoppable, and he even knocked down and killed several players who were so unfortunate to be in his way.
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This blow made Han Xiao seemed pathetic. However, his Magnetically controlled retractable armor managed to reduce the impact. Hence, it only took 50 HP. He had close to three thousand HP, which was quite good among the other mechanics of the same rank. The power of Liu Cheng’s released kinetic energy was not very strong, but it could easily cause repelling and flying effects, and that was the annoying part.
The interface displayed the insidious effect of the poisonous gas. The Hayme bullets were effective, but Liu Cheng’s HP and resistance were not low too. He could still explode kinetic energy and rapidly get out of the poisonous gas cloud. It was unrealistic to use poisonous gas to deal with Liu Cheng. The effect of using high-explosive bullets was slightly better, but they were the same as the Hayme bullets, unable to win by just using them. Han Xiao did not give chase as the ammunition he had was limited, and there were only three magazines with high-explosive bullets left.
He took a deep breath to increase his blood oxygen content. He stomped his feet and stopped recoiling from the impact. A deep trail could be seen on the ground. He put both his guns away and put his hands in a stance to ward off the charging Liu Cheng with his iron fists. The kinetic energy of Liu Cheng’s iron fists almost smashed open Han Xiao’s stance.
Liu Cheng’s kinetic energy was able to amplify power, and Han Xiao was vulnerable in terms of power.
An artillery shell exploded nearby; there was a glare, and both men were intertwined in a fight, one attacking and one guarding. This posture resembled a paper-cut silhouette drawing, disappearing in a flash.
Liu Cheng roared and slammed his fists onto Han Xiao’s head. The kinetic energy of that action caused a tremor in the air. Han Xiao was beaten to the extent that his head became crooked and his cervical vertebrae cracked bone by bone. He grabbed Liu Cheng’s shoulder and refused to let himself fly out because of the impact of that hit. His other hand started the thermo-electrical incisor gloves and aimed it toward Liu Cheng’s eyes.
“High temperature‽” Liu Ching quickly raised his head in alert. The glove glided across his cheek and left a burn, exposing his flesh. The burn stung his nerves, and in that moment, Lu Cheng exploded the kinetic energy within his body, causing a tremendous force to push Han Xiao out.
Han Xiao panted and removed the mud that was sputtered all over his face. Firearms were useless, and this cost him a chance of surprise kill. In addition, it would only enable the opponent to absorb more kinetic energy. However, he still had other types of weapons such as flames and poisonous gas that both could kill and injure.
Fortunately, he is unable to absorb such energy. Otherwise, I really would not know how to subdue him.
Liu Cheng covered the burn on his face, glanced fearfully at Han Xiao’s gloves, and immediately turned around to run off in another direction.
Han Xiao froze, and his expression changed suddenly. He hurriedly gave chase.
On a war vehicle, a soldier who was controlling machine guns saw a figure rapidly approaching. He instinctively turned the muzzle around to aim at the figure, and the compressed bullets were hitting the target. However, he was stupefied at the discovery that the target, who should have been shot into a sieve, was unscathed. The warheads dropped onto the ground one by one!
“Don’t hit him!” Han Xiao yelled.
It was a pity that the reminder came too late; the surrounding war vehicles fired at Liu Cheng, who absorbed all the kinetic energy. Both of Liu Cheng’s eyes were bloodshot, and the amount of kinetic energy was almost overflowing. Liu Cheng’s muscles were twitching like those of an agitated mouse. He turned around, and the ground that he had stepped on exploded into a big hole. His whole body flew as if it was an exploded artillery shell.
This was the combined kinetic energy of a thousand bullets!
This speed is too fast for me! Han Xiao’s eyes blurred, and he could not avoid it in time. The impact was like hitting a moving train. The scenery in his line of sight fell back quickly, and he resembled a baseball that had been hit for a home run, flying tens of meters. He landed and bounced countless times before falling into a ditch along the sides of the road. His body was covered with mud, and finally, he crashed into a war vehicle, overturning it, before stopping.
He felt really dizzy, and his whole body ached.
_____________________
Magnetically Controlled Retractable Armor’s durability dropped by 132 points!
You received 241 points of damage!
_____________________
The enemy knew how to bring out the advantage of his ability, which in turn made Han Xiao suffer a small loss.
Liu Cheng… I did not hear of his name in my previous life. To think he would be so troublesome to deal with. Ah, he is a Crouching Tiger, a Hidden Dragon; I mustn’t underestimate him… Han Xiao eyes turned cold as he entered into combat concentration mode, spat out a mouthful of blood, and leaped up once again to fight Liu Cheng.
Enveloped in the flames of war, the two fought fiercely on the battlefield. Bullets whistled passed the ears, and flames illuminated the horizon again and again. The area around the two became free of bullets. Soldiers dare not attack Liu Cheng again, but Liu Cheng could always knock himself against the gun muzzle.
This battle is greatly disadvantageous for me.
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. He abandoned Liu Cheng and rushed toward Green Valley Ville. Just like a shadow, he disappeared in a flash. Avoiding the firing by Green Valley Ville’s guards, Han Xiao glided up the wall with a few steps, opened fire with both of his guns, and killed the guards wantonly.
Bullets penetrated each and every person, and blood was splattered everywhere.
Liu Cheng was alarmed and hastily pursued him.
Green Valley Ville was the fundamental point of conflict. Han Xiao had understood this point and immediately adopted the tactic of avoiding the enemy’s strength and attacking his weakness. Hence, he did not continue to fight Liu Cheng painstakingly. Unless Liu Cheng did not want this town, Han Xiao would only be led by his nose. In the moments between his fight with Liu Cheng, Han Xiao thought of a strategy!
After changing the magazine, he shot down a few more guards. There was suddenly a huge gust of wind behind him, and Han Xiao twisted his body to avoid it. Liu Cheng swept past a few inches away. Having missed the opportunity, he punched the wall and smashed a huge piece off it. Broken bricks and stones spilled over the ground.
Liu Cheng’s body became sluggish, as if he had fully exhausted his kinetic energy.
Here’s my chance! Both of Han Xiao’s hands aimed at Liu Cheng’s head, the high heat from the thermo-electrical incisor gloves warping the air.
Liu Cheng did not show any signs of being flustered. Instead, there was a glimpse of accomplishment.
“You got tricked!”
The strong kinetic energy was surging again, and there were no signs of exhaustion; that was just a feint. This was a long-awaited killing strike that contained eighty percent of his kinetic energy. He soared, and with amazing swiftness, he lifted his knee to knock onto Han Xiao’s chin. Once hit, the impact would smash half of Han Xiao’s face and fracture it.
Han Xiao flew off the wall with his head tilted up.
That didn’t feel right! Liu Cheng was shocked; his knees did not have the feeling of striking a concrete object.
Han Xiao had been vigilant. Just now, in the flash of light, he had used the Electromagnetic Hover-boots to retreat. He was only gently scratched by Liu Cheng’s knee, and he was hardly injured.
While he was in midair, he withdrew his Berserk Eagles, aimed at Liu Cheng’s eyes, and opened fire.
This attack was fruitless. Liu Cheng went stiff for a moment. He could not escape, yet his face did not change. He knew this bullet was ineffective against his ability.
Bang!
When the bullet was about to hit his eyes, the bullet lost its kinetic energy as usual. However, the warhead suddenly burst out a dazzling glare.
Liu Cheng covered his eyes and let out a blood-curdling scream. His vision was a vast expanse of whiteness. The stinging pain in his two eyes affected his brain’s sense of equilibrium.
Flash bullet!
Oh, the thought of it taking effect right on his eyes, what a sweet feeling!
Han Xiao had been mulling over this attack for a long time!
Han Xiao’s hand reached out, and with the help of the wall’s chink, he climbed up the wall once again. Taking advantage of Liu Cheng losing his vision, this was the best timing to launch [Overload] and [Flaming Will]. Han Xiao’s hands suddenly pressed on Liu Cheng’s face. This time around, the attack was definitely the best!
Even if [Flaming Will]’s face was as black as before, the damage later on would still be off the charts!
-423!
-423!
The damage might have seemed worse than the sniper rifle, but the Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves relied mainly on continuous damages. It was already considered formidable for a sudden explosive force that was able to reach this level. Liu Cheng was not like Han Xiao; his HP was only around two thousand. It easily reduced to eighty percent in just a short while, and the damage was still flooding the interface!
The burning smell was pervasive. Liu Cheng yelled bitterly and got up. He hurriedly exploded his kinetic energy and pushed Han Xiao away. Liu Cheng’s face was severely burned and beyond recognition. His face was a mix of burnt flesh and red blood.
Liu Cheng’s eyesight was damaged, and the light and shadow in his vision was distorted. He could barely identify a direction as he fled, staggering, with his teeth tightly clenched.
Han Xiao promptly gave chase, and Liu Cheng’s heart sank. He was hoping that Black Phantom would attend to the battle and not chase after him. Fleeing was hopeless; he knew that he would not be able to escape death. He fulfilled his last duty as a bodyguard by holding up Han Xiao. If Liu Cheng died, the Alumera family would surely take good care of his family.
The two of them were soon a distance away from the battlefield, and they pursued each other into the woods.
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About ten minutes later, Liu Cheng slowed down and fell to the ground. He had depleted his accumulated kinetic energy. He turned and realized that Han Xiao was following behind like a demon.
“Kill me.”
The burn on Liu Cheng’s face was a tragic sight as he gave a pained smile.
“I don’t need you to tell me that.” Han Xiao’s face was apathetic. He opened wide his palms and grabbed Liu Cheng’s head, his fingers penetrating his skull.
He only let out a turbid breath when Liu Cheng finally stopped breathing.
He was a formidable opponent, almost causing me to suffer a defeat.
He took one last look at Liu Cheng’s corpse and activated a high-explosive bullet to protect his body from scavengers. After which, he followed the sound of gunfire and returned to Green Valley Ville’s battlefield.
The battle was even more intense. Green Valley Ville’s gates had been blown up, the armed tanks were hurtling past the streets, and machine guns were exchanging fire. Green Valley Ville’s residents had secured their doors and windows, covered their ears, and were trembling in their houses. Lu Cheng’s troops were conscious of the ordinary residents and had avoided them.
Since Liu Cheng had dragged him into the battle, Han Xiao decided to get the battle over quickly. Han Xiao set off to find Green Valley Ville’s commander. He searched for the person giving commands, but he soon realized that no one was giving any commands.
There were vehicle trails on the ground on the far end of Green Valley Ville that hinted to the whereabouts of Balsas and Xiao Rui.
They’ve escaped?
…
The off-road vehicle travelled along in the gloomy forest, and the sound of gunfire in Green Valley Ville gradually became dimmer. Xiao Rui, who was in the back seat, could see the flames behind them peeking through the trees.
“Liu Cheng has died…” Xiao Rui clenched his fists and pressed them on his knees. He could barely restrain his trembling.
Liu Cheng had served the family for ten over years. He was loyal and devoted. Furthermore, he was the best fighter among the family’s ranks. He had many stunning military accomplishments. Xiao Rui had always considered him a strong supporter—to think that he would die at the hands of Black Phantom!
Xiao Rui originally thought that even if Liu Cheng were unable to stall Black Phantom, he would still be able to retreat. However, even though he did not manage to catch Liu Cheng’s last words in the earphones when Liu Cheng was escaping, he knew his supporter was dying!
Balsas and four other armed bodyguards were in the vehicle. Balsas was looking rather nervous.
“Black Phantom is a monster. I told you earlier not to provoke him! You just refused to listen!” Balsas was sweating profusely.
Xiao Rui’s complexion was ashen. “Don’t talk rubbish, at least we’ve escaped!”
“He won’t catch up with us, right?” Balsas repeatedly looked at the rear-view mirror, his heart pounding.
Xiao Rui gulped. “Lu Cheng is currently attacking Green Valley Ville, and the guards in the towns will help us stall the enemy; he won’t have time to chase and kill us.”
He had just finished speaking when a ghost-like figure appeared in the rear-view mirror, tailing the vehicle like a shadow. Everyone in the vehicle was so shocked that they screamed!
“He’s here!”
“Go faster!”
“Accelerate all the way, and don’t let up!”
Everyone in the vehicle was panicking; the off-road vehicle resembled a runaway stray dog, frantically speeding up. They managed to shake off Han Xiao for a moment, but this was not the time to feel relieved. The vehicle somewhat slowed down, and the black-colored ghost, which resembled a hostile force that was difficult to get rid of, appeared in the rear view mirror once again, just like a pressing King of Hell.
Everyone’s adrenaline soared, their hearts practically jumping out of their throats. They were so nervous to the point where their bodies went stiff all over. The horror movie-like atmosphere finally triggered the driver to make a mistake. In the state of panic, the vehicle rolled down the slope and fell to the bottom.
Xiao Rui’s head was spinning as he struggled to climb out of the window. Suddenly, a pair of boots that flickered with blue lights appeared in his vision. He looked up and saw Black Phantom towering over him, looking at him indifferently.
“Don’t, don’t kill me…”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunshots sounded repeatedly. Xiao Rui was so frightened that he shut his eyes and discovered that there was no pain. He opened his eyes and realized that the four bodyguards had all been shot and killed—only Balsas and himself were left.
Xiao Rui shivered. He knew that he had to remain calm in this situation. However, his fear of death made it impossible for him to calm down. His frightened emotions were like tides, flooding his heart again and again, so much so that he did not dare look directly into Han Xiao’s eyes. “Black… Black Phantom, spare my life. I can give you tremendous returns.”
Han Xiao’s eyebrow jumped. The reason he had kept Xiao Rui was because Xiao Rui was sandwiched between the bodyguards. Hence, he reckoned that he was an important character.
Balsas regretted having a conflict with Black Phantom but regretted listening to Xiao Rui’s opinion more so. He raised his head and looked straight in Han Xiao’s eyes. “You’re a liar, you had already united with Lu Cheng. You absolutely were not just passing by!”
Whatever Black Phantom had said—that he was not interested in looking for trouble—was all a lie!
Han Xiao stroked his gun and chuckled. “If I said this was a coincidence, would you believe it?”
“Landing in your hands, I already know I won’t be able to live. Kill me!” Balsas suddenly grew a backbone and shook off Xiao Rui’s hand, which was pulling at his shirt’s hem anxiously.
“I don’t know if you’re really asking for death or deliberately displaying your strong-will, but as you wish.”
Bang!
The bullet penetrated Balsas’ temple. He fell, and the pool of blood gradually expanded.
Han Xiao’s eyebrow shot up. It looked like Balsas was not pretending; he really had given up all hope and wished for a quick death. For this type of warlord who operated outside the city, even if he was usually afraid of death, when he was truly confronted with it, he would accept it calmly.
There was someone, on the other hand, who was way weaker. Han Xiao looked over and Xiao Rui was so terrified that he did not dare breathe. His face was pale, and his back was drenched in cold sweat.
Han Xiao squatted and used the gun barrel to tap on Xiao Rui’s face. “You don’t wish to die?”
Xiao Rui frantically shook his head.
“Give me a reason.”
“I… I can give you a lot of money. I can refer you to the Alumera family!”
“Do I look like someone who needs that?” Han Xiao pointed the muzzle at himself.
Xiao Rui swallowed his saliva in alarm as he racked his brains and pondered if there was anything that could move Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s eyes were sharp, and he suddenly caught a glimpse of Xiao Rui’s full and bulging pocket. He reached out and fished out a stack of bounty slip. It turned out to be a wanted poster for Zero—him.
Why is this Alumera man carrying with him my bounty slip?
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, played with the paper in his hands, and stared at Xiao Rui silently. Xiao Rui finally saw something that aroused his interest. Xiao Rui immediately felt refreshed and hurriedly spilled everything he knew frankly.
“Han Xiao? Zero? Alumera family‽”
After hearing the information, Han Xiao stiffened.
He did not know that his original self came from the Alumera family!
“… You didn’t lie to me, right?”
Xiao Rui shook his head repeatedly. Black Phantom appeared to be interested in Zero; he did not care about the reason, all he knew was he now had a chance of survival. Hence, he did not dare conceal anything and struggled to take out a computer in the vehicle to pull up several photos.
The photo showed Han Xiao’s younger self before he was taken away by the Germinal Organization. There was concrete proof in all kinds of photos from the Alumera family. Han Xiao did not doubt his identity.
So, this means I have a step-father and a bunch of brothers and sisters?
Han Xiao’s feelings were complicated. He had always thought that he had not a worry or a concern in this world; he did not expect to have these connections.
Alumera was his family. Han Xiao took one look at Xiao Rui. This person is my family, too?
Alumera family, the North Continent’s biggest warlord. The second leader in command, Xiao Jin, was my original body’s biological father. Their family was considered powerful…
Han Xiao pondered in silence.
Xiao Rui’s heart was nearly at his throat; he felt like he was a convict waiting for his sentence. This was the longest one minute of his life.
“You can leave,” Han Xiao faintly said.
Xiao Rui did not dare to believe it. He stood up, trembling, and ran two steps away in the opposite direction. He turned his head and saw an aloof Han Xiao. Only then was he ecstatic.
His life was saved!
He did not carry any thoughts of revenge. He did not want to have any further interactions with Black Phantom at all. He stretched his legs and ran for his life.
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head!
Xiao Rui lost his control of his body. He fell with his face down, resembling a dog eating its poop. His pupils dilated, and his face looked bewildered.
What happened to me?
So cold…
This was Xiao Rui’s last thought in this world.
There was a deep bullet hole in the back of Xiao Rui’s head, and blood was spilling out.
Han Xiao put the Berserk Eagle back in his holster, his face emotionless. After thinking for a bit, he had still decided to kill Xiao Rui.
Alumera was the connections that Han Xiao’s original self had, but that unfortunate man had already died. Han Xiao was Han Xiao, not another person. Even if the old Han Xiao had remaining blood relations, Han Xiao would not treat the Alumera family as his family. Anyway, the old Han Xiao had been killed by his big brother.
He would not inherit the relationships that the old Han Xiao had. To him, the Alumera family was a bunch of strangers, and it was none of his concern.
I’ll kill when there’s a need to!
Perhaps Han Xiao could get some support from the Alumera family by using his original identity, but with his current position, he did not need to yield and rely on this kind of power.
The most important point was that he did not wish to do it this way.
My family… is not in this world.
He lit the corpse on fire, turned around, and left. The blazing flame pulled his silent shadow longer and longer.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the headquarters of the Alumera family…
“Green Valley Ville on the South Continent was ambushed. We have lost that territory. The last message from them was an hour ago. Liu Cheng died in the battle, Balsas and Xiao Rui have retreated as well. No news has been heard from them yet. I think they may be in trouble.”
The exquisite crystal wine glass was smashed to the ground, and red wine splattered onto the expensive hand-made Ordina carpet, leaving trails of red roses. Darryl, the leader of the family, was breathing noisily as though he was a bear. His body was bulky like a bear, too, hence his nickname—the Alumera White Bear.
This was Darryl’s study. He was rather violent by nature. His bookshelf was not for books but for displaying all kinds of guns. Firearms, ammunition, daggers, swords—his miniature arsenal collection.
“Who attacked our people‽” Darryl snarled.
In front of the desk was a well-dressed, middle-aged man. He was wearing something similar to a suit, but with minor differences in some places. It was way more refined and exquisite. He was wearing a gold-rimmed glasses, and the gold-plated chains of the glasses hanged on his ear. If one overlooked the muscle under his clothes, this person was an archetypal scholar.
He was Alumera’s second in command, Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin held the tablet with one hand and said, “There are two of them. One is the big warlord of South Continent, Lu Cheng.”
“I have heard of his name. Gather the armed men in South Continent! An eye for an eye! Alumera will seek this revenge!”
Darryl patted the table and asked, “Who might the other person be?”
“He’s the assassin from the Dark Net, Black Phantom.”
“Bring him to…” As he said these three words, Darryl’s tone changed and came to his senses. “How did we end up provoking him‽”
Darryl was very wary about Black Phantom, a legendary killer. He knew it was best not to provoke lone rangers like him. While the Alumera family was big, they were most fearful of legendary killers like him. If he wanted to start a mad killing spree to assassinate the middle-class of the Alumera family, it would be impossible to stop him.
Although Darryl was impulsive by nature, he knew who not to provoke. Dealing with Lu Cheng was an effortless decision; Lu Cheng’s forces were entangled in South Continent, and he was not going to affect the Alumeras’ influence in the North. Black Phantom, on the other hand, was different. He was a lone ranger who could travel up to the North. He had even slain Liu Cheng. Whether the Alumera family ‘s top forces could even hurt the Black Phantom was still a question in doubt.
Furthermore, Black Phantom’s movements were erratic. There were not many reports on him through the intelligence network, and without an expansive intelligence network, they could not track him down. In addition, the organization he belonged to was in fact the world’s largest intelligence network. If they wanted to target someone from the Dark Net Organization and requested help from the Dark Net itself, it would be ridiculous. Darryl was eighty percent sure he would be called a fool.
Therefore, becoming enemies with the Black Phantom was certainly an unwise decision. Darryl could only suppress his anger and find other excuses. “Investigate the reason the Black Phantom is intervening. Don’t provoke him just yet.”
Xiao Jin agreed with an expressionless face. It was hard to know what he was thinking about.
Darryl had always been an impatient man, and now that he was frustrated. He pointed to Xiao Jin’s face and ordered, “Go deal with your son’s business. The war is coming. I don’t wish to deal with any sort of Germinal’s business at this time.”
Xiao Jin adjusted his glasses and said, “He’s my son. Once I find him, he will come back obediently.”
…
Day was about to break, and the gunfire in Green Valley Ville was finally coming to an end. The remaining enemies had all been killed.
When Lu Cheng had conquered Green Valley Ville, he ordered his troops to clear the battlefield and restrained them from harming any residents.
The worried residents who could not sleep for the entire night rushed to the streets and listened to the new master of the town, Lu Cheng, in the square. He promised to safeguard the residents’ lives and property.
For the [Green Valley Ville Invasion] task, players who had chosen to protect the camp had all failed and were feeling dejected.
The battle last night had been very intense, and many players wished it had been longer.
Han Xiao also gained some experience from the task. He held his arm and leaned against a house to wait for Lu Cheng to complete his speech. He had Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog by his side.
Frenzied Sword was in bad mood as he was not able to keep Han Xiao to himself now. He was upset.
Bun-hit-dog went over to Frenzied Sword and said, “I know you. You were featured on Galaxy Times. You are a professional gamer.”
“Oh.” Frenzied Sword reacted coldly.
“Have you always been following Black Phantom?” Bun-hit-dog was curious.
Frenzied Sword did not want to bother with Bun-hit-dog, but as a professional player, he had to take note of his image, and he should not be too cold. He nodded.
“Do you know his origins?”
“His real name is Han Xiao,” Frenzied Sword replied. He came to realization immediately and turned around to see if Han Xiao had heard him. He relaxed. “He used to serve Star Dragon. I’m not very sure about the exact details, but I do know that he is acquainted with someone in the camp called Stardragon Strategic Defense Department.”
Bun-hit-dog’s eyes lit up. The video he wanted to make would be an investigation about Black Phantom’s origin. Frenzied Sword had been his longest follower. He was likely to know things that others did not. He was impressed. He said in a light-hearted manner, “Let me introduce myself. I am a game video producer…”
Frenzied Sword stared blankly. He only recalled now, that Bun-hit-dog’s ID was rather familiar. He was the producer of the series “XX Adventure Diaries”. When he was playing Knight in the past, he had come across Bun-hit-dog’s Knight Adventure Diaries as well. He was a small yet famous video maker.
“It’s you!” Frenzied Sword collected himself up. When he received Bun-hit-dog’s friend request, he immediately accepted it.
Only status and fame would bring one recognition. If he was a plain and dull player, Frenzied Sword would not even have bothered. Thing were different when one was famous.
“I’m preparing to focus on Galaxy and start a series. I’m intending to place Black Phantom as my focus in my first episode. I would like to know more about this person’s origins. I hope you can provide me with some material. You could appear on screen together with me to do a series as well.”
Han Xiao never talked about his origins, so Bun-hit-dog decided to change his focus onto Frenzied Sword.
“Alright, sure,” Frenzied Sword replied. This was a win-win situation. A professional gamer appearing on the program was bound to rise in reputation. This would be good exposure for him.
Listening to the two discussing behind him, Han Xiao did not stop them. Frenzied Sword had limited knowledge about him. Such information could be disclosed and made known, and this would only make more players curious. He wanted to reveal the information bit by bit. This was precisely his intention in bringing Bun-hit-dog along.
After assuring the residents of Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng handed over the affairs to the deputy and went to Han Xiao’s side. “Black Phantom, thank you for your aid. If not for you, I would not have conquered Green Valley Ville. If only Balsas didn’t escape…”
“Oh, I killed him.”
Lu Cheng’s face went blank, and he felt a tight squeeze on his heart. “I am very grateful, but do… you really not want anything?”
Han Xiao chuckled a little and changed the topic. “Have you discovered the unique aspects of the refugees?”
Upon mentioning this, Lu Cheng was delighted. “This group of refugees can all die and then resurrect. It’s simply amazing! I thought they were simple ordinary people. This world is so big, and it seems like nothing is impossible!”
Lu Cheng originally did not plan for the refugees to join the battle. But as the players took action, he soon realized that they had the special ability to resurrect. He was shocked, and he figured out what Han Xiao had originally meant. These helpers were just too special. He had looked down on them. Now he knew why they were not afraid to die. That was because they simply just do not die.
Bun-hit-dog, who was by the side, felt that something was strange. Refugees? Are they actual players? Why would the NPC think that the players resurrecting is strange? Won’t an NPC not be bothered with that?
Han Xiao pulled Lu Cheng to the side. He did not want other players to hear what he was going to tell Lu Cheng.
“Black Phantom, do you know the origin of these refugees?” Lu Cheng curiously asked.
“I’m not too sure,” Han Xiao replied, “but I do know that they are very diligent. They are extremely profit-driven. Didn’t you destroy Green Valley Ville? You need these people to rebuild the place. These refugees are the best laborers you can find. You can use them to your liking.”
“But some refugees were against me before. They are my enemies…”
“Their assistance to Balsas was not a loyal and faithful one. You can treat them as mercenaries.”
When he said this, Lu Cheng understood it. “I can try… You really don’t know what happened to them? They can all resurrect, is it just their special ability? We don’t know where Balsas found this group of people.”
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Han Xiao smiled and said, “Time will tell you the answer.”
Lu Cheng nodded, and he decided to suppress his questions regarding the refugees for now. He would get his subordinates to find some information regarding it.
He invited Han Xiao to his territory—the Black Pine Base—for a tour. Han Xiao said that there was no need to pay him back, but Lu Cheng did not dare take his word for it and insisted on offering his services.
Han Xiao did not resist further. His intention was to get to know Lu Cheng better anyway.
Before this, Han Xiao checked on the Dark Net. Lu Cheng was the one of the strongest vagrant warlords in the Southern Continent. Black Pine territory was so huge that small towns like Green Valley Ville would be insignificant placed next to it. Black Pine sat amid the ruins of a small city left from the Old Ages. It had been transformed into a settlement that tens of thousands of civilians resided in. There was a plethora of facilities, including even biological and weaponry research laboratories. Everything was really high end.
Territory owned by vagrant warlord and territory owned by vagrants were completely different concepts. The latter was formed with vagrants who band together against threats from the wild, with a responsible leader chosen democratically. There would rarely be hierarchies.
With vagrant warlords, they would be the leader who would use their resources to build a residential area. The area would be built such that it could take in some vagrants from the outside world, and the leaders could collect protection fees from them. The fees could be paid in the form of tax or labor. There would be purposeful usage of military power, for example to attack other warlords. Most of the soldiers were employed, but there were some who signed on voluntarily.
There were many warlords, and their territories, coming in all sizes, were distributed across every continent. Bennett’s shelter plan was aimed at unifying all the warlords and creating a new mega city that stood apart from the Six Nations and provided shelter for all refugees. Naturally, this would clash with the goals of the warlords. Moreover, it would be a very large and tedious project.
Bennett’s plan would provide help and shelter for all vagrants out there, not just from war but from other natural and wild dangers. It was nothing but ambitious.
Lu Cheng invited Han Xiao into his car and drove toward the Black Pine.
Green Valley Ville’s players could still get quests from the town, and those who chose to defend the base were surprised and relieved to find out that their access to the town did not get revoked. They watched Black Phantom as he left.
…
There was one more person with them now that Bun-hit-dog had joined the team.
The scenery outside the window flew past. Han Xiao made a call and instructed the Dark Net helicopter pilot to wait for him at Black Pine. He told Lu Cheng about this, who acknowledged and ordered for a landing site to be prepared.
They were chatting casually while Han Xiao suddenly asked, “With your military strength, you could have attacked immediately when you came to the town, and the refugees could not have stopped you. Why did you give Balsas time to prepare?”
Lu Cheng shook his head. He had not known that players could revive at that time. He said, “Only people without faith would think that violence is the solution to every problem.”
“Your soldiers’ lives are lives too though.” Han Xiao smiled.
“The strong ought to protect the weak.” Lu Cheng paused and said, “I won’t kill unarmed refugees; no warlord want to see the Tragedy of La Potter repeat itself.
“Tragedy of La Potter? What happened?” Bun-hit-dog questioned, still recording.
Lu Cheng thought Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog were Han Xiao’s followers, so out of respect, he explained, “La Potter was once a huge Vagrant settlement in the West Continent. It was invaded by a Vagrant Warlord and his troops. Even though the military troops were supported by the locals, the enemies were too strong, and they were defeated. The warlord was upset that the vagrants dared fight against him, so he initiated a massacre of the helpless and unarmed civilians, raiding all their supplies and burning everything, killing countless innocent souls.
Bun-hit-dog was unimpressed. Massacres like this had occurred numerous times in history. He probed, “So what happened then?”
“Then, the warlord and all of the few hundreds of his professional soldiers died in one night twenty days after that, killed single-handedly by one superhuman. After that, no warlord had the guts to kill any innocent civilians.”
Bun-hit-dog was puzzled. “Why though?”
Han Xiao answered, unfazed, “Because some people see themselves as heroes.”
If it was the normal world, no one could fight against the cruel authorities. Nothing could be done. However, with superhuman powers, even in lawless lands, those with powers could technically become those in charge of upholding laws. Superhumans could easily kill those that they did not see fit, so what they chose to uphold became the standard law for everyone else on the planet.
So, what would they choose to uphold? It would be the issues that most people would agree on based on their moral compass.
Unless one could carry out genocide or murder on a massive scale without letting any news out, there was bound to be a superhuman to punish the instigator for his evil deeds. This could be seen as moral coercion. The weak had to follow the moral standards of the strong. Even though this in itself was questionable, it gave rise to a rough form of rules for the wild and indirectly protected the lives of vagrants.
Bun-hit-dog recorded all this. He loved this type of stuff that could spice up his content.
Han Xiao stroked his chin. The Tragedy of La Potter reminded him of another wild BOSS.
La Potter was a mess. The burned corpses were left unattended and attracted beasts. A new virus sprouted from the corpses and spread into the soil and water sources. All the beasts in the region mutated, and every once in a while, there would be a Beast King level wild BOSS found there, which could trigger a quest to kill the BOSS and harvest its mutated heart for a research group. This would lead to potions that could add on attributes and might even awaken potential talents.
The players could repeatedly fight the wild BOSS, but the usual process of grinding through quests would be inevitable.
In Galaxy, there were a few types of Instance Dungeons, the first being the special scene where monsters spawned endlessly, such as some magical realms or mock combat rooms in labs. Other than these special realms, in Galaxy’s world, there were also important realms that were protected by military troops. Large-scaled battlefields could also be made into an Instance Dungeon. This type of Instance Dungeon was extremely random and could close anytime.
The second type would be Instance Dungeon Crystal, which was a special item dropped from special quests. Only players could use it, and it would bring the player back in time to a parallel world to experience events that had happened in the past. The Crystal would allow a player to enter different scenes based on the quest that the player came from.
The quests that awarded the Instance Dungeon Crystal would refresh once in a while, making this type of dungeon a readily accessible one. The players could also steadily grind to break the record of the shortest dungeon clearance time and other records.
Upon using the Instance Dungeon Crystal, others would see that the player had suddenly vanished. The player would enter a parallel universe and could not affect the original world. However, they could still obtain rewards from the Instance Dungeon. This type of dungeon was similar to magic teleportation and scientific time travelling. Han Xiao was not sure if he could use the Crystal as well, but he felt that it would be risky because he did not know the principles behind the Crystal. If it were to atomize the body structure, a normal player would be able to revive, but he did not have the luxury.
Some special items could be used by players only, such as the Gene-awakening Elixir that could be purchased from the vendor. A potion would appear out of thin air after purchasing it. There was also the Gene-blending Elixir that Han Xiao received as reward from the Rose Militant Quest earlier on. The Instance Dungeon Crystal fell under a similar category.
Let’s not risk it in trying to get the Instance Dungeon Crystal.
Indeed, it would be a waste of time. He would rather complete main quests and hidden quests.
The car fleet drove on for a few hours, and the silhouette of the Black Pine Settlement appeared on the horizon. It was huge, almost like a small city. The scenery was very exotic; there were bricks, leather, and scrap metal lying around, and there were electric wires crawling along the walls. The path with barbed wire fences on its sides was the only path that led up to the main entrance, and there were many ‘scars’ of war on the metallic door, left behind by bullets and explosions.
Lu Cheng smiled and proudly said, “Welcome to Black Pine.”
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“It’s enormous.” Bun-hit-dog gasped. “This can’t be the place where newbies first enter?”
The main gate slowly opened as the car entered the gates. The first thing that came into sight was the magnificent lookout tower, sandbag barricades, and the barracks. Fully-armed soldiers were standing guard and patrolling the area. Further into the encampment, they arrived at the residential district.
The layout of buildings in the residential district was much sparser and more casual than the structured planning of cities. There were no tall buildings as well. Families were strolling through the streets, and there were even hawkers calling out and making sales. With the lively chatter in the streets, it was like a mini-market.
The car rolled to a stop as several people alighted. Lu Cheng ordered several of his men to prepare a feast. Since he had invited Han Xiao to be his guest, he brought Han Xiao and the other two around for a tour as the host. Occasionally, some residents would greet Lu Cheng. It seemed Lu Cheng was well-respected by his people.
“That’s my weapon factory over there. I have a specialized assembly line to make guns and ammunition.” Lu Cheng pointed to a restricted region that was barricaded with a barbed-wire fence. Behind it were his warehouse, workshop, and weaponry experimental laboratory, and smoke could be seen escaping from the chimneys.
On the other side, there was a second quarantined area. Inside, there were many tents and about a few hundred vagrants living inside them. Their exposed skin was covered in gray ash, cracked like rocks.
“What is that place?” Bun-hit-dog asked curiously.
Sighing, Lu Cheng answered, “The Terminal Quarantine Area. Any resident with Grouper Plague has to stay there to prevent infections.”
Grouper Plague?
Han Xiao almost cried out in surprise. This type of illness was very infectious. In the version 2.0, it had spread and had caused some genetic mutations as well. He did not expect to find it here.
Just as he was about to say something, a sudden commotion could be heard from the Terminal Quarantine Area.
Sprinting in a frenzied manner, an infected resident rushed toward the barbed-wire fence. With all of his limbs, he tried to climb the fence to escape. However, the next second, a gunshot was heard. The security officer at the side reacted at lightning speed, firing at the man with his machine gun, turning this escaped resident into mesh as he fell to the ground. As he lay in his pool of blood, a viscous, yellow liquid could be seen pooling out from the corpse as well.
Several doctors in their white protective suits walked out and packed the corpse into a body bag. On the ground where the corpse was, they sprayed large jets of disinfectant.
The soldier who killed the escaping resident withdrew his gun, expressionless, as if he had just killed a worthless chicken.
The infected within the quarantine area watched this scene in silence, expressionless and numb. A thick atmosphere of despair hung in the air like a dark, heavy cloud.
“It is very hard to cure those who have been infected with this plague. To prevent them from spreading the plague to more people, we can only control it like this,” Lu Cheng explained.
Han Xiao turned to look. Nearby, the residents looked as though everything was as usual, without a single trace of empathy on their faces.
“That’s cold-blooded,” Bun-hit-dog quietly said.
“At first, there were only tens of people who were infected. One infected knew that he couldn’t be treated and escaped from the quarantine region, so the number of people infected increased to more than three hundred,” Lu Cheng said dryly.
Bun-hit-dog was speechless.
_____________________
You have triggered the quest [Origins of the Grouper Plague].
Quest Description: Black Pine Settlement is troubled by the spread of the Grouper Plague. To control this plague, what do you think you can do?
Quest Requirements:
1. Find the source of the Grouper Plague
2. Control the plague from spreading
3. Treat all of the infected
Rewards:
Completed Requirement 1 – 20,000 EXP
Completed Requirement 2 – 40,000 EXP
Completed Requirement 3 – 60,000 EXP
All Requirements Completed –800 Black Pine reputation points, Vagrant Warrior Battle suit
_____________________
Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog both received the quest as well.
However, Han Xiao did not intend to complete this quest. He was still in a rush to find more fools… No, to bring even more new players into the Mechanic Class. He needed to go to about ten or so novice villages, and a large wave of experience was waiting for him. Time was tight, and he had many things to do. How could he afford to slow down his footsteps?
Oh right, if the players complete their quests, can I claim the rewards, too? Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. Looking at Frenzied Sword, who was completely unaware, he suddenly had a new idea.
“My men have prepared a feast.” Lu Cheng sent out the invitation, and the few of them arrived at Black Pine’s Central Building. It was like a mini castle, and the western point was called the Lord’s Hall.
The dishes served in the feast were generous in quantity, meant to fill one’s stomach. Black Pine Settlement had a harvest field where they grew their own crops, and they also had their own butchery, where they raised animals, such as highland cattle, chicken, and the black-haired short-snout hog. The vagrants’ encampment consumed large amounts of resources every day. If they relied only on the Dark Net to obtain their resources, they would not be able to bear the costs, especially because it was extremely expensive. So, the residents learned to be self-sufficient, building their own tiny territory.
At the feast, Han Xiao and Lu Cheng were chatting casually when Lu Cheng eventually diverted the topic to the issue of repaying the favor to the Black Phantom. Dragging it on for so long, he felt very uneasy.
“Just take it as we’ve become friends. In the future, if anything crops up, feel free to look for me, and I’ll help you out.” Han Xiao left his phone number behind. He wanted to maintain his friendship with Lu Cheng so that he could find out when the Four Blueprint Quest began. Thinking for a while, he said, “Come to think of it, I need some help from you. I want to borrow your workshop and some materials to make something.”
“No problem, I’ll make arrangements right away.” Lu Cheng felt more at ease. He felt reassured after Han Xiao finally brought up a request for him.
“Your territory has to deal with the issue of the Grouper Plague quickly, otherwise it might become a disaster. My friends will stay behind to help you out.” Han Xiao suddenly slapped Frenzied Sword’s back, who spat out all of the food in his mouth, coughing non-stop.
“Are you abandoning me?” Frenzied Sword asked disbelievingly.
I’m not interested in being your mom. Han Xiao held back his biting comments as he wrote up a few quests and tossed them out for Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog to complete.
The gist of the quests was to have the two of them remain at Black Pine, resolve the issue of the plague, and improve their reputation in Black Pine. Han Xiao spent 200,000 EXP, splitting it between the both of them. The quests were all long-term ones, and he intended for both of them to stay at Black Pine.
With the remaining journey and tasks at the novice villages, there was no need to bring these two players with him. It made going online and offline inconvenient and slowed him down as well. He might as well just leave them to complete their quests in Black Pine.
For the gifted players he had selected, he was not only going to train them himself, but there was another benefit. That was, they could follow him and gain exposure to high-level fights. Compared to other players, they could expand their maps earlier, which was the main attraction in allowing players to follow him. For now, allowing the gifted players to complete other tasks and train by grinding was useful in developing their individual unique skills. It could allow them to explore and tap into their potential. It also gave him more time to himself to do other tasks.
As for the rewards that these gifted players received, sooner or later, a part of it would come back to him. If Frenzied Sword completed the plague quest, Han Xiao could get some experience as well, and Frenzied Sword would use a portion of the money he earned to buy equipment from Han Xiao.
Not only did he want to earn players’ gold, but through players, he could earn NPCs’ second-hand gold as well!
If Han Xiao was a mother ship, the players that he took under his wing would be akin to a fleet of fighters. No matter how many achievements they obtained, they would still have to return to their home base and repay him. Of course, that was only under the condition of him being able to achieve and attain even greater benefits. On this note, he was still very confident. Other than the players themselves, there was no other person who understood players better than him.
I’m such a genius.
Frenzied Sword could only agree to Han Xiao’s arrangements, and he was actually quite satisfied. Black Pine was a high-level map, and the rewards for each quest were quite generous too. Bun-hit-dog had even less objections. The materials he had looted were already enough. Staying in Black Pine meant that he did not have to worry about losing track of Han Xiao. He could focus on making the first episode of his video.
Lu Cheng felt that Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog’s abilities were very mediocre and could not help much. But on Han Xiao’s account, he expressed his thanks to them anyway.
At the dining table, they settled their plans. After eating, it was already past noon, and Lu Cheng went back to take a rest. The previous night, he had been battling and had not slept. In the morning, they were on the roads, rushing to get back, and he was thoroughly exhausted.
On the other hand, Han Xiao had slept on the car for a while and was in high spirits. He could move about Black Pine freely, so he gave some orders to the pilot of the Dark Net helicopter. Then, after bargaining with Antonio for ten over minutes, he arranged to lease the transport plane from the Fabian Company.
After that, under the Black Pine soldiers’ lead, he headed toward the weapon factory area. The guards there received Lu Cheng’s orders. Accordingly, they opened up the workshop for Han Xiao to use.
Lu Cheng had already arranged for his men to prepare the materials. Han Xiao began his work on the lathe. He needed to make some repairs to the Magnetically controlled retractable armor, and add on a load of ammunition and some Basic Storage Cubes, then create some small parts to be built onto the ‘Sunworm’ Flamethrower he had developed recently.
With its intelligence stat at 200, the machine’s production speed was very fast, and there were other enhancing skills such as Machinery Affinity and Energy Stats Strengthened, which would create even better stats on the device to be created.
_____________________
Sunworm Portable Flamethrower (Mini Flamethrower)
Grade: Blue (Good Quality)
Damage: 27–34/s (Fire)
Overload: 60s
Cooldown: 20s
Range: 7m
Power Output: 92
Fuel Type: HF Liquid Fuel
Energy: 210/210 (uses 1 Energy Point/s)
Weight: 9.4kg
Side Effect: Integration—Through additions to the energy box, it is assimilated with one’s body, convenient to carry.
Side Effect: Concentrated Jet—Raise efficiency of fuel, +33% DMG, +25% range, one tick of Burn Damage per 0.6s and lasting 12s, uses 8 Energy Points/s. After 12 seconds, immediately enters overload.
Side Effect: Adhesive Burning—Extends target’s burn state and increases effectiveness of burns
Remarks: Dancing flames, that is a warmth that is akin to romance.
_____________________
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. What kind of messed up remark is that?
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Sunworm’s nozzle, duct, and fuel tank were integrated as one. It looked like a heat insulating metal tube, about an arm’s width. It could be tied to the arm or calf. It looked a little like a beetle, and its ‘pincers’ were used to stabilize the leather metal pins.
He tied the Sunworm onto the inner side of his left arm, and it seemed bloated. However, such a load could be ignored for a person with 69 Strength.
Sunworm is most suited to be used as mecha module, and it can be integrated into my self-created lightweight mecha. Han Xiao could not stop thinking of new ideas for his lightweight mecha. Since he already had ideas, as well as Fabian’s transport aircraft on lease, he started fixing his mecha before travelling to the novice village.
At that time, an Asian man whose head was full of white hair walked toward him. He stared at Han Xiao’s High Ghost sniper rifle and curiously muttered, “That’s right. It is an electromagnetic weapon!”
He then turned and asked Han Xiao, “Can you sell this to me? I’m willing to pay 500,0… no, 1,000,000!”
Han Xiao observed him for a second and already had some gut feels. Yet, he pretended to be confused and asked, “Who are you?”
“I am Lei Zhen Yu. Lu Cheng invited me over as his Machinery Engineering consultant. You look like a Mechanic too. You should have heard of my name.”
Han Xiao remained silent.
“Don’t tell me you have not heard of my name. Or are you a self-taught mechanic? So unusual.” Lei Zhen was surprised. He shook his head and said, “I want this electromagnetic sniper; how about you quote a price?”
“Do I look like I’m in need of cash?” Han Xiao pointed at that priceless components that were lying on the truck’s seat.
Lei Zhen Yu then understood. “You are a self-taught mechanic. I can teach you some skills in exchange for this sniper of yours. You definitely need a master like me to guide you. Only through listening to the wise words of your seniors can you succeed. I can tell that deep down inside, you have always wanted to have a master to learn from. Here, the doors are opened for you. This is your chance. If you miss it, you will regret for life.”
He did not know that this electromagnetic sniper rifle was made by Han Xiao. From what he knew, self-taught mechanics were often weak. Hence, he wanted to nab that sniper by teaching Han Xiao some new skills. As a mechanic master, he did not usually go around teaching other people. By giving Han Xiao the chance, he thought that it was worth it to exchange it for the electromagnetic sniper rifle, as long as the other party was humble enough.
Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. It was the first time he had ever met someone who was so shameless and full of himself. With just a bit more, both of their skills would have been on par.
Actually, Han Xiao knew of Lei Zhen Yu’s background. He was a well-known and skillful master mechanic in Aquamarine. So, he was not wrong about saying that he was a master. He belonged to the same era as Old Man Lu and had already retired decades ago. Both he and Old Man Lu did not have the master demeanor and looked disappointing to most.
Han Xiao knew why Lei Zhen Yu appeared at Black Pine. It was related to Old Man Lu’s four blueprints mission, and coincidentally, Lei Zhen Yu happened to be part of this secret mission.
In the past, Lu Cheng abandoned his daughter, who was only a few years old, and left her in the care of Old Man Lu. He ventured into the wild and became a warlord. Because of this incident, he had a fight with Old Man Lu, who was unable to understand his choices at that time. The relationship between the father and son was so tensed that it was as though they were strangers.
Lu Cheng slowly climbed up and became the strongest warlord on the Southern Continent. He was always facing various dangers.
On the surface, Old Man Lu seemed as though he did not want any affiliation with his son. However, he was secretly following Lu Cheng closely and even requested that his old friend, Lei Zhen Yu, move to Black Pine to help and protect Lu Cheng. Lu Cheng knew nothing about the pact. He was shocked as he thought that he had managed to invite a great master all by himself.
This might be the moment for the four blueprints. Lei Zhen Yu had to leave Black Pine due to some other matters. Old Man Lu used another method to help Lu Cheng as he did not wish to meet his son in an awkward situation. He left the blueprints behind and left for the Western Capital, and his current whereabouts were still not known.
Maybe that’s what they call a father. Han Xiao sighed. Why was Zhu Zi Qing’s ‘The View of my Father’s Back’ such a classic? Maybe because people with more experiences would be able to resonate with that story. Even Old Man Lu, a foul old stick, had his own worries.
Han Xiao calmed himself and said, “I can exchange with you. I want advanced knowledge.
Based on past memories, Lei Zhen Yu knew some advance knowledge. Yet, players were unable to acquire the knowledge from him. Even so, Han Xiao decided he want to give it a try.
Lei Zhen Yu earnestly said, “Kid, don’t be too ambitious. You are a self-taught mechanic. Your standard is not enough for you to be able to understand advance knowledge. How about I teach you something else instead?”
“No, I only want advance knowledges.”
“But you won’t understand.”
“That’s even better; you don’t have to worry that I will learn it. I’ll just look at it for an hour. Take it as I am just being curious, okay?”
Lei Zhen Yu was speechless. Advance knowledge was very precious, and it could be considered a secret wild card. It was crucial that the knowledge was highly conserved. Even though he was really curious about the structure of the electromagnetic sniper, it was definitely not worth exchanging it with the priceless knowledge. Even though Han Xiao said he might not understand, he did not want to take the risk at all.
Lei Zhen Yu contemplated for a while and insisted, “I can’t teach you the advance knowledge, but I can use the knowledges to create a weapon in exchange for yours.”
Sure enough, it was not easy to get his hands on the advance knowledge. Han Xiao was already prepared for this outcome and was not depressed about it. Instead, he considered Lei Zhen Yu’s offer. If he could create an item to exchange for another item of the same level, there was nothing to lose.
However, this Ghost sniper had only reached this level through several upgrades. Han Xiao still wanted to use it, so he decided to create a new one to exchange with Lei Zhen Yu.
Han Xiao nodded in agreement and said, “I’ll create a new one for you.”
“You made this sniper‽” Lei Zhen Yu shouted in disbelief. He thought Han Xiao looked like a newbie, and given that he was a self-taught mechanic, he expected the gun to be made by someone else. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the opposite.
All the six nations were secretly trying to invent an electromagnetic weapon, and none had even reached the experimental stage. If it was just creating a stable electromagnetic weapon, Han Xiao and Lei Zhen Yu were of the same standard. Lei Zhen Yu then remembered that he had portrayed himself as a ‘great master’ just now. Even with his old face, he felt ashamed and awkward.
How shameful to flaunt his skills in front of another mechanic of the same level.
Luckily, Lei Zhen Yu had thick skin. He corrected his attitude and treated Han Xiao as an equal.
At that time, the guards rushed over and whispered to Lei Zhen Yu that Han Xiao was also a legendary assassin.
Lei Zhen Yu was dumbfounded. He then observed Han Xiao for a while. Many mechanics were capable of experimenting. However, it was rare to find one who was also capable of fighting. His admiration for Han Xiao rose to an even higher level.
With good skills, one would be valued everywhere one went.
“Please come with me, I will show you my storeroom.” Lei Zhen Yu coughed as he tried to change the conversation topic to avoid awkwardness. The way he spoke to Han Xiao was suddenly more respectful.
Both arrived at the restricted area inside of the arsenal area. This was where the high-ranking researchers lived. Lei Zhen Yu’s home was a spacious suite with all sorts of daily necessities. There were even wine cabinets and bookshelves that were made of high-quality wood—all of which was not cheap. By the corner of the room, there was a small, simple bed. He seemed to be leading a great life.
Lei Zhen Yu drew the wine cabinet open and activated the secret door button. The wine cabinet slide to a side and revealed a secret storeroom. He then called Han Xiao over. Inside, there was a row of glass showcase shelves that stood by the wall and contained various weapons. Lei Zhen Yu headed straight for the innermost showcase shelf.
“I have four items that were created using the advance knowledges. Let me introduce them to you.” Lei Zhen Yu pointed to the glass showcase shelf and started blabbering.
Lei Zhen Yu’s advanced knowledges was geared toward miniature modifications. These four advanced weapons were all related to nano mechanisms.
‘Type I Nurse’ Bio-granule. It looked like a thick black substance, but in actual fact, it was able to divide into special nano-granules. They could then be inserted into one’s body. When injured, poisoned, or bleeding, they would help one recover from the situation either by clearing the poison or speeding up blood clotting. It was a type consumable medical treatment.
U9 Colloidal Bulletproof Membrane. It looked just like ordinary glass on the surface. However, upon receiving any shock, it would briefly become non-solid to counteract kinetic energy and then solidify to trap any object. For instance, when a bullet is shot toward it, the bullet would be trapped, as though it was originally growing from within. Though it looked just like transparent glass, it was highly defensive and not easily damaged. It was most suitable for making bulletproof vests.
Fermi Condensate. It was a weapon that resembled the appearance of shaving foam and could be injected into a weapon to cool it down internally. It would reduce the cooldown time and then quickly degrade so as to prevent jamming up the weapon system. Sunworm’s cooldown time, for example, was twenty seconds. With the use of Fermi Condensate, the cooldown time could be reduced significantly to three to five seconds. The effect was remarkable. It could also be consumed.
PE-0 Nano-synthetic Fiber. Similar to the biological tendons of a living organism, it was a black, shiny, tough nanomaterial. Twisting or stretching it would result in an unbelievable elasticity.
Han Xiao could only exchange the sniper for one of those items.
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After pondering for a while, Han Xiao made his choice.
“I want the PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber.”
“Wow, that’s smart. I thought a warrior like you, who likes to battle, would go for the Bulletproof Membrane instead.”
“To create something, I will need sufficient PE-0.”
“Alright.” Lei Zhen Yu nodded. He felt that out of the four weapons, PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber was the most valuable one as this new material could be used for many more weapons. He realized that Han Xiao was indeed a skillful mechanic with keen eyes.
As they confirmed the exchange, Han Xiao returned to his truck and began creating a new Ghost sniper rifle. With the help of the blueprint, everything went well.
I’ve earned so much from this exchange!
The new Nano-Synthetic Fiber would play an important part of his lightweight mecha concept. It could be used as the tendon skeletal system of the lightweight mecha! As compared to the previous K600 skeletal system, PE-0 had huge improvements in almost all aspects. For instance, it was small, lightweight, and stronger. It was a great core material to create an outstanding lightweight mecha.
Python-Lightweight Mecha!
PE-0 should not be judged by its simple introduction. When it was used as the internal skeletal system, it would function just like muscle. Anyone who used it would understand.
As for the other three equipment, two of them were consumable—hence, they were instantly dismissed as options. The Bulletproof Membrane seemed reliable, but it contained Platinum, so it barely qualified for the bulletproof function.
To create a new Ghost sniper rifle, Lei Zhen Yu had also brought sufficient amount of PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber and stored it in a golden metal box.
After the two had exchange the items, Lei Zhen Yu could not help but fall in love with the Ghost sniper rifle straight away. Even though his experimental direction was toward lightweight mecha, seeing how electromagnetic weapons could become the conventional weapon for the next generation, he had decided to study them too.
Back then, Old Man Lu had requested him to come over to Black Pine to help Lu Cheng. Since Lei Zhen Yu owed him a debt of gratitude, he had decided to help him then. Every day was boring to him, except for today, as he had encountered Han Xiao, a mechanic that was on par with him. This cheered him up to no end.
“I still need one thing, but there is no channel for me to buy it. I hope you can help me buy a ‘Bonfire’ Mini Reaction Furnace.” Han Xiao packed his box and spoke once more. This item that he needed was a module related to lightweight mecha.
Lei Zhen Yu was a mechanic master. Hence, he knew many people from the same trade and had many connections. He wanted knowledge beyond [Advance Material Study] to build his gun, so he was using Lei Zhen Yu as a channel to help him find some things.
“That item is not easy to get. Besides, even if I ask my friend from Ordina to sell it to me at cost price, it would still cost two to three million. Not to mention, extra time will be needed to make that item.”
“Money isn’t the problem.”
Han Xiao smirked and was full of confidence.
Lei Zhen Yu was a master in the mechanic world, so he knew many other mechanics of the same level. He was enthusiastic toward Han Xiao and agreed to help to contact the ‘Bonfire’ Mini Reaction Furnace seller for him. To Lei Zhen Yu, it was just a few phone calls.
After exchanging their numbers, Lei Zhen Yu took his Ghost sniper rifle and left, while Han Xiao continued with his work in the truck until midnight. After he was done with his work, he switched off the light and headed for his temporary residence with the guards.
The night was quiet. There was no night life in Black Pine settlement. When night fell, all residents would go back home to rest. In the dangerous wild, one would need to remain vigilant to know what to do in case of any possible danger. Also, entertainment was a luxury. In the wild, there were monsters, sickness, hunger, and various catastrophes. With that, warlords had already developed a vigilant attitude.
Due to certain circumstances, some people were forced into joining the Six Nations after the war, while other remained living in the wild as they could not let go of the hatred and would not give in even though their lives were harder. Some thought that it was foolish of them, while others saw it as a belief or even faith. It did not matter which country these people belonged to—patriotic people were always worthy of respect.
What was more important was that many vagrants had already gotten used to living in the wild. Even though their daily meals were not stable, and they might not know when they would ever be full, they did not have to follow any restrictions or rules. Instead, they were living freely. Despite knowing that joining the Six Nations would mean full meals every day, they were not willing to give up on their freedom.
In the age of peace, many people were numb toward life. In order to survive, they hunted like their ancestors and lived every day to its fullest. Even though most vagrants suffer from malnutrition, their physical fitness was better than that of the urban residents. They were strong and diligent.
The wild was regarded as wasteland. Many abandoned cities, battlefields, habitats of plants and animals, and even radioactive areas caused by the pollution from the war had become restricted areas. The Six Nations did not have any intentions of expanding into the wild at the moment, as the cost was too high, and its value was low. During the first few years after the war, the Six Nations decided to stabilize the situation inside their country first. As such, they did not have extra resources to expand their territory. Wild flora started growing on the abandoned land as a result, and it had become the territory of vagrants, warlords, and large groups of mercenaries. Just like the wind that blew by after destruction, the wasteland after the war was once again revived.
…
After a night of rest in his room, Han Xiao called for Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog the next morning.
“I will be away for some time. You guys can stay at Black Pine, and I will contact you later on.”
Bun-hit-dog was reactionless while Frenzied Sword showed his unwillingness. He had only followed Han Xiao for a few days, and now, he was being abandoned again.
“You guys can think of ways to help solve the plague in Black Pine.” Han Xiao pointed at Frenzied Sword. “I have confidence in you that you will show your true potential during this period of time. Maybe you have the ability to use better weapons.”
Han Xiao took out two newly built large caliber pistols that were suitable for shooting within eighty meters. It was specially designed to strengthen the magazines and the attack damage. It was green quality and twice as powerful compared to the pistols that Han Xiao had sold to the other players. He then presented the pistols to Frenzied Sword, who was looking on with his jaw on the ground.
“Is this for me?” Frenzied Sword asked in disbelief.
Han Xiao smiled and nodded.
Frenzied Sword was overjoyed and could not help but start playing with his two pistols. He did not expect to receive such welfare. Han Xiao actually gifted him some equipment. Bun-hit-dog, who was standing by one side, was also shocked
Is this a benefit of the secret quest? As long as your performance is good, Black Phantom will reward you as and when he likes?
Han Xiao intentionally built these two pistols to aid Frenzied Sword in completing more tasks. To ensure that his workers did their best, they first needed their weapons. When giving rewards, Bun-hit-dog could also film it, and when it is aired, more players would witness the scene. Through that, many people would think that Han Xiao cared a lot about rewards and would be more eager to join his ‘Secret Quest’.
All Han Xiao had to do was gift pistols that he could make easily, and with a little bit of generosity, he would be able to earn even more.
“I think you have great potential in wrestling, you should go learn some close combat skills,” Han Xiao mentioned. Frenzied Sword was gifted in wrestling and should advance to become a Mechanical Pugilist. He naturally hoped that Frenzied Sword could be strong like his previous life, where as a Mechanical Pugilist, he displayed his Martial Artist talent… hopefully.
What Han Xiao said struck a chord with Frenzied Sword. That was something that he was thinking about too.
After making his instructions clear, Han Xiao boarded the Dark Net helicopter and left Black Pine.
“Black Phantom has left,” the helper reported to Lu Cheng.
Lu Cheng nodded as he had a great impression of Han Xiao. He then said, “Take care of his two friends, and take notice of any weird villagers from Green Valley Ville. Find out about their background too.
…
When the helicopter arrived at the Fabian Company, Han Xiao board on the transport aircraft and headed for a new novice village in the Southern Continent. This time round, he would be occupying the aircraft for a long time as he even wanted to fly across the ocean to the novice villages in the Western Continent and Northern Continent. The Fabian Company did not have much power in the other two continents. As such, it would be expensive to occupy the aircraft for such a long time. Even after a friendship discount from Antonio, the price could still be jaw dropping—plain extortion.
His Dark Net’s account still had enough funds, and he had a lot of plans to accumulate more wealth. There was no need for him to worry about the funds.
Once he boarded the aircraft, Han Xiao began building his Mecha. The advantage of building his own mecha was that the different modules could be fixed separately and then combined together afterwards. This would reduce the risk, and the success rate for a self-created Mecha would be higher.
Even though he did not have the blueprints, he had his own ideas. The different functions of the self-created Mecha could be achieved just by mimicking the other Mechas from his memories. [Python Lightweight Mecha] was an advanced, more accurate, and rare piece of equipment. If anyone wished to obtain this blueprint in normal circumstances, one would need to combine four advance knowledges of different groups. Moreover, the conditions were extremely demanding. The prerequisite was that one needed to understand the functions of the various components inside the blueprints. So, all most players could do was try their luck.
Some other blueprints required the players to be able to understand the modules within the blueprints. This was common for blueprints of various robots, Mechas, armor, and transport vehicles.
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Hopefully what I replicated is forty percent accurate—that will be enough.
Han Xiao’s advanced knowledge was insufficient; hence, he could only create a prototype with less functionality, just like the Ghost sniper rifle. However, there was an advantage for the mecha. Even if his version was a castrated version, it would not have various defects that the Ghost sniper rifle had.
Self-creating a mecha was a huge project and could not be completed within a short time. Han Xiao planned to finish his work on the various modules as he moved from novice village to novice village.
In addition, he would have to combine some new blueprints to improve the power of mecha.
The core source of the power would come from the ‘Bonfire’ Mini Reaction Furnace, and Han Xiao needed to wait for Lei Zhen Yu to place an order for him. This was also an advanced machine, so he was not able to build it on his own. Luckily, he had met another mechanic and could use some help from the other masters.
Talking about it, Old Man Lu’s four blueprints were also rare items. The opportunity for the mission would be when Lei Zhen Yu left Black Pine. Hence, he had to wait a while longer. Those four blueprints could be combined to build an attack and defense system, which could be incorporated into the mecha.
The mecha was Han Xiao’s second important piece of tactical equipment, and with the four blueprints from Old Man Lu, he would be able to start on the third. Han Xiao was excited. With three pieces of tactical equipment that complemented one another, all of which would have very strong mechanical stats, there would be no need to worry in battle—even against Bennett.
After finishing the visits to the novice villages and obtaining large amounts of experience, I can finally do some big things.
Han Xiao calculated his time and suddenly frowned.
If I’m not remembering incorrectly, the Alien event should be starting soon.
…
The Southern Continent had five novice villages. Besides Big Horn Village and Green Valley Ville, Han Xiao spent eleven days visiting the other three. Most of his time was spent on travelling. When he arrived at each novice village, he need not do anything; players would quickly crowd around him. Those who wanted to advance would advance, and those who had their own things to do would engage in their own things. It was super effective.
His popularity was all thanks to Galaxy Times and the advertising through the forum. Han Xiao had left a deep impression on the players, and they knew what he was capable of.
Han Xiao did some math—round 25% to 30% of players came to him to advance into mechanics. This ratio was way greater than that in his previous life. Even though there were only three main classes in Aquamarine, the ratio was not even. In his previous life, the ratio had been 30% Esper, 50% to 60% Pugilist, and only about 10% Mechanic. After Han Xiao’s promotion, the ratio was three times greater!
Apart from Basic Knowledges, he also shared [Basic Shooting] and [Basic Combat]. These basic skills had attracted many novice players, and most had approached him to acquire these two basic skills. That was the real money tree!
Han Xiao was making a small profit from each novice player, and these small gains accumulated to a veritable fortune.
Three novice villages had earned him a total of 9.023 million EXP!
The efficiency was shocking!
With these eleven days of gaining experience at a rocket-like efficiency, he had earned an amount comparable to completing ten or so high difficulty missions! Players of the same level from his previous life would have needed to to spend many months to acquire the same amount of experience!
The cumulative effect from the interface and the NPC template helped him improve tremendously. Well, at least he had found himself a steady channel for experience.
The player market had the most potential, and since he was able to monopolize it at the moment, the profit was simply amazing.
With countless experiences on hand, Han Xiao went ahead to level up his class rank [Mechanic (Trainee)] to Lv. 15!
When his level reached LV 55, he would need to advance in order to continue levelling up. In version 1, the level limit was LV 60, so he was five levels away. However, he was not restricted by the limit in this version. Han Xiao could in fact become the first character in Aquamarine to reach LV 60. Unfortunately, the advancement requirements were a real headache for him.
_____________________
[Mechanic (Trainee)] levelled up to Lv. 15 (MAX).
+120 Energy, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +4 Intelligence.
Acquired 3 Unassigned Stat Points and 1 Talent Point!
Advancement mission: Create 5 [Admirable] quality machinery with an energy rating no lower than 60.
_____________________
Damn, am I so unlucky? Out of so many advancing conditions, how unlucky am I to get the most troublesome one‽
Han Xiao was stunned.
Admirable quality meant a grade higher than blue. Since he started building his machinery, his machinery was about 15% to 20% blue, and only 1% to 2% of his machinery might have reached purple.
A machine could be compared with the same type of machinery by its quality. For instance, there would be a huge difference in the stats of a white grade Foldable Machete compared to a blue grade Foldable Machete. The blue grade would have additional effects too. However, a blue type Machete could not be compared to a white grade Rover Robot.
For example, Cold Weapons, Guns, Grenades, Robots… these weapons were based on templates of the same kind. For example, a good quality razor could be used to shave comfortably; however, it could not be used to stir fry vegetables. Different kinds of equipment have their own uses and their own specialization.
The more high-end a machine was, the harder it would be to improve its quality. The intelligence stat affected the quality, and this was also the core attribute of mechanics. High-level mechanics could easily create high-quality, simple machines.
The requirement of ‘energy rating no lower than 60’ for advancement limited the possibility of him using low-level machinery as a shortcut. He had to create a purple machine that fulfilled the quality requirement.
This type of advancement requirement was considered the most difficult requirement. Normally, when one reached the level limit of an attribute, it would not be easy to build a stable machine of sufficient quality. It was either by luck or by improving his skills and achieving new abilities. No matter which route he took, he would need a lot of time.
The frown between Han Xiao’s brows deepened like a great ravine.
Advancement was difficult. Moreover, he would need to use his experience points to level up his skills and fuse blueprints together. This could be a bottomless pit, especially for fusing the blueprints.
Levelling up by five levels had cost him almost five million EXP. As for the remaining EXP, Han Xiao kept two million for blueprints fusion and the rest on levelling up his skills. He levelled up [Mid-Grade Machinery Affinity] and [Molecular Refining] to the maximum.
Among the skills, Mid-Grade Machinery Affinity was a core skill; hence, the cost was higher. The effect was also naturally more remarkable. Since it affected a machine’s grade, it was useful in completing the advancement task.
Experience come easily but goes quickly too.
Han Xiao let out a deep sigh. As he had spent a huge amount of experiences all at once, he felt a great sense of satisfaction.
Han Xiao had completed his visits to all the novice villages in the Southern Continent. Next, Han Xiao decided to visit the Western Continent. The Nations in the Western Continent were Maple and Ordina. He had stayed in the Southern Continent for too long, and he was finally visiting another continent.
On the way, I can also start on the secret quest. The tragedy of La Potter is set in the Western Continent.
…
Because there was a need to cross the sea, the transport aircraft stopped at one of Hesla port cities’ airports to prepare for the long-distance flight and top up the fuel. This was Antonio’s territory. Han Xiao spent a huge sum of money, almost emptying Antonio’s warehouse, and filled up his aircraft with a lot of materials.
“You are going to the Western Continent?” Antonio held a thick black cigar in his mouth. With his bear paw sized hand, he patted Han Xiao on his shoulder. “A person like you—an assassin—will definitely be blacklisted by many nations. The special agents of Maple and Ordina might find you for afternoon tea. You will have no say over there too. Our power in the Western Continent is limited as well. A piece of advice for you: try not to expose yourself.”
“And so?”
“Be careful.”
Han Xiao laughed and exclaimed in feigned surprise, “Oh, you can actually finish that in one sentence.”
Han Xiao patted Antonio’s strong arm and went up the aircraft. “Don’t worry, I won’t go crazy there.”
Filled with fuel, the aircraft took flight and disappeared into the air.
…
As Han Xiao visited all the novice villages in the Southern Continent, it created a huge discussion on the forum. The novice players from the other three continents were all envious and jealous of the players from the Southern Continent. They wished to meet the Black Phantom, too; however, it was not possible for them to cross over to another continent. As such, they could only watch helplessly as players from the Southern Continents boasted about it on the forum. This made them feel terrible, just like seeing photos of fast food in the middle of the night. Even if you were hungry, you could not eat it.
There was no point being envious, so all the helpless players could do was vent their emotions on the forum.
“Ah, I want Black Phantom!”
“I am suffering from a disease. I will die if I don’t meet Black Phantom.”
“Why are there no characters like Black Phantom in the continent that I got into?”
Players from the Southern Continent started giggling as they thought they were fortunate to have a great birthplace. Looking at players from the other continents grumbling about their lack of luck, the players in the Southern Continent felt a sense of superiority.
Man, luck is also part of power. Not that I’m targeting anyone, but I mean everyone here is trash.
By this point, the players from the Southern Continent all had inflated egos.
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“The Black Phantom had gone to the Western Continent? Why is he there?” Bennett was shocked.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say.” Wang Yuan shook his head.
Bennett had no choice but to give Han Xiao a call. He did not answer. As Han Xiao was flying across the ocean, the reception on his phone was bad.
Helpless, Bennett shook his head. Stardragon’s material aid had arrived, and Hesla had loosened a little after some work. The shelter plan was about to be rolled out as a pilot project in the Southern Continent. He was planning to gather the strongest members of various organizations as the first layer of protection for the plan. Black Phantom was third on the list of people he was going to invite. However, before he could even invite him, Han Xiao had already left for the Western Continent.
The location of the first shelter had already been decided. It would be located in a large ruined city in the wild.
Bennett suddenly had an idea. “Maple refused to provide material aid, and that group of bureaucrats are not easing up no matter what we do. Luckily, Black Phantom is going to the Western Continent, so he can talk for me!”
…
The enclosed room did not seem to have a single light source and was separated from the outside world by a thick metal door. Through the darkness, there was only a streak of light peeking through a small opening. Electrolux was sitting in a corner, reading his interface in exasperation. His Esper potential rating was Grade A. However, after over 20 days of open beta, when most players had reached LV 8, he was still at LV 1.
The Germinal Organization said they would lock him up for a month, and they meant it. If it was not that Electrolux was reluctant to give up on his high potential Esper ability, he would have changed to a new account. After the members of the club learned of the situation of his account, they had all been very concerned. They told Electrolux to hold on, and they would invest resources into him when the restriction period was over. With that, he was able to persevere and come online every day to wait, hoping for a miracle.
At that moment, the golden metal door started opening slowly, and white light sprayed into the room.
Electrolux looked up and saw a man in white standing by the door. The man’s stared at Electrolux as though he was looking at something precious.
“I want to perform a little test with you.” A man in white smiled freakishly.
…
Cyberlos was joyous.
He was one of the top executives in the Germinal Organization. As a biologist, he had worked on various experiments for Germinal for many years. Before joining them, Cyberlos was a high-level researcher who betrayed Raylen. He was insane, and his mind was always full of crazy ideas. Even as a fellow human, it was impossible to stop his strong urge to dissect other human bodies. He also did not care about principles and would join anyone who was willing to aid him with resources. In the end, he joined the Germinal Organization.
As such, Germinal supported Cyberlos to experiment on his crazy ideas by sponsoring him with materials. He was responsible for Valkyrie, Super Soldier, and Genetic Improvement—all those projects that were totally unethical. There were even other more sinister experiments, and just by mentioning the names, it would make a normal person disgusted and the insane excited. For instance, Cross-Species Hybrid Breeding, Human-Animal Fusion…
Through years of research, Cyberlos had conducted over a hundred experiments and seen thousands of special and gifted human specimens. Among which, Cyberlos was excited about two of these specimens, and both were Espers.
One of them had bone marrow that had amazing healing functions. It could even revive thousands of dead bodies. However, since the souls were absent in these bodies, the bodies would not truly be revived. That was also the first time when Cyberlos discovered the notion of souls. He experimented more, but due to the lack of technology on Aquamarine, he was unable to gather any souls.
The other person had some power that could interfere with destiny. It was also the most incredible thing that Cyberlos had ever witnessed. This person could interfere with the course of an event just by commenting. It was something even more difficult to explain as compared to souls. This special ability could only be used when a person was clear and awake. A test proved that it could not work with hypnotism. This person was locked up around the clock and was made to wear a muzzle, which prevented him from talking. Due to negligence in the past, many scary incidents had occurred, and the most recent incident happened a year ago, when this person commented that a disaster would happen to the Germinal. With that being said, the Germinal Organization had indeed suffered a painful blow.
As for Electrolux, he was the third specimen that Cyberlos was interested in.
Cyberlos re-read and scrutinized the diary.
“Day 1: The subject was sent into the restricted room, monitored around the clock, including using night vision camera monitoring. Fed three times a day at 7am, 11am, and 7pm with no relaxation time given. Subject seemed anxious but has yet to show any after effects from the brainwashing session. Initial observation shows that subject has immunity. Recommended to perform Compliance Test on the subject.
“Day 2: 8am, went through the Compliance Test. Results shown that subject is highly obedient. Passed all the test, and the polygraph does not exhibit any abnormalities. Subject has accepted the new identity from the brainwashing. 11pm, abnormality started showing. Subject has vanished, and no signs of damage were observed in the restricted room. A search was conducted, subject not found.
“Day 4: Subject reappeared in the restricted room, the same location where he disappeared, with no warning. Footage data [Appendix -001]. We controlled the subject immediately and interrogated about the reason behind his disappearance and what he encountered after he disappeared. Subjected seemed confused, and the interrogation was recorded in [Appendix -002]. Increased the monitoring on the subject.
“Day 6: Used hypnotism to check if he was lying, and the subject spoke gibberish. Footage [Appendix -003]. At night, subject vanished again.
“Day 8: Subject reappeared. Interrogated and hypnotized, details [Appendix -004]. At 8pm, surgery was performed to observe the biology, and his physiology seemed normal. Surgery conclusion [Appendix -005].”
…
The observation diary contained observations from 22 days. Some of the vagrants in the Andrea Mainland also appeared to have similar symptoms as Electrolux. As such, this caught the attention of Germinal. They remained quiet and continued to observe secretly.
Immortal, able to resurrect, appear out of nowhere, unknown origin… If it was just one person, there was no reason to worry. However, thousands of people had shown the same symptoms, and this number was still increasing, as though it was spreading like an infectious disease. The leader was concerned and made Cyberlos in charge of conducting various experiments on Electrolux.
Electrolux was pinned down in the middle by the guards and was brought to the surgery theatre. Lying down on the surgery table, he was given the surgery task. The Germinal Organization had brainwashed him. As such, he thought all orders given were compulsory missions and violation would lead to heavy punishments.
Electrolux could only adhere to the instructions, and he was feeling frustrated.
Cyberlos suited up into his surgical gown and started dissecting Electrolux. Electrolux was given anesthesia and was unable to move. All he could do was watch the knife moving about on his body. As he realized he was being dissected, his body system started reacting when the operation started.
_____________________
You died.
_____________________
Electrolux was struck dumb, and he was revived in the room after ten seconds.
What in the world… Was I dissected and experimented on?
Electrolux froze. He had lost one revive for that week. However, his EXP did not decrease, and that might have been due to him dying under special circumstances.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. In the past, when he was playing other virtual online games, NPCs did not care about any special abilities that players possessed, which caused many people complained about it. Players who were more creative had even thought of dissecting these people to study them. He could not believe this was happening in Galaxy.
Cyberlos witnessed the whole procedure where Electrolux vanished and then reappeared again. It happened in a split second, and the blood stains could still be seen on the operation theatre.
“You… No, what kind of creature are you?” Cyberlos’ eyes lit up.
Electrolux suddenly felt like pulling a prank. What will happen if I tell the truth?
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“The world you live in is just a game. I am just a player…”
To his shock, Electrolux realized that anything he tried to say became gibberish. He was unwilling to give up trying, but he realized that if he wanted to reveal any information about the real world, the system would change his words.
Cyberlos shook his head. “It is the same as the hypnosis record, all nonsense.”
Electrolux was shocked to find out that NPC could tell the uniqueness of a player. This must have been coded by the developer in an attempt to simulate more realistic characters.
It’s so real. Electrolux was shocked. It made him felt as if the NPC was a real person. Galaxy is such a realistic game.
He finally understood the name for Galaxy 1.0 edition. The developer wanted to allow the players to become Adventers, to be the first people to experience another realistic world. Therefore, they did not allow the players to reveal truths of the reality in case they ruined the realistic feeling. He then remembered an old online game. There were also two camps of players, and the players from different camps were not allowed to communicate. It seemed to be called the world of the beast.
“It must be like that!” Electrolux exclaimed.
Even if he knew that the reactions that NPCs gave to the players were simulated, he was very impressed. Aside from his responsibilities as a professional player, Electrolux had formed great interest in Galaxy. He was even anticipating what would happen next. There would be more and more players, how would these NPCs react?
The guards brought Electrolux back, and Cyberlos stayed in the laboratory and collected blood traces on the operating table. The results of the test were so different from ordinary people, causing his eyes to flicker with curiosity.
“Let’s say this occurrence is the appearance of an alien phenomenon. But why is this phenomenon occurring here, and why has it spread? Most of the aliens appear out of thin air, and there are no database records, unless there is a birth of a new civilization? Could there be a projection from another intelligent species?”
Cyberlos turned on his computer and brought up a highly confidential file. He verified using his fingerprint, his iris, and a password, which was changed on a daily basis, before opening a document—The Universal Treaty (7th revised edition). Aquamarine came into contact with the Kedolas civilization and had attained more knowledge. The Germinal Organization had a copy of this treaty as well.
It was stated on the treaty that a projection from a high-level civilization would occasionally interfere with a low-level civilization. The special characteristics of not dying was similar to the description of the projection technique on the treaty. If this was true, this would be the invasion of an advanced civilization. No, for the entity to invade, it would not be so troublesome. A logical explanation would be Aquamarine had become a testing ground for a certain civilization. Cyberlos was not angry at all. In fact, he was very excited by the unexpected phenomenon.
If the number of aliens continued increasing, the pattern of Aquamarine would have a drastic change with this characteristic of not dying.
The aliens can be brainwashed and are very subservient, but when asked about their place of origin, they talk nonsense, and this could be an instinctive reaction for them. This definitely requires more experimental evidence.
The transmission of this alien phenomenon was unknown, and it was impossible to determine if it was contagious or not. The results of the test were normal, and the occurrence for this phenomenon could not be explained—it could be an unique ability, disease, or genetic mutation.
The interesting thing was that no abnormal sleeping habits had been observed. From time to time, the disappearance could be the ‘sleeping mode’ of the aliens. Some aliens had other abilities, their strength was weak, and they seemed to have potential for other unknown reasons.
Is the appearance of aliens long term or short term? Will the numbers continuously increase? Is there a possibility of the beast infecting the aliens? In the long run, there seems to be some danger with this alien phenomenon, and it is necessary to implement some preventive measures as early as possible.
Writing down his conclusion, Cyberlos handed the report over to his leader. His leader’s worldview was also slightly affected, but fortunately, he was determined. Due to a huge variety of Espers around, even the average person was very resilient, so they were used to all kinds of strange phenomenon.
“The Six Nations will notice the aliens sooner or later. With this phenomenon occurring, the fact that they are our enemy is not as important. They will definitely contact the interstellar civilization to ask for the reasons of this occurrence and will have no time to set off a war. Which means, we’ll have time to breathe.”
The leader was very curious about the appearance of aliens, but he was unable to contact the interstellar civilization. However, he noticed an important problem—the aliens could actually be brainwashed, and they were very obedient!
Thus, he reached the natural conclusion.
“They are natural cannon fodder!”
Andrea mainland was the territory of the Germinal Organization, and the leader ordered people to bring back research specimens to brainwash. There were also aliens appearing in the other three continents. It was a pity that the sub-bases had been uprooted, and no one was around to capture them. The leader only realized now that they had lost an opportunity all because of Zero. He was so angry that his teeth ached, and he even wanted to make use of the ‘Son of Destiny’ to lock onto the position of zero, but he had not yet made the decision to take the risk.
I don’t know how the interstellar civilization views this phenomenon, is this rare or common?
…
There were four new novice villages in the Western Continent, and public beta had been open for more than twenty days. The average level of the players had also reached LV 10, so Han Xiao was prepared to include the [Energy Training Technique] into the list of skills. The asking price was 10,000 experience and 3,000 Aquamarine Dollars. Some players were able to afford it.
The plane had landed in Fabian’s main base on the Western Continent, and as the climate of the Western Continent was very cold, Han Xiao felt uncomfortable when he first breathed in the air.
These few days, he created the parts of the python armor using the skeleton formed by the PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber. It looked like thick black tights, and the outer layer was like muscles. Han Xiao tried it on once, and it was light. He had found his physical attributes improved. For example, when throwing a punch, the fibers would stretch and twist in the direction of the punch, increasing the strength of the attack. It was similar to getting a new set of muscles and tendons, but this was more flexible, and the user could do whatever they wanted.
In the debugging stage, it was necessary to prevent the loss of power with other materials. Han Xiao had spent quite a bit of experience, using [Advance Materials Science] with other knowledge, to attain certain materials.
The power system was the most critical for the mecha frame. The ‘Bonfire’ Mini Reaction Furnace was another equipment for advancement. The seller seems to be in the Western Continent, so Han Xiao had chosen to come here.
A mecha was a quick way to improve combat power, and as long as he could create the Python-Lightweight Mecha, his combat power could increase by a huge jump.
I’ll go to the novice village and collect some experience first.
Han Xiao marked the location on the map and handed it to the driver. At that instant, his cell phone buzzed. He opened it and turned out to be a message from the Blood Pact Society.
“Black Phantom, this is a reward from the Dark Net. Your mission is to sneak into the residence of a few Maple officials and leave certain documents there. Someone will meet you at the Western Continent and give you the documents you will need, including the specific information of the location and some Maple officials.”
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and called Bennett. “Hey, what are you up to?”
It was beneficial to know someone on the top as one phone call across could get him information.
“Maple does not want to provide assistance, and it is because these few officials are getting in the way. You know the situation over in Maple—we would be touching the treasury of these officials, so they are fiercely opposing us.”
“What assistance?” Han Xiao raised an eyebrow as he had an inclination.
“I have yet to mention to you, but the organization is planning a large-scale project—shelter. There was originally a year to plan, but as the war is about to start, we can only push forward with the plan and request aid from all the countries. Only Maple has rejected.”
Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. The shelter plan had started early. With his relationship to the Dark Net, he was confident in the plan and asked an obvious question, “What is the shelter plan? Do you need my help?”
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“I will tell you the details when you return to the Southern Continent, and yes, I need your help…” Bennett paused. “Stardragon first promised to render their help, and the reason was you taking part in the battle of the Tedramira River. I owe you a favor.”
“Just give me a few small benefits.”
Bennett laughed. “This is exactly what I expected from you, let’s talk more when you return to Southern Continent.”
After ending the phone call, Han Xiao read the reward detail and triggered the mission.
_____________________
You triggered Level C mission [Deterrent intimidation]!
Introduction: Some of Maple’s officials are corrupt, and it is time to let them know that holding on to the money bags will only get them bullets. We are not robbers, but we do not mind occasional guest appearances.
Mission Requirements: Enter the residence of five targeted officials and the evidence of the Dark Net.
Rewards: 120,000 experience, 500 Dark Net reputation
_____________________
Without the special reward, it is just an ordinary task. I’ll just get it done and over with. Han Xiao nodded.
The transport plane took off with Han Xiao after a refueling. A few hours later, they arrived in a new novice village. It was not easy to find the airport in the wilderness. However, as the gyroscopic engines were equipped on the wings of the transport aircraft to provide vertical lifting power, it was safe for the plane to take off on the runway. The pilot was a veteran as well.
If Han Xiao did not have the discounts as an old customer, the price of chartering flights would have been several times more expensive. This connection was very important as it saved him a lot of money.
After using the Electromagnetic Hover-boots for a while after he alighted from the plane, Han Xiao soon reached the novice village. The players there were doing their missions passionately, and upon seeing the Black Phantom, they were stunned and gushed toward him.
…
Poseidon, a member of the Guild of Gods, hummed a song as he scanned through the forum posts. President Jupiter did not bother too much about the Rank A mission, and the development of the guild was on the right track.
In the second issue of Galaxy Times, the group had invited a beautiful e-sports player, the head of the rainstorm club, Rainy Kim. She shared her experience on the show and introduced Stardragon.
She had joined the Tedramira River Battle, so she revealed some information, including news of the Germinal Organization. After Jupiter learned that the Germinal troops from the Southern Continent had disappeared, he lost hope for the A-rank mission. Dark Crow Valley Base had also been removed; thus, he concentrated on coordinating the guild and expanded toward Southern Continent’s side.
In the second episode of Galaxy Times, professional players from different planets were invited for an interview, and these players had joined different camps on the map, allowing the players to attain more knowledge of the different planets. The conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization revealed the main plot to the players of Aquamarine.
Since the start, Poseidon had never approved of the Germinal A-rank mission; he felt that it would distract the group. Fortunately, Jupiter turned his back and gave up on the A level mission. In turn, the professional guild saw this mission and allowed the players to challenge this difficult task, thus handing over the task to the team.
After the discussion, they selected a player from Andrea Mainland to find the Germinal Organization and trigger the A-rank mission. The guild also provided resources and intelligence support to help the player complete the task. If anyone succeeded, the guild could have one more potential account, and there no losses even if they do not succeed.
The players were the face of the guild, and their status was higher than that of the guild. The first-line player was also famous as Poseidon asked him for a few signatures, which made him very happy.
The guild was pleased with the A-rank mission they triggered during the novice period and gave away some prizes.
The guild had passed the unlucky period, and Poseidon was in a good mood.
Speaking of the development of the guild, the Black Phantom could not go unmentioned. Since most of them were born in the Southern Continent, with the support of the Black Phantom, they benefited in one way or another. The Black Phantom only appeared in the Southern Continent, which gave the players a huge advantage, and the guild benefited a lot.
Many opponents were born in other continents, and with the guild in front, the situation was very good.
Looking at the jealousy and envy that the old player had, the members of the guild had a sense of superiority.
Suddenly, the forum started having lots of new posts published by Aquamarine. The content could be summarized in one sentence.
“Black Phantom is coming to the Western Continent!”
Poseidon snorted and hurriedly clicked and viewed a post. After reading it, he began sweating.
Don’t tell me Black Phantom is running around every single Novice Village.
If this was to be true, everyone simply had to wait patiently, and the advantages of being in a guild would vanish.
Poseidon hurriedly informed the president and other core members in the channel. They were equally shocked.
Jupiter was extremely calm. “We can’t say things like that. We learned some skills earlier than others and were able to finish quests much earlier. There are bound to be some advantages for joining us. NPC’s actions can’t be controlled. Don’t try to force things.”
Upon hearing what the president had said, everyone calmed down. Poseidon glanced at the forum again and suddenly screamed, “What the… come look at this post!”
“What?” Jupiter doubted the post. It was a screenshot of Han Xiao’s skill list, and the focus was on an [Energy Training Method]. Seeing the skill’s effect, everyone was stunned.
“Magical!”
Energy was a key attribute. It directly affected combat strength. And with the novice players’ energy being so poor, they were usually unable to support an Esper’s consumption. Espers needed this skill for sure!
Jupiter was an Esper. He turned jealous and suddenly realized a serious problem. “Wait a moment. When we were in the Southern Continent, Black Phantom did not teach us this skill!”
Everyone stood silent.
Could it have been that when the Black Phantom was going to the Novice Village, he would give better things to them? In that case, wouldn’t players in the Southern Continent be disadvantaged?
This isn’t advantageous at all! It’s way more unlucky!
Among the core members of Guild of Gods, there was a player named Eggtama.
This unlucky feeling… Why is it so familiar…? It’s returning! Everything is returning!
…
On the forum, Western Continent players were as if they were dogs that had eaten Spring medicine, jumping up and down, posting their videos, and showing off. They, who had been always on Southern Continent for so long, finally had something to show off. It was now the Southern Continent’s players’ turn to suffer. What they originally thought was exclusively theirs was actually given to everyone.
In particular, seeing the new skills taught by Black Phantom, the [Energy Training Method], the Western Continent players were extremely overjoyed and made the Southern Continent players very tired and uncomfortable.
What goes around comes around, and it was time for the players on the Southern Continent to watch in jealousy.
“Such luck, why didn’t Black Phantom have this skill before?”
“I want to learn it so much.”
“Isn’t he a mechanic instructor? He has such awesome skills! Even though I’m an Esper, I’m tempted, too!”
Beyond the posts that were either showing off or complaining, Black Phantom appeared in the Western Continent, and this had gotten all the players to start guessing. He seemed to aim to go through all the novice villages. Could Black Phantom actually have been the official novice guide? But other novice planets did not have one. The guesses were endless. Furthermore, there were players from other novice planets coming over to Aquamarine’s forum to complain of unfairness. The novice guide broke the levelled playing field for many, but their voices would soon be overwhelmed by the everyone else.
Players from the Northern Continent and Andrea were the ones that greatly supported this statement. Looking at the movements of Black Phantom, they could very well be the next one, and they could not wait to bring themselves in front to the Black Phantom.
Do you see the huge anticipation in these small eyes of ours? Come on, hurry!
The Western Continent’s players were almost celebrating like it was a festival; some of them who were about to leave the novice village to explore the map immediately reverted back to where they were upon hearing the news of Black Phantom. They hurriedly returned to their villages, waiting for the Black Phantom’s arrival in great excitement.
[Energy Training Method] became a craze. Not only were some players wanting to change class, even Esper came to learn the skill. While the asking price was very high, this magical skill was worth selling one’s every asset for!
Esper players desperately needed to increase their Energy, and to them, the [Energy Training Method] was like a Viagra pill. It allowed them to last much longer, and the difference was between that of a three minute and three second gap. Whilst short, the concept was totally different. This was the difference between one and many, between Heaven and Earth!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao had already foreseen this type of situation; in the first advancement, everyone would learn [Energy Training Technique]. However, the players were unaware that for players at LV 8 or 9, this was a magical skill. The added strength exceeded whatever the player received for their upgrade. Also, some players did not advance in their main class; hence, they would need a skill that provided energy even more.
Aquamarine was the main planet for all the Chinese players. Han Xiao imparted a skill that all players were bound to learn, and while it might seem like he was scamming the players, that was not the case. It was important to note that obtaining a slight advantage in the early stages would enable one to snowball and grow stronger.
In other words, Han Xiao allowed the LV 10 players to acquire the skills that were only available at LV 20. This way, his actions were equivalent to a win-win situation.
Not only did he earn extraordinary amounts of EXP, he also enabled the Chinese players to gain an advantage over other planets’ players.
Perfect.
Han Xiao was pleased with his plan. Why would he scam the players? All those perceptions were people’s prejudices and misunderstandings toward him. He really loved his motherland; thinking back to the past when his father almost named him Patriotic Xiao, but under the authority of the tigress in the house, his father changed to his current name, Han Xiao.
[Energy Training Technique] required 10,000 EXP to learn, and the thought of the potential profits made his heart beat wildly. Only when the players advance for the first time would he then be able to impart [Energy Training Technique] and reap the profits. This was kind of a reckless deal; he would take whatever he could. Looking at the player’s degree of enthusiasm, Han Xiao felt that the EXP he received in Version 1.0 would be an astronomical number.
While he was busy with the Western Continent novice village, Bun-hit-dog finally released the first episode in the forum.
Galaxy’s Exploration Journal: Black Phantom (1)
…
Bun-hit-dog had a bit of a reputation, and the moment the video was released, his die-hard fans and curious passersby immediately clicked into it.
“Finally, this should be spicy!”
“A surprise release!”
“The subject is Black Phantom. Is Bun-hit-dog on his team now?”
The program was released in the forum’s video section. The forum was not for tasteless gossiping only—it had other functions. In order to allow the players to pass the time while playing the game, the video traffic was huge, and with the addition of old viewers watching, the number of viewers increased quite a lot.
The opening titles consisted of the promo edit and some screenshots of the scenery before the video began. The first thing that appeared was the third person’s perspective of Bun-hit-dog. This was the game’s pre-installed viewing function, which could also be used to examine the exterior. The background was Black Pine Settlement. Bun-hit-dog waved in the direction of the camera, and his opening line was a soliloquy.
“The everlasting world produced Yin and Yang, the Yin and Yang that comes of all living things. The country’s benefits are at the cost of my life, and every moment of spring is precious. Welcome to Galaxy’s Exploration Journal, I am Bun-hit-dog.”
The barrage was filled with ridicule.
“What is this dumb soliloquy‽”
“I read a line of the poem at that time, if…”
“How confident I am in unifying my country is just like how the sun rises from the East, divine toad requires a thousand years to learn!”
Bun-hit-dog continued in the show. “There hasn’t been a new upload in a long time. Being the first episode of the Galaxy series, I’ll video a character’s perspective and let everyone have a taste of my expedition. This character left a lot of impressions on the players—Mechanic Master, Novice Leader, Mysterious NPC, Secret Quest. Presumably, the audience in front of the screen is curious about the identity of this character. That’s right, he is the person in the title—Black Phantom!”
“Wow, awkward talking time, I salute you!”
“Finally…”
“That’s what we came for!”
The lens switched over to show Bun-hit-dog’s perspective. The official content began now.
The video content consisted of clips recorded by Bun-hit-dog, and it became different segments after rounds of editing. The special effects and the narration were then added on later. Bun-hit-dog used a humorous style, explaining the first encounter with Han Xiao where Han Xiao resisted a pack of wolves in Green Valley Ville and stopped the confrontation between two warlords. Bun-hit-dog showed the first person’s point of view while the narration began to analyze Han Xiao’s influence.
“In one sentence, Black Phantom exhibited his influence by moving the two warlords away with just his words. Before I begin with the analysis, I would like to introduce the identities of the two warlords…” The scene changed and arrived at Black Pine Settlement. Bun-hit-dog introduced Lu Cheng, who was the leader of this large-scale settlement. He possessed a huge army and tons of war chariots. Then, the topic changed.
“Lu Cheng possesses such great power, yet he was afraid of Black Phantom. Then, where exactly did Black Phantom’s influence originate from? Listen carefully to what I, Brother Bun, have to say.” He used Lu Cheng as bait to further the intrigue the audience had toward Black Phantom. The results were outstanding.
Frenzied Sword acted as an esteemed guest and appeared on this show. He analyzed Han Xiao’s identity in their conversation and slowly touched the tip of the iceberg of Han Xiao’s mysterious origins.
First, both revealed Black Phantom’s name, which seemed to be Han Xiao. Initially, in Stardragon Intelligence Agency, this was information that no one knew of, and in a flash, it captured everyone’s attention. The barrage became very sparse, and everyone was reading the content seriously.
Frenzied Sword had sucked up to Han Xiao during the beta-testing, but he was unaware of Han Xiao’s real identity. He only understood that Black Phantom belonged to Six Nations’ side. However, due to some reason, Black Phantom left Stardragon and joined the two organizations, the Dark Net and the Blood Pact Society. This information came from the [Extremely Fatal] powerful enemy—Liu Cheng. Even though he did not know the particulars of these two powers, he knew that they were huge backers, and they belonged to the high-ranking powers that players were unable to interact with currently. They were also among Black Phantom’s origin.
Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword also thought that the crucial reason that people were afraid of Black Phantom was because of his capability. With the players’ current rank, they were unable to see the high-ranking characters’ exact stats. However, they had witnessed Han Xiao killing other [Extremely Fatal] NPCs more than once, and based on that, they felt among the NPCs, Black Phantom’s capabilities were at the peak!
Becoming enemies with Germinal was Black Phantom’s current biggest displayed goal. Due to the lack of clues, they were unable to understand the reason behind Black Phantom and Germinal’s conflict. Frenzied Sword actually divulged the situation of the beta-testing. From beta-testing to public-testing, the game went through more than three months, and Han Xiao had taken on a new persona and become Black Phantom. The moment this information was released, it immediately evoked the audience’s curiosity.
What exactly did he experience that made him the Black Phantom today?
Everything was just assumptions without evidence. The show was unclear, and Bun-hit-dog’s real intention was to toss out this question to act as the show’s hook to attract the audience’s curiosity.
Continuing on, Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword discussed the Black Phantom’s actions of scouring novice villages and agreed that this was decisive evidence that Black Phantom was a novice leader. After twenty or so days of amusement, the players realized that the NPC’s actions and thoughts were very ‘real’, and Black Phantom would shock players consistently. For what reason would the Black Phantom interact with the players frequently and also involve himself in obvious plans? There had to be a reason, yet the show only mentioned it in passing.
Bun-hit-dog expressed that both he and Frenzied Sword had triggered Black Phantom’s secret quest, proving that he was able to shadow and report on Black Phantom. Also, he conveniently introduced all kinds of material benefits that they had received from Black Phantom, showing the scene where Han Xiao gifted Frenzied Sword two high quality firearms. They also followed Black Phantom and arrived at Black Pine, a map that was higher-ranked than a novice village and would issue missions with generous rewards.
The barrage was full of the material benefits being flaunted and the audience envied them to no end. Those who were able to trigger Black Phantom’s secret quests were the luckiest people!
“To hell with you, bastard!”
“Sigh…”
“I heard that holding your breath allows you to take in some of that luck. I…”
During the show’s ending, Bun-hit-dog said, “Black Phantom’s series currently only has one episode. The next episode might be of other content. After all, Frenzied Sword and I have been left behind in Black Pine. However, you don’t have to worry. I’ll continue to pursue and explore Black Phantom’s past life. Until then, I’ll see all you Dog Viewers in the next episode!”
The audience, who finished the episode in one breath, had just one thought.
Exciting!
The scene was Bun-hit-dog’s first-person perspective of exploring while the side explanation cut into Black Phantom’s angle, which introduced a lot of information that ordinary people were unclear of. It tossed out a lot of the world’s background and knowledge, and this answered many perplexing problems.
Furthermore, the style was relaxed, and the content was mind-blowing. It provided all kinds of interesting assumptions, and the audience was fully satisfied. They went on to recommend it on other forums, allowing more players to join in.
The subject matter of Bun-hit-dog’s first episode was well-chosen. Coincidentally, it was when Han Xiao visited the Western Continent and allowed everyone to know of his existence. It was a hot topic; Bun-hit-dog’s video became extremely popular, and the viewer count surged.
The first episode went completely viral!
Bun-hit-dog was pleasantly surprised. His choice of this episode’s subject proved to be a correct decision.
The video became popular because of Han Xiao’s popularity, and not only that, it added greatly to Han Xiao’s reputation.
Everyone’s impression of Han Xiao in their hearts gradually moved from a Mysterious Merchant and Skills Trainer to an influential NPC. Guessing his origin gradually became an everyday topic.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Other than the reconciliation of interests, some players had another mindset toward NPCs, which was admiration and adherence. This mindset came from the love toward a certain character, the popularity of the character, or players being fascinated by what the character had been through, which formed a group of fans for these NPCs. The classic examples of these are ‘Dragonborn’, ‘Chloe von Einzbern’, ‘Medivh’, ‘One Punch Man’, ‘Kratos’, etc.
By gaining admiration and love from players, the players might behave in a biased way toward the characters when making certain decisions, such as refusing to accept missions from the enemy camp or following popular NPCs to war. Ladies, weirdos, and overly powerful characters had congenital advantages in such things—Han Xiao was confident in that.
However, without real benefits, this kind of relationship based solely on admiration would not have any real meaning. To have players fight for him, perks and benefits were a crucial requirement. He knows how the players behaved; they might help out an NPC out of enjoyment, but only for a short period and would leave sooner or later if the player did not get any benefits from it.
Luckily, his plan consisted of both benefits and popularity, killing two birds with one stone.
Han Xiao has also watched Bun-hit-dog’s video, which was exactly what he had hoped for—to gain the curiosity and interest of players by sending out a video with some clues in it.
The information flow between players and NPCs was restricted; they both had a different set of intelligence at hand, so leaking out his real name was not an issue.
The Germinal Organization knew that he was Zero and might even know the original name of his body, Han Xiao, but they did not know he was Black Phantom and Han Xiao
Stardragon knew that he was Han Xiao and Zero, but they were not sure if he was Black Phantom.
Players knew that he was Black Phantom, his name was Han Xiao, and he served the Stardragon before, but they did not know he was Zero.
Oh, players have yet to receive any information on ‘Zero’.
Dark Net only knew him as Black Phantom.
Every organization only had a fraction of the information, and if his true identity was exposed one day, he would just have to change his face, and nothing would happen. He could even increase his legendary level by the time he was strong enough and choose to reveal all his identities.
Since the official launch, Han Xiao’s name had always been on the top of the Planet Aquamarine forums, which made him quite well known. Just like celebrities, the more people that knew him, the easier it was for him to strengthen his impression on people.
The situation was going great for him, from what he had done and the help of various videos, his popularity was continually growing at a fast pace. But Han Xiao always has the habit of planning ahead. He had already started to feel an imaginary ceiling on the path of his increasing popularity.
Although the functionality of the game was praised by the players, it lacked interactive storylines, and the only way that could make players actively want to interact with him was through the main storyline. Therefore, Han Xiao decided to take on one of the main storylines from Bennett.
After going to two more novice villages, Han Xiao decided to take some time off so that the players could get some money, and he could have some time for himself to do other stuff. At the top of his ‘to do’ list would be to get the Bonfire Mini Reaction Furnace.
He called Lei Zhenyu to ask where the seller wanted to carry out the deal, and he gave him the seller’s number
“Greetings,” the person on the phone said. It was an electrical generated fake voice, so he could not figure out the age nor the gender—it was very confidential.
“How are we going to carry out the deal?” Han Xiao was very straight to the point.
“In three days. In a moment, I will send you the location. Bring your money, and I will bring the stuff,” the person said.
“Okay, I will get one of my men to carry out the deal,” Han Xiao replied.
Ten seconds after hanging up the call, Han Xiao received a message.
‘Severus, the city near the border of Ordina.’
…
Financial organizations and families were deeply rooted in Ordina, so it was filled with competition and very clear class differentiation, as the country’s policies were focused on the elites. Every city felt grand and solemn, and the regular rainfall created a light fog that made it look gloomy.
It was drizzling in Severus. The weather was damp and bleak, which suited the atmosphere of the city.
In a residential flat that had been made into a surveillance room that was connected to every traffic cam within three streets, a dozen or so men wearing black were busy doing something. Some were checking on the guns, some were looking at the surveillance screens, and some were going through the intelligence.
This was an intelligence action group in Ordina, together with six other action groups, which locked down three more areas nearby.
The agents gathered around to capture an escaped criminal who had stolen classified country intelligence. The target had been on the run for many years, and they had finally found a lead that he would appear in Severus to carry out a deal with a third party.
The intelligence source was trustworthy; it had come directly from the information division. They had hacked into countless phone lines and were able to pick out a few that were suspected of being important calls from the target.
“Continue your surveillance. Snipers get ready; take down the target once he meets the dealer. The higher-ups suspect that the target is dealing with a political finance organization, so we need evidence,” the leader of the mission said through their earpiece. “The target is quite crafty. You’re our last level of insurance Mr. Mag. Please be ready to act at all times.”
“Yes,” he replied in a very cold tone.
Mag was one of Ordina’s aces; his position was similar to Mo Ran’s. The fact that even he had been sent to ensure the completion of the mission showed how important this mission was to Ordina.
…
Airplanes were not allowed to dock at Ordina; therefore, Han Xiao travelled by Electromagnetic Hover-boots for a day after alighting to reach Severus.
Wanderers entering the city formed a long queue at the border of Severus while the soldiers of Ordina were patrolling the area. Their equipment was more refined than that of Stardragon, and their expressions were covered by a tactical mask.
Everyone was silent in the team, with the only sound coming from their food steps.
The deal will be carried out in Severus, Han Xiao thought to himself. He had already changed his clothes and appearance, but his equipment was still with him. He would be looking for a beating if he went in the official way, so he had to be smuggled in.
With enough money and threatening from his gun, the smuggling process was smooth. Just like mankind never being able to kill all cockroaches, there would always be such smugglers no matter how tight security was at the border.
…
Han Xiao’s clothing covered him from head to toe as he had to hide his equipment, and he carried a large backpack with his guns.
Light rain poured on his raincoat, and hiding under the cap was a different face that Han Xiao had changed into. The reminder from Antonio made sense, and he did not want to mess up this deal, so there was no way he would’ve appeared with the face of Black Phantom or his true face.
The location was a cafe at the side of the road, seat seven.
As the buyer, if he did not arrive first, the seller might not even appear. Therefore, he sat at seat seven and looked around the cafe.
The radio was playing slow music, and he could see the fog outside the windows, it was quite soothing. Half of the seats were filled; some were drinking quietly, and the others were looking at the newspaper or their laptop. The arrival of Han Xiao did not attract any attention, and they carried on doing what they were doing.
It was normal and peaceful.
Han Xiao called the server and ordered a cup of coffee while waiting for the seller.
He looked out the floor-to-ceiling window. People who seemed to be rushing home passed by quickly from time to time while carrying their umbrellas, and a few men at the other side of the road were hiding from the rain while playing with their phones. The drizzling rain fell from the ceiling and formed a puddle at the side of the street.
Han Xiao looked normal as he lowered his head to sip his coffee, but he had noticed something unusual.
The guy reading newspaper sitting three seats away is breathing heavily and has a much higher heartbeat rate than normal. The woman drinking coffee at the bar is sweating at the side of her head. The man that passed by the floor-to-ceiling window had a very steady pace but slowed down on purpose for 30% when he passed by the window. The second person from the left hiding from the rain is stamping the floor with the back of his feet, which is a sign of worry and nervousness, Han Xiao thought.
At LV 55, his senses were at a very high level. Through the tiny details of movement and expression of normal people, he was able to figure out their emotional state.
Someone is monitoring the café—seller or third party? Could I be the target? I don’t think I’ve messed with anyone in Ordina…
The interface showed up when he notices the monitors.
_____________________
Mission Introduction: The mysterious seller you’re having a deal with is an outlaw of Ordina. Your deal with him has diverged. Unlucky for you, you’re now also under surveillance, dragged into a storm that does not concern you.
Mission Requirement: Run away from Ordina’s pursuit.
Reward: 65,000 experience
Bonus Reward: Unknown
_____________________
I have been so damn unlucky recently. Han Xiao was upset. All he wanted to do was get the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, but it seemed like he was now involved in a rather serious event. Could things not just be peaceful and easier for him?
The item was very important to Han Xiao; it was the core of mechanical suit. He did not want to give it up just because of a small risk. He was already involved anyways, and even if he left right now, they would still have their eyes on him, so he decided to stay put for the moment and react accordingly.
Atlas Studios
Editor:Atlas Studios
After a few minutes of waiting, a man wearing a pair of sunglasses, a hat, a dark green coat, and a scarf covering the lower half of his face came into the cafe and sat opposite Han Xiao. He placed the metal suitcase that he was carrying on the table, looked at Han Xiao, and did not say a word.
The seller knew that the buyer was Black Phantom, but Han Xiao was using a different face.
Han Xiao and the seller stared at each other for a while and confirmed the other party's identity in silence—strangers would not have stared at each other for this long without saying a word. The seller entered the passcode and turned the open suitcase toward Han Xiao.
Inside the suitcase was a doughnut-shaped small device with its wires exposed outside. The exterior was coated in metal, with an intruding cylinder in the cross section and dim red lights flashing through the gaps. This was the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, an energy core that was able to generate electricity automatically from solar and condensed fuel. It was also a piece of superhuman equipment as energy could be turned into fuel as a power source.
A rechargeable battery was a core material for mechanical suits; it eliminated the need and trouble of battery supplies.
Just imagine having to change batteries in the middle of a fight.
Han Xiao confirmed it was the real thing with his hands, took out his laptop, sent the money to the seller in a flash, and immediately said, "Run!"
Without waiting for the seller's reaction, Han Xiao shoved the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace into his backpack and stood up suddenly, he took out his Berserk Eagle and shot many times at the people that he had previously confirmed to be monitoring him.
Ordina agents took action as soon as the deal was completed, but Han Xiao was a second quicker, he had the upper hand!
The firepower within ten meters from a gun with such high caliber was comparable to a sniper, so all the monitoring agents who got shot flew backwards.
Although the agents were well trained and wore bulletproof vests, they were just normal soldiers. On the other hand, Han Xiao was a LV 55 Mechanic, so his guns were strengthened, and he had all kinds of skills that further increased their power. One shot was enough to make the agents lose their fighting ability and put them in a critically injured state.
Without any hesitation, the seller broke through the floor-to-ceiling window and ran with all his might. He was a superhuman, too, as he covered a few meters each step he took.
To divert the numbers of the enemy, Han Xiao ran in another direction.
"Damn it, who is this buyer!" The Ordina mission commander burst into a rage as he did not expect the buyer to be strong enough to notice the danger beforehand. This had caused the plan to be interrupted. He ordered the agents and the soldiers to split up to chase them separately.
Han Xiao splashed water across the streets as he dashed across the puddles with high speed.
As countless footsteps closed in on Han Xiao, agents appeared from the streets around and started shooting at him. The people on the street ran away screaming.
The magnetically-controlled retractable armor that Han Xiao had just equipped reflected the bullets away. He slid across the battlefield with a gun in both hands and shot at any agent who exposed their head. Naturally, he did not miss a single shot.
Suddenly, Han Xiao felt a pull on his feet. He looked down and saw something water-like wrapping around his calf, slowing down his speed.
Glancing at the information of the enemy on the interface, Han Xiao saw that it was an Esper around LV 30.
As Han Xiao's speed slowed down, two Pugilist agents used the opportunity to dash out from the roadside and started attacking him with energy covered fists and legs.
The flames vaporized the rain and created a white fog, which obstructed the view of the agents.
Han Xiao has no intention of fighting in Ordina against their own agents, so he tore apart the water wrapped around his calves by turning his Electromagnetic Hover-boots to full capacity and backed away from the enemy Esper controlled area as quickly as he could.
It was at this moment that he heard the sound of engines as two enormous black police vehicles dashed out from the intersection. The vehicles splashed the water in an arc with a drift and stopped in front of Han Xiao, facing him sideways and blocking the path.
High caliber guns extended out from inside the windows as they rolled down and shot Han Xiao at the same time. The firepower was so strong that it created sparkles out of the muzzle for an astonishing half meter.
As the bullets expanded in his sight, Han Xiao got hit head-on. These guns were high caliber assault rifles, and some of them were shotguns that had knock-back effects. Although he had armor on, he still stumbled from the bullets.
Information of the enemies appeared on the interface; they were Ordina's Special Operations Unit.
Han Xiao made a sharp change in direction and slid over the roofs of the two vehicles with his Electromagnetic Hover-boots. The soldiers in the vehicles alighted hastily to fire at him, but the bullets could not catch up to him and left a trail of holes on the walls of the building. Han Xiao took out a sonic grenade, pulled out the pin with his teeth, and threw it in between the vehicles.
The soldiers split out hurriedly, trying to find cover, but the sound waves from the sonic boom were not obstructed by their cover. The force spread out, and the entire special units fainted immediately. Han Xiao burst their tires and left at a stroll.
Ordina had a lot of men around the area. No matter how Han Xiao tried to get rid of the pursuit, there will always be another car at the front of his path. He shot down the traffic cams, took detours, used his Electromagnetic Hover-boots to climb over walls and buildings, outran the soldiers time and time again, but there were always cars stopping him.
How were they able to always find me?Han Xiao thought, then suddenly, he realized something. As he turned back to look up the sky while sliding, he discovered three drones that were following him. No wonder they knew where he was!
He took out Red Falcon and shot them down with one bullet each.
Ordina's mission commander bashed the table in anger. The other team had already lost the seller. Han Xiao was the only target left, but he was too difficult for his men to catch.
"Mag, take him down!"
…
Having successfully escaped from the last few cars, Han Xiao jumped across the gaps between buildings and looked for a hidden place to change his face and clothes. Suddenly, bullets from a shotgun exploded on his back as smoke and flames broke out.
Han Xiao got knocked straight into the wall, and shattered bricks fell to the floor.
The close range explosion had made Han Xiao lose his hearing for a little. He got rid of the dust on his head and looked up with a frown. A man was standing at the top of a building. He had all kinds of equipment on him—a bulletproof vest, waterproof clip belts, four handguns around his waist and thighs, a sniper rifle and two different assault rifles hanging behind his back, and a shotgun in his hands with smoke coming out of the muzzle.
The damage from one shot exceeded the damage of common firearms. Han Xiao looked at the interface, and surprise appeared on his face.
A Cannon Master?
_____________________
You have entered combat. You have received the following information.
_____________________
Mag Lesley
Level: 56
Class: [Agent Lv10], [Elite Agent Lv9], [Eagle-Eye Shooter Lv11], [Novice Mechanic Lv10], [Cannon Master Apprentice Lv10], [Cannon Master Trainee Lv6]
Attributes: 54 Strength, 131 Dexterity, 65 Endurance, 146 Intelligence, 17 MYS, 11 Charisma, 13 Luck.
Health: 1900/1900
Stamina: 940
Energy: 1230
Abilities:
- Well Trained: +100 Health
- Strengthened Body: +400 Heath, +4% Abnormality Resistance
- Sharp Eyesight: Increased field of vision, +20% Accuracy, +13% Ranged Critical Chance
- Mechanical Professional: +18% Damage When Using Mechanical Weapon
- Gun Master: +1% Ranged Damage per 5 Dexterity
Skills:
[Explosive Shooting Lv5]
[Moving Snipe Lv4]
[Cannons and Flames Lv2]
[Pouring Ammunition Lv3]
[Basic Shooting Lv10]
[Accurate Shooting Lv8]
[Suppressed fire Lv5]
[Eagle-Eye Target Lock Lv1]
[Intermediate Machinery Affinity Lv8]
[Extra Clip Capacity Lv5]
Equipment:
[RX-108 Assault Rifle]
Grade: White
Damage: 41 – 48
Fire Rate: 5.6/s
Active Range: 380m
Clip Capacity: 30
Power Output: 41
["Butcher" Assault Rifle]
Grade: Green
Damage: 71 – 85
Fire Rate: 3.4/s
Maximum Fire Rate: 5.7/s
Active Range: 350m
Clip Capacity: 24
Power Output: 49
["Tiger Claw" Shotgun]
Grade: Green
Damage: 20 – 187
Fire Rate: 1.5/s
Maximum Damage Range: 10m, damage decreases as range increases
Clip Capacity: 8
Power Output: 48
[Synthetic Ceramic Bulletproof Vest]
Grade: Green
Ranged Defense: 24 – 26
Durability: 560
[Pox Handgun]
Grade: While
Damage: 34 – 40
Fire Rate: 2.5/s
Active Range: 80m
Clip Capacity: 12
Power Output: 28
[Grappling Hook Gun]
Description: Shoots a grappling hook
Range: 20m
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Mag was a Cannon Master, a second-tier class of the basic Mechanic class with very high damage. The better the weapon was, the greater the advantage they had. This was the first time that Han Xiao had fought a high-level enemy of his own class.
Every meter from a Cannon Master was a wall of obstruction, and the enemy was at the top of the building while Han Xiao was at the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao completed the analysis of the situation, the enemy, the nearby terrain, and the escape route.
Cannon Master, level 56, high damage but low HP. I have one chance of dealing explosively high damage, but killing him will not be easy. Their backup will arrive in no time if I’m stalled, and I don’t have enough supplies to deal with an outnumbered fight. I need to use the opportunity created by damaging him to escape, Han Xiao thought.
Blue lights flashed from his shoes, and he slid away.
“Trying to run?” Mag remained expressionless as Han Xiao ran away. He had noticed much earlier that the speed Han Xiao had was from his shoes, so he used his RX-108 assault rifle and shot with high accuracy. He knew that Han Xiao would not be able to escape if his shoes were broken.
However, a piece of magnetically-controlled retractable armor quickly covered the shoes and blocked the bullets.
That was close. Han Xiao was shocked. Luckily, he had been prepared and was able to react in time. Had his shoes been destroyed, the difficulty to escape would have been many times higher. Being attacked and not fighting back was not Han Xiao’s style. Whilst tactically retreating, he fired back at Mag with high accuracy on par with the latter, and three high caliber bullets hit Mag’s chest. Physical fitness was not Mag’s strength, and he could barely handle the power from the bullets. He endured the pain and followed after Han Xiao using his Grappling Hook Gun to move between buildings.
Mag had an advantage of having the high ground, so he used [Explosive Shooting] with his Tiger Claw shotgun and fired another shot at Han Xiao. The force of the explosion knocked Han Xiao into the wall once again.
Before Han Xiao could pull himself out of the wall, he felt a sense of danger and immediately covered his entire body with armor.
Mag stood on the ceiling with one assault rifle in each hand. He used [Moving Snipe] and [Pouring Ammunition] at the same time. The increased fire rate from both skills together turned the bullets into a storm raining down on Han Xiao, keeping him stuck on the wall. The holes in the wall turned to waves of dust, and the cracks grew even larger.
“He should be almost dead.” Mag was confident, this round of explosive damage that he had dealt with the combination of abilities and hundreds of bullets should have left the target almost dead, if not dead.
Dust filled the air and blocked the view inside the pit.
Hum—
A loud and weird sound appeared.
Suddenly, an invisible force field exploded on the wall, pushing away the rain and bullets, creating an area of empty space.
Field Repulsive Machine!
Using the repulsion from the machine, Han Xiao jumped out of the pit and remained stagnant in the air for a short moment. He held up the Phantom Ghost Sniper with one hand and aimed at Mag from afar, locking onto his position.
Time seemed to have slowed down.
Mag felt a chill down his spine. The gun gave him a piercing sense of coldness, and his intuition told him that it was extremely deadly. He tried to dodge as soon as he could, but Han Xiao fired his shot before he could dodge fully.
In the flash of blue light, Mag felt an irresistible force bursting on his chest. He was knocked into the air and rolled to the other side of the roof, barely grabbing the edge of the rooftop in the last second before falling down.
The pain from his chest hurt like hell. He looked down and saw a bloody hole on his right chest that penetrated his body through the bulletproof vest. Blood was gushing from within.
He shot through my lung… Mag was sweating heavily from the pain of the wound. Every time he took a breath, it felt like a knife was carving back and forth in his lung. He was shocked and frightened; the power from this shot was stronger than one of his even when he was at peak performance!
Where the hell did this extremely strong guy come from? And who was he? His explosive power was even superior to the Ace of Ordina, but Mag had never seen him before!
Had Mag not dodged, the bullet would have hit his eye.
He had ended up in this state even with a bulletproof vest. If he had been even half a second slower when he dodged…
Mag’s fear toward Han Xiao peaked.
_____________________
You destroyed Mag • Lesley’s [Synthetic Ceramic Bulletproof Vest].
You dealt 772 points of damage to Mag • Lesley.
Mag • Lesley has entered Moderate Bleeding state, losing 5 health/s for 60s.
Mag • Lesley has entered Penetrated Lung state, -10% Dexterity, -15% Movement Speed.
_____________________
This explosive shot was used with [Flaming Will] and [Overload], so the damage was frightening.
Han Xiao took a deep breath. For the first time, his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor was close to being destroyed; the damage from Mag’s storm of bullets had decreased it’s durability to the alarming zone of 100 points. If he had still been wearing the first version of it without all the improvements that he had made, it would have been destroyed.
Cannon Masters were known for their firepower. If Mag could get better firearms, his damage would have further increased.
To Mag, the fact that Han Xiao was still standing after all the bullets he had fired was already quite unbelievable.
If Han Xiao were to stay and continue the fight, he would almost certainly win, but he heard the engines from afar—their backup was here.
This is Ordina’s territory. I’ll be outnumbered easily by their countless men. Mag already knew my explosive damage, so his plan from now on will definitely be stalling me. I have already got my thing, so there’s no need for me to stay and fight. Running away now is the priority, Han Xiao thought to himself and retreated without hesitation.
Mag was still horrified by that shot from Han Xiao, so he acted with a lot of caution, firing a few shots and hiding into cover straight after. He seemed like a different man.
Han Xiao’s pressure decreased tremendously. While Mag was being cautious, he used [Overload] on his skating shoes, accelerating rapidly in a split second and disappearing from Mag’s sights.
Mag lost Han Xiao completely in the complicated streets of the city. He called his colleagues instantly to check on the cameras in the city, but Han Xiao was nowhere to be found. It was like he had vaporized.
The mission target was the seller, who was experienced in escaping after so many years of being chased, and because this buyer reminded the seller a second earlier, he had found a chance to escape from the agents. Thus, Mag could only go after the buyer, but despite being the Ace, not only did he not catch the target, he was even badly damaged. Anger and dismay filled his chest; failing the mission was like a slap on his face.
Ordina agents started searching the area, which expectedly lead to no result. They could only pass their recorded fighting video to the intelligence unit for analysis. However, although they did not have any hope that doing this would give them any valuable information, they surprisingly found someone who’s fighting style was the same as the buyer’s.
Black Phantom!
“They look completely different, but he might have worn a skin mask.”
“It all makes sense now. Only Black Phantom could disappear like a ghost!”
In the action command room, Mag was being treated by the doctor. His face was gloomy. He had heard of Black Phantom before, but as an Ace agent of an intelligence organization, he had looked down on assassins like Black Phantom. However, through this accidental clash with Black Phantom, despite being the pursuer, he had been defeated and critically damaged, unable to even follow the target. Mag felt ashamed.
No wonder he is a legend. The action commander did not blame Mag as failure was not unacceptable when the opponent was Black Phantom. The question was, why did Black Phantom come to the Western Continent? Did he have a deal with the outlaw they were following?
Ordina’s intelligence unit took the appearance of Black Phantom very seriously. They opened a meeting and told the hacker unit to play with the source of this information, which was the short call Han Xiao had with the seller about the deal location.
“Greetings.”
“How are we going to carry out the deal?”
“In three days. In a moment, I will send you the location. Bring your money, and I will bring the stuff.”
“Okay, I will get one of my men to carry out the deal.”
The last sentence was the key. The person that the buyer sent was astonishingly Black Phantom, which meant that the identity of the buyer was clear!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After running away from Mag’s sights, Han Xiao turned back to the direction that he had come from where the surveillance cameras were destroyed. He changed his clothes and the face on the skin mask, dived into the crowd, and escaped successfully.
He headed to the border, and just as he expected, the border was locked down as special operation units and scouts searched everyone who passed by.
Aren’t I so unlucky, getting into a fight with agents when I just wanted to buy some equipment? It seemed Antonio’s words had become the truth. He really met people from Ordina’s intelligence organization.
Their ability to extract information was undoubted, Han Xiao figured they would probably be able to sniff out that he was Black Phantom from his fighting style. Well, he had no choice since he was running for his life. Of course he had to not held back, or he would have been dead.
Why is it so tough to just keep a low profile? Han Xiao sighed. Exposing his identity was not going to affect him since nobody really knew who he was, but he felt like someone got into trouble because of that. Never mind, it was a small issue anyways.
At least Han Xiao got the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, he was contented.
Han Xiao knew where human smuggler was. The border being locked down would not obstruct him from smuggling himself out. Although the price increased, it was acceptable to him.
…
After going to a rural area in Severus and smuggling himself out of the city, one hour had already passed.
The rain had stopped. Replacing the clouds and fog, the sky was sunny and bright.
While on the road with his Hover-shoes, Han Xiao’s phone suddenly rang. It was from Bennett.
“Why did the Ordina intelligence organization call the higher-ups of my organization, asking for an explanation and even compensation‽ What the hell did you do on the Western Continent‽”
Bennet was at a loss for words; it felt like misfortune just fell down onto him from the sky out of nowhere.
Ordina showed him the evidence, which was the recording of the phone call, and Bennett could easily tell that the voice of the buyer was clearly Han Xiao.
Who in the world would say “Okay, I will send one of my men over” then go over himself‽ Even if you want to confuse others, at least don’t fight in such an obvious and unique style!
It’s very misleading you as*hole!
“Well, it was supposed to hide my identity, but it seems like that didn’t work. Anyways, don’t worry, it’s not a big issue. I only fought some Ordina people, beat up a few agents, and destroyed some a few building, nothing much. The people of Ordina were quite welcoming. By the way, the weather here is not good at all; it keeps raining and feels really gloomy. It’s not like the Southern Continent, where it feels like spring and is very comfortable. I prefer Southern Continent’s weather much more”
Bennett was stunned. “How did you change the topic so naturally to talk about the weather? Could your skills to change topic be any worse?”
Han Xiao laughed it off and said, “It was an accident, that’s all. I’ve got something to attend to, got to go.”
“You as*ho—”
Han Xiao hung up the call quickly before Bennett finished the sentence. Whew—That was definitely a misstep. Didn’t expect Ordina to be this angry. Did they really have to be?
_____________________
[Dragged In] Completed
You received 65,000 experience.
You completed the hidden requirement—stop Mag and help the mysterious seller to escape within three minutes.
_____________________
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and thought, So, this is the hidden requirement. Luckily, I didn’t leave the seller behind.
He had actually come up with two plans at the time, one was to not do anything and let the seller attract the attention of Ordina since he was not the target anyway. But he went with the other plan, which was to warn the seller.
Looks like I made the right choice. Han Xiao had a smile on his face. He had hoped the reward to not be experience anymore. Since there were already players, he was not in need of it.
_____________________
You received bonus rewards.
Character Summon Card: Dion.
LV 30 Special Dungeon Crystal, [Olayna Infiltration Plan]
+30 Relationship with Dion. Trading is now available.
_____________________
Dion? Han Xiao remembered with joy after thinking back for some time. Dion was a mysterious NPC on Planet Aquamarine; he was part of a hidden organization that kept a very low profile. Dion sold all sorts of rare supplies. He was like a hidden store, and there was no fixed mission for players to meet him. They had to pray to the Goddess of Fortune.
And even if players had the chance to take on the mission, if they did not fulfill the hidden requirement, they would also miss the opportunity.
So, he was the seller… Han Xiao was a little astonished.
His phone rang again. This time it was from the seller.
“My phone was tapped. I have settled it, so my calls will not expose any more secrets. I dragged you into this. I heard Mag also took part in the mission. If you did not warn me, I might not have been able to escape. I owe you one.”
“Since you are calling me, it means you wanted to repay me.” Han Xiao acted like it was not a big deal, but he was laughing with happiness on the inside.
“You can call me Dion,” the seller said. “Usually I don’t do business with new customers, but you’re an exception, I will give you 20% off everything”.
“Only 20%?” Han Xiao raised his tone. “Can you give a bit more.”
Dion was stunned. Should a legendary killer not be more… mysterious? He remained silent for a moment and replied, “20% is a very high discount already.”
“Fine,” Han Xiao said mockingly.
Not long after, Han Xiao received a message—the item list of Dion’s Store. There were many rare items, and some of them were likely even secret research documents of the Six Nations.
There were even high-tier machines, which included the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace and a few nanotechnology machines that he had seen before from Lei Zhenyu, who had also traded with Dion before.
Han Xiao was very delighted. He had a large sum of money earned from the two Novice Villages in Western Continent, which he could spend in any way he wanted to, and he was in need of new parts to build the Mech.
Quickly deciding with a few mechanical items, Han Xiao asked, “How do we make the deal?”
“Through a meetup, but this time at a rural area, in three days’ time. I will give you a location, and I will send someone to pass the stuff to you. My identity is rather sensitive, so I will not turn up due to my own safety. Please understand.
Han Xiao was pleased. He only had one step left to finish his Mech, and once he got the materials, he would be able to complete it.
Han Xiao hung up the call and paid close attention to the other two items that were part of the rewards—Character Summoning Card of Dion and a Lv.30 special Dungeon Crystal.
_____________________
Character Summoning Card: Dion
Ability: “You Can’t See Me” (D)—Lowers one’s sense of existence, making living or non-living things nearby have deviated sense when they are detecting him…
Usages: 0/2
_____________________
It is not an Esper power or pure invisibility but something like a power that adjusts one’s self to fit the surroundings. It is a unique power.
It seems to be quite useful, except its name was weird…
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He looked at the other item.
_____________________
Lv.30 Special Dungeon Crystal—”Olayna” Infiltration Plan
Introduction: Olayna is a secret research lab of Ordina. A few years ago, Dion infiltrated this facility and stole their military secrets, this will be your test.
Dungeon Type: Backwards Time Travel Dungeon
Player Completion Count: 0
Shortest Completion Time: 00:00:00
Record Holders: None
_____________________
The Dungeon Missions only appeared when inside the dungeon. Han Xiao guessed that it would require him to take on the identity of Dion and steal the secret documents just as Dion did.
Using Dungeon Crystal was risky for him, so he kept it unclaimed in the interface, considering selling it to players in the future.
…
Three days later, at the meetup location, two of Dion’s man were waiting in masks, carrying the items that Han Xiao had ordered. Han Xiao paid the money and got the things right at the spot; it went smoothly this time.
Going back to the cargo plane, Han Xiao opened the metal suitcase that he had received, which held the materials securely.
U9 Colloidal bulletproof Membrane, its functions had already been mentioned before.
‘Nerves’ Biological Transmission Cable increased energy efficiency, which led to a higher output. Using it in a mechanical suit would slightly increase its basic stats.
High-Speed Injection Module could be placed inside the mechanical suit to inject some potions, such as healing potion and steroids. He also bought some pain killer.
Han Xiao had studied enough blueprints, and now he had all the materials he needed, so he decided to self-create a mechanical suit.
To prevent distractions, he had the plane parked in a hidden place and stopped all other activists.
…
Five days later, with dark bags under his eyes, Han Xiao looked at the completed suit with a smile of relief.
It’s done.
_____________________
The scan is successful. You have successfully created a new prototype blueprint!
Please name the blueprint…
_____________________
Han Xiao contemplated for a while. This light mechanical suit was a knockoff of the Python, but many parts and modules were different from the original, so it suited his needs. He had an idea for a suitable name.
_____________________
Named Successfully, you received customized blueprint [Light Mechanical Suit—Viper]
_____________________
This is a good name. Han Xiao was satisfied.
Viper was a completely black combat suit. There were platinum alloy plates on the outside of chest, belly, thighs, and back. A little below the back of the neck was where the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace was slotted into, emitting a faint red light. Spaces between the armor were filled with U9 Colloidal Bulletproof Membrane, which had very high defensive power.
On the inside of the combat suit was PE-0 fiber that was designed to look like muscle outlines, which increased the user’s powers.
The helmet was a one-piece mask made of high breathability materials, which had a filtration device at the mouth made of metal and a “B” shaped protective goggles at the eyes. From the user’s perspective, the goggles had technical functions that listed out data scanned and captured from the battlefield.
There were also many weapon modules in the suit.
_____________________
Viper
Type: Single Unit Light Mechanical Combat Suit
Grade: White
Basic Stats:
– Armor 5600/5600
– Defense 137
– Power Level 578
– Energy 2600/2600
Height: 1.82m
Weight: 108 lb
Control Method: Body + Low-Class Smart Chip
Power Source: Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace – Self Charge
Recovers Energy at 20/min
Energy conversion rate from user: 10:6
Stationary Mode Energy Usage: 12/min
Combat Mode Energy Usage: 28/min
Core Power Capacity: 421/600
[Bone Structure Module: PE0 Nanotechnology Fiber]
Biological Muscle Inner Bone
Strengthens muscle when the user moves the body
Hardens muscle under attack
Increases Attributes: Strength +38, Dexterity +25, DEF +12
Power Output: 70
[Armor Plating Module: Platinum Alloy Plate]
Armor +1800
DEF +30
Power Output: None
[Armor Plating Module: U9 Colloidal bulletproof Membrane]
Armor +2400
DEF +45
Power Output: None
[Exterior Module: Optical Camouflage]
Reflects light to achieve invisibility to a certain extent
Power Output: 20
[Eye Module]
Combination of: Electrical Scanning, Thermal Vision, Night Vision
Display information in Technical Hologram Screen
Power Output: 25
[Right-Hand Module: Heating Hand Plate]
Produces a high amount of heat and deals continuous damage
Energy Cost: 1.2/s
Damage Level: 94
Power Output: 50
[Left-Hand Module: As above]
[Right-Wrist Module: Sunworm Mini Flamethrower]
Energy Cost 1/s
Damage Level: 98
Power Output: 50
[Left-Wrist Module: Field Repulsive Machine (Directional)]
Releases repulsive energy in an arc of 150° and 20m.
Cooldown: 30s
Energy Cost: 10 per use
Power Output: 60
[Leg Module: Electrical Hover Boots]
Energy Cost: 5/min
Power Output: 30
[System Module: Body Condition Check]
Power Output: 5
[System Module: Smart Fire Control System]
Aim Assist
Power Output: 5
[System Module: Target Analysis Database]
Power Output: 5
[Subsidiary Module: High-Speed Injection Needle]
Equipped: Pain Killer
Power Output: 10
[Subsidiary Module: Mini Spider Detector] * 8
Power Output: None
[Subsidiary Module: Electromagnetic Pulse Controller]
Applies [Excitement]
All Stats +5%
Duration: 15 mins
Energy Cost: 5 per use
Power Output: 10
[Subsidiary Module: SUI Anti-Radar Coating]
Power Output: None
[Subsidiary Module: Mini-Radar]
Power Output: 18
[Subsidiary Module: Air Filtration Device]
Includes Oxygen Storage Capability, can store up to 15 minutes worth of oxygen.
Power Output: 8
[Subsidiary Module: Thermostat]
Power Output: 10
[Additional Ability: Strong Capability]
During Combat, distributes energy to Biological Muscle Inner Bone,
Increases stats: Strength +40, Dexterity +20
[Additional Ability: Toughness]
Using Platinum Alloy and U9 Colloidal Bulletproof Membrane, gains high resistance against corrosion, high temperature, and other abnormal states.
[Remark: A successful knockoff]
_____________________
Finally, I have completed the mechanical suit. Han Xiao was excited. He had also received close to 20,000 experience from making it.
Viper was mainly used to increase the power of a single person and consisted of generally smaller modules. The power capacity was not full yet, so it could include more modules in the future if Han Xiao so desired.
Viper raised the combat power of Han Xiao to a whole new level, and it did not interfere with him using other guns, grenades, or weapons. This mechanical suit was a second combat tactic, which provided higher survival capabilities and increased all of his stats. If it was in combat mode, it would increase Han Xiao’s strength by more than two times.
Han Xiao now had a sniper at long range and mechanical suit at close combat. Furthermore, Viper was lightweight; it could be folded into a suitcase, and Han Xiao had his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor for when he was not wearing the mechanical suit.
I will have to test out its actual combat capabilities. Han Xiao decided on the next destination—it was where the tragedy of La Potter took place.
What convenient timing—killing the beast BOSS over there was also part of his plan.
…
The tragedy of La Potter occurred in a forbidden zone that was filled with wild beasts. The beasts in the area were strengthened by a mutation virus called ‘Death Virus’.
A group of mutated rhinoceroses galloped across the maroon earth. They were enormous and muscular, their bones bulged from the body like an armor, and the cone-shaped horns on their heads were shining like metal.
Above, an anaconda with two pairs of bat wings dashed across the sky toward a corpse. Suddenly, a tiny blue flower beside the corpse turned into a gigantic mouth and swallowed the anaconda whole before turning back to its harmless disguise.
“All the beasts here are mutated.”
At the exteriors of the forbidden zone, with serious expressions on their faces, Yan Dian and Ned were analyzing the situation through their binoculars. They were lone superheroes that had taken on a contract to enter the zone and search for a group of civilian explorers. This civilian exploring group had entered the forbidden zone and put themselves in such a dangerous spot all to investigate the source of the virus, which was very noble in the eyes of Yan Dian and Ned. Therefore, they had accepted the contract without hesitation.
“There has always been radiation in La Potter, which is the cause of virus mutation,” Ned said.
“From the last location report of the exploration group sent before losing contact, they went missing in a valley that is quite some distance from us.”
“There’s a lot of unknown danger inside. We’ll have to be careful.”
In this area, any large transportation tool would become an obvious target both on land and in the sky. Therefore, they walked in on foot as it was the safer option.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
On the other side of the forbidden zone, Han Xiao had arrived at his destination. The air was filled with a rotten smell and a hint of poison. The plants on the ground were mutated as well.
The spawn area is a little too huge. I don’t know where the Beast King is.
Han Xiao put down the metal suitcase, opened it, and donned the Viper mechanical suit. The hologram display had zooming functions and compiled data collected from many scanning modules, which provided more detailed information on the surroundings. There was also a radar at the top left side of the screen that could detect any signs of life within a radius of 500 meters. By increasing the power output, this radius could be improved to 1,500 meters.
The scanning module had plenty of useful functions. It could analyze the collected data from tiny signs and traces on the ground to determine the source of said traces, and it could also record previously unknown data into the database for future analysis.
The filtration device got rid of the rotten smell in the air. Han Xiao could hear himself breathing inside the suit, and the thermostat made him feel very comfortable in it instead of feeling stuffy.
He brought along some firearms and grenades that were all fixed into respective slots and firing tracks in the suit.
Han Xiao moved around to familiarize himself with the mechanical suit controls, then jumped into the zone with each step covering close to ten meters.
The suit was in standby mode, which used less energy than the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace generated, so the energy was always full.
The radar was active at all times. If it detected any being with strong vital signs, it could be the Beast King, and since the species of Beast King was random, even Han Xiao was uncertain of what species would it be.
After running for five minutes, a dozen or so vital signs appeared on the radar. The view from the hologram screen zoomed in like a sniper scope as Han Xiao gave the suit a voice command. The current controlling mode did not have nerve connection, only voice control for its various functions. The smart chip had voice identification and could analyze simple commands from Han Xiao; no one else could be able to use it.
At a few hundred meters away were a group of more than ten giraffe-like creatures with fearsome bone spurs, which clearly indicated they were not a tamed species. A few of the larger ones raised their necked and looked over to Han Xiao’s position; they seemed to have noticed him.
Stealth Mode.
Optical Camouflage was turned on, and the exterior of the mechanical suit turned into the same color as the surroundings like a chameleon. The gaps in the suit was also closed up, not letting out any scent.
The giraffe-like creatures shook their heads around but could not find him, so they lay back down.
If the level of the enemy was high enough, they would have been able to see through the camouflage, but these beasts were clearly far from that level. Han Xiao continued to move forward, searching for the target.
Two hours had gone by, and Han Xiao had already scanned dozens of mutated flora and fauna, which were all stored into the database. He had also fought a few beasts with various levels and vital signs to determine the approximate strength certain vital sign levels presented.
The highest leveled beasts that he had met was a pack of wolf-like beasts at LV 42, which was not his target.
The sun had set, and the night became more dangerous as howling filled the forbidden zone.
If Han Xiao did not have his mechanical suit, the night would have been dangerous to him as well, but Viper’s stealth ability was strengthened by the night. It sealed all of his sound and scent and made him as inconspicuous as a rock.
I’ve yet to find the target, Han Xiao thought. He sat by a large rock and inserted bullets into the clip as he changed the visor mode to night vision. The chance of the Beast King spawning at the heart of the zone, The Ruins of La Potter, was higher, as the closer toward the center, the more beasts there were.
With a voice command, the armor around Han Xiao’s calves split open. Inside was a small space that stored the Spider Detectors. He activated them and made them spread out toward the center of the zone. The images captured by them were displayed on his goggles.
Spider Detectors worked in a shaky but rather quick way. After a while, Han Xiao could see the situation of the center zone, which was filled with ferocious looking beasts.
Suddenly, the image from Spider Detector No.1 experienced a slight shake, and loud crashing sounds could be heard from afar. The beasts were then seen all going in the same direction.
Spider Detector No.1 climbed up a long-haired boar and headed toward the same direction. Two Superhumans running for their lives from the beasts appeared in sight. One of them was an Esper who could release white shockwaves from the hands, which was quite powerful and knocked closing beasts back again and again. However, the sound it produced attracted more and more beasts. It was a vicious cycle that only made the situation worse.
There are others who have entered this forbidden zone? Han Xiao raises his eyebrows in surprise.
Right the next moment, a white lion that was five meters tall and more than ten meters long appeared. All the other beasts got out of his way with fear, and those who did not were all dead.
Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. That was most likely the Beast King.
…
Yang Dian and Ned ran with all their might to the extent that their lungs felt like it was burning. Behind them were more than a hundred mutated beasts and an enormous white lion.
“All of this is because of your power. Its sound attracted so many beasts!” Yang Dian said while clenching his teeth in anger.
“Shut up! If not for your carelessness, we could’ve avoided that pack of wolves! Stop complaining and making useless comments, what should we do now?” Ned said as he released another shockwave, knocking back a few beasts that came too close.
Yang Dian took out his laptop while running to look at the map and said, “We’re getting closer to the center of the zone. It’s extremely dangerous there, so we have to change direction now!”
They turned hastily. The beasts were chasing closely with the enormous white lion leading ahead. Ned’s shockwaves could only stop its movement for a mere second and could not even push it back even the slightest distance. Ned was sweating heavily; he was running out of energy.
This time, a cliff appeared in front. There was a gap on the ground that could only fit a human, and he had to enter sideways.
“Quick! Hide inside!” They were overjoyed.
Suddenly, Ned noticed a huge shadow below him expanding at a fast pace. Turning around with surprise, Ned saw the white lion jump toward him and slam its claws straight down. The wind from the raw power of the beast was so strong that Ned could barely open his eyes or breathe.
“You go first!” Yang Dian shouted as he pushed Ned away. He then punched toward the claw with blue flames wrapping around his arm.
He was a Pugilist that had a stronger physique and could endure more damage than Ned, so he was confident it would not be a problem to block just this one attack.
Fists and claws clashed with each other.
The sound of bones breaking could be heard clearly; Yan Dian’s arm was fractured, and a few of his ribs were also broken just from the impact alone. He threw up a mouthful of blood and flew up like a pebble.
Ned quickly pulled him along into the gap between the ground, and the claws followed them the next moment and broke stones into pebbles. Almost… they almost did not make it.
“Such strong raw strength!’ Yan Dian’s face was twitching from the pain. A strong Pugilist like him had been critically injured by just one hit; the power of this lion was unheard of.
Ned was even more aghast. He knew the power of Yan Dian, but even he could not handle a single hit from the white lion.
They probably would not survive this time.
The beasts surrounded the outside, so they had no other choice but to depend on this gap to live.
Fortunately, the beasts could not enter… for now. They kept scratching the entrance, trying to create a bigger gap. Every time they heard the sound of claws against the rocks, their heartbeat became faster.
Yang Dian took out bandages and ointment to treat the wounds. What they would face next could very well be a death battle. Thus, he had to recover as quickly as possible. Ned was also trying to recover as much energy as possible even it meant he would suffer more injury in the future. All they wished was to get through this.
All of a sudden, the beasts outside gathered tightly and started running toward each other. The white lion let out a loud growl and started killing other beasts. The beasts also started to turn against each other. Blood spilled everywhere, and growling rumbled on continuously.
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“The beasts started killing each other.”
Smiles appeared on their faces as they decided to wait and see.
The beasts fought for more than half an hour, leaving corpses everywhere. The white lion was the final winner. Blood from other beasts had added red to its snowy fur. It stood before the gap and growled at the rest of the beasts, indicating that they were his prey. The beasts backed off and left the prey for the king of the beasts.
The beast herd was gone, but the strongest one of them all, the white lion, was still waiting outside. As it clawed at the hole, the opening became larger, so it would not be long before Yang Dian and Ned had nowhere to hide.
Their hearts sank to the bottom.
Ned bit his lips and said, “Your wounds are too severe. You be the bait, and maybe I can live.”
Yang Dian looked at his heavily wounded body and said, “It’s true I won’t be able to escape. It’s better for one to die than both. If you can make it out alive, remember to take care of my family.”
“I will. I will raise your child and take care of your wife.”
They looked at each other and stayed silent for a moment. Then they both gave a bitter smile.
“Stop talking nonsense. If we’re going to die, we’ll die together.”
Yang Dian stood up in a struggle and said, “We’ll use everything we have left.”
Ned nodded. White light started lighting up on his hands as he got ready for combat.
Just as they were going to leave and use everything they had, a flash of blue light dashed across the night sky and hit the white lion’s left eye. Immediately, it burst into blood. Then they heard the sound of a gunshot.
The white lion roared in anger and sprinted toward the source of the gunshot.
Yang Dian and Ned were stunned, which then turned into excitement.
“Someone’s came to help!”
Five hundred meters away, Han Xiao lay prone on the floor with the Ghost sniper rifle, blue light glowing along the circuits on its body.
Through the sniper scope, he saw the white lion rushing toward him with a bloody left eye.
This shot was fired with Flaming Will, which this time it triggered a lucky 2.2 times damage, together with [Overload], vital point, and sneak attack critical damage. The damage was an astonishing 1,800! This was the highest damage Han Xiao had dealt with a single shit.
However, the white lion was still alive and well like it did not affect him. Han Xiao looked at the information on the interface, and as he expected, the white lion was indeed the beast king. Its real name was Mutant White Lion King, LV 56. It had a lot of beast specialty abilities. For instance, it’s health was a horrifying amount of more than 18,000, so the shot only too around 10% of its health, as well as a sight loss debuff.
_____________________
Mutant White Lion King
Level: 56
Health: 15724/18700
Status: -50% Field of View, Moderate Bleeding State
Attributes: 135 Strength, 126 Dexterity, 240 Endurance, 30 Intelligence, 22 MYS, 31 Charisma, 24 Luck
_____________________
Its attributes were very high, and it had many special abilities, which included one called [Crazed Rage] that largely enhances movement speed, attack speed, and damage as health decreased. An extremely dangerous ability.
This BOSS was supposed to be fought by a team, but Han Xiao was solo. However, with the new mechanical suit, the risk was much lower.
Han Xiao stood up and slid backward while firing with his sniper continuously. Despite wearing Viper, he would not opt for close-range combat. Mixing combat strategies was the right way to go. By using the sniper and mechanical suit at the same time, he could have an advantage in both close-up and ranged combat. The scanning module analyzed the nearby terrain and backed up automatically without Han Xiao having to look back, so he could fully focus on dealing damage.
After kiting for a while, when Han Xiao finished all the clips of Red Falcon and Berserk Eagle, Mutant White Lion King finally closed in to within a hundred meters.
Han Xiao stopped backing up and instead dashed forward to the beast king.
“Switch to Combat Mode!” Han Xiao yelled.
Electricity pumped through the cables. As bright red light shone from the Bonfire Reaction Furnace on his back, muscle fibers in the suit expanded and provided Han Xiao with even more power.
Clenching his fist, Han Xiao could clearly feel the amount of power in the mechanical suit just waiting to be let out; the additional attributes from the suit had more than doubled his Strength and Dexterity.
Yang Dian and Ned saw from afar that Han Xiao was going to face the white lion king head-on.
“Don’t fight him at such a close range!” they shouted at Han Xiao in shock.
This mysterious person in the mechanical suit was there to save them—he was their hope. They could remember how easily Yang Dian had been defeated, and this guy might very well end up the same.
Such a small sized human, yet he still chose to face the enormous beast head-on! It was like throwing an egg at a stone—it would have no impact!
The man and the lion crashed against each other. The result was certain in the minds of Yang Dian and Ned. They almost wanted to close their eyes and not see how cruel the end would be for that mysterious man.
But they were wrong. The mysterious man not only did not suffer a tragic loss, but it was the white lion that was growling in pain. The white lion king was knocked back, and half of Han Xiao’s body was hammered into the ground. They were unbelievably on par!
Han Xiao had a lighter weight. He had to direct the strength into the ground to not be knocked up. With the leg muscles unleashing their energy, Han Xiao jumped out of the ground and swung his leg onto the white lion’s head like a whip. With a loud sound, a ripple appeared in the air.
The white lion’s skull changed shape from the power. Its whole body was sent rolling away and smashing onto the ground.
“Oh my god!”
Yang Dian and Ned were completed stunned by what they saw.
Their sizes were more than ten times apart, and that terrifying white lion had just lost to this mysterious person! In strength!
Yang Dian felt his throat going dry. What he had seen was too impactful. Just because he could not do it, did not mean others could not. He had fought with other Pugilists that were stronger than him, and none of them even came close to how strong the White Lion King was. Yet, this mysterious man was even stronger than that.
“What mechanical suit is that? I’ve never seen that before,” Yang Dian said.
Ned’s eyes continued staring straight ahead, not sparing Yang Dian a glance. “Could it be a secret research of some giant organization?”
During combat mode, Viper gave an attribute boost of 78 Strength and 45 Dexterity, which made these two attributes of Han Xiao even higher than the White Lion King’s. What was even more horrifying was that his [Overload] could further improve the attributes from Viper!
Han Xiao had noticed Yang Dian and Ned much earlier, but since he did not know who they were, he did not bother much about it.
Han Xiao fought the Mutant White Lion King at a very close rage, each of his punches and kicks dealing a high amount of damage. Energy was flowing rapidly from the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, and the high amount of armor protected him from White Lion King’s attacks.
Only using fists and legs was a total waste on all the functions the mechanical suit had. Han Xiao had turned on the Heating Gloves and Sun Worm and lit the White Lion King’s fur on fire, leaving burn marks around his body.
Their fight shook the ground like an earthquake. Even the duo watching from afar could feel it as they spectated the heated fight in awe. Although White Lion King’s attacks became strong and faster over time, Han Xiao still had the upper hand. He could avoid most attacks because of how agile he was, and even for those that he did not manage to avoid, they could not penetrate his suit.
The duo intended to help, but they realized that not only were they not able to, they might become a burden even if they tried to help. However, they were not the kind to leave their savior behind, so they stood aside watching helplessly.
Curiosity and amazement of Han Xiao’s mechanical suit filled their minds—they had never seen or heard any country that was ever able to make such a strong single unit combat suit with so many functions before.
Planet Aquamarine’s progress in mechanical suit research has always lacked behind. Rumor had it that only the country of Theseus had exoskeleton mechanical suit prototypes, but they were heavy and bulky and could not improve the user’s physical abilities. However, this mechanical suit was far beyond their knowledge and understanding.
In galactic civilizations, single unit combat suit was standard equipment for soldiers, which reduced the gap between humans and Superhumans, and it was more than a bargain for players.
The Viper was a piece of equipment ahead of its time—it should never have even appeared in front of players in version 1.0. In fact, no mechanical suit was supposed to have been created in version 1.0 and definitely not owned by any player.
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The White Lion King jumped up in the air and pounced toward Han Xiao.
As the wind pressure came closer to his head, Han Xiao calmly raised his hand toward the White Lion King. An invisible force shot out from his arm as he turned on the Field Repulsive Machine. The White Lion King was knocked back and fell to the ground.
Han Xiao was using many modules simultaneously, so the energy level was steadily decreasing over time.
After countless punches, the White Lion King’s health was down to around 30%. The White Lion King howled toward the sky. Its skins turned red; it had entered Rage Mode. Or as the players called it, the second phrase. Han Xiao could feel the pressure bursting in a short moment
I shouldn’t face him directly during Rage Mode. Han Xiao decided to retreat to a safer range. For the time being, it was his combat style to be able to strike and escape anytime he wanted.
The White Lion King chased him for some time, then it slowed down, showing signs of exhaustion.
Just at this moment, [Flaming Will]’s cooldown ended, Han Xiao immediately held up his Ghost sniper rifle and shot at the other undamaged eye of the White Lion King.
This was the highest damage multiplier he had gotten ever since he learned [Overload]—4.1 times!
Lucky!
With this one shot, the only eye that the White Lion King had left burst into a cloud of blood. It was gravely injured and fell to the ground with just a few hundred points of health left.
“It’s dead!” In his excitement, Han Xiao let out a sigh of relief. Viper’s power was higher than he had expected, and it covered the Mechanics’ weakness of having low physical attributes and provided strong protection at close range, and it had high functionality in almost all aspects.
Viper was the basis of his secondary combat strategy. Just like how his sniping strategy built up slowly, his mechanical suit also needed more modules to be completed. This was just the beginning. This battle was a test of its actual combat capabilities, so he could figure out a clearer plan for future improvements. There was room for improvements in both combat and stealth abilities.
The White Lion King was unable to move, so Han Xiao went up and finished it easily. He took out the retractable knife and cut out its heart. It was the size of a basketball, filled with violet colored nerves, hot like a ball of fire.
_____________________
You received a special item [Mutated Heart].
You have triggered mission [Virus Research]!
Mission Introduction: Beasts in this area are all infected by Death Virus. Some organizations are looking for research samples that are strong enough. That’s right, I’m talking about this heart you’re holding.
Mission Requirement: Bring [Mutated Heart] to Louis Biological Research Institution in seven days.
Reward: Death Virus Drug x 1
_____________________
This mission was a bonus rewards mission triggered by the heart. The drug reward was able to increase one’s attributes permanently, and there was a small chance to give the user a rare talent ability.
In the previous life, the Beast King BOSS was always killed within hours after spawning, and since the Death Virus Drug could be used more than once, the biggest guilds were the ones that controlled the area to grind the drug.
Louis Biological Research Institution was open to the general public, and players could exchange all kinds of weird materials for drugs that were not any less weird. It was in Maple.
Han Xiao took out the liquid nitrogen suitcase that he had prepared and placed the lion heart inside, then he heard the sounds of footsteps. Yang Dian and Ned walked to him with hesitation.
“Thank you for helping us,” Yang Dian said as he looked at Viper’s mask. However, he could not see Han Xiao’s face.
Han Xiao did not reply. He checked through his inventory and left—the smell of blood would attract more beasts. Plus, he needed a place to rest.
The duo looked at each other awkwardly, then caught up to Han Xiao and introduced themselves. With high hopes, they said to Han Xiao, “We came here to save an exploration team. They went deep into the zone to find the cure of the virus and have lost contact. We hope you can help us.”
_____________________
You triggered Grade D Mission [Save the exploration team].
Accept or reject?
_____________________
“Reject.”
Han Xiao swung his hands, turned his voice to an electrically mixed fake voice, and said, “Don’t bother me.”
Saving them would mean having to bring a group of normal people across the forbidden zone—the chance of success was too low. Every second spent there would increase the level of danger. Han Xiao’s target was only the mutated heart, and it was completed. Thus, there was no need for him to waste his time in the zone. He did not want to just follow the missions blindly.
“They are in danger because they wanted to solve the disaster. How can you not help!” Ned said anxiously.
Han Xiao turned on his hovering shoes and left without replying. It was clear what he meant at this moment. Do whatever you want, but don’t drag me into it.
The duo watched with resignation as Han Xiao left.
Not everyone is kind like them, and they knew that, but they were still upset over losing such strong help.
…
Han Xiao left the Forbidden Zone and went back to the cargo plane that was parked far away. He took the mechanical suit off and let out a sigh of relief.
Viper had amazing capabilities, and he was satisfied with the actual combat results.
The plane took off for Maple, to get in touch with Louis Biological Research Institution and exchange the heart for the drug. He also planned to do a threatening mission while he was there, and the contact for the Blood Pact Society was also in Maple.
Han Xiao looked at the brief mission introduction on his laptop.
My contact is a hitman? Wait a minute, this name looks familiar, Golden Fox? I might have seen it somewhere before.
Han Xiao raised his brows a little but did not bother much about it. Putting the matter aside, he opened the forum—his focus at the moment was players.
Han Xiao still had two novice villages in the Western Continent that he had not visited. The new players there had already almost reached an average level of ten. By this time, they would have all started leaving the village to explore the map, but because of Han Xiao, some players stayed to wait for his arrival.
The feeling was great. His actions had affected the players in what they did, which was all because of the recent popularity and influence he had gained.
Reading through the forums, some new posts had attracted his attention. They were mostly from players in the land of Andrea, and the content was all complaining.
“Question, why is the Germinal Organization coming to novice villages to capture us?”
“I have been brainwashed, my faction is locked, and I have lost relationship points—why is this happening?”
“An NPC sliced me into pieces and asked about my origins…”
“Me too!”
“Is this part of the storyline? But I did not get any alerts on my interface.”
Some players recorded the process of Germinal Organization capturing players in the novice villages. Fully armed soldiers placed handcuffs on players one by one, and some players resisted but were shot immediately by paralysis bullets.
A group of cuffed players sat in the back of the car. Space was tight, and they could only see the outside world through windows covered by bars.
These players were brought to the bases of Germinal Organization one by one. Its bases were unlike the ones on the other three continents, which was very hidden. The bases of the headquarters in Andrea were all humongous and had extremely tight defenses.
The land of Andrea was brown. If someone could see from a satellite vision, they would see the bases of the Germinal Organization as black colored areas spreading across the brown land, like virus spots. This forsaken land was filled with abundant radiation and dirt with depreciating signs of life. The Germinal Organization took many old country facility ruins and inherited their facilities, including places that were once military sites.
Inhuman incident has started. Han Xiao’s eye twinkled. He had experienced this incident before in the previous life; it had been the hottest topic at the time.
Curiosity toward players from NPCs is the core attraction point of Galaxy—players appearing was part of the storyline. Different planets had different approaches toward the players, and Planet Aquamarine was the first planet for this to happen.
Before, as a player, he was basically rubbernecking and did not do anything. Now that he had a different perspective, he felt he could find out something else.
I have made the Germinal Organization lose all of their secondary bases, so the number of players joining them would be much fewer, and they have probably realized the damage that has caused.
Just imagining how angry their leader would be made Han Xiao happy.
Han Xiao turned on his laptop and browsed information through the Dark Net. The existence of players had already been noticed by many organizations; the natives of Planet Aquamarine were surprised by their arrival.
The Six Nations might make a move very soon, which would delay the expedition war, but it would still be earlier than my previous life.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The war occurring earlier give him both advantages and disadvantages, advantages being the players have yet to grow strong enough, and when the Six Nations burst into an all-out war, their impact would be minimal, which reduced the accidental factors. With the power of the Six Nations, as long as the players did not interfere, they would totally crush the Germinal Organization.
Because of Han Xiao’s interference, the main storyline of the war between Six Nations and the Germinal Organization would very soon enter the climax, before the players even had enough ability to join into the story.
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Stardragon’s Western Capital, Division 13 headquarters.
Gu Hui, the vice-chairman, and Division 13’s leaders gathered in the secret meeting room. Gu Hui pressed a button on the table, and the doors and the windows shut entirely. All surveillance devices lost their functionalities.
Gu Hui put on a serious look as he distributed the documents to everyone in the meeting. The documents had authorization stamps from the highest officials, which meant this information was highly confidential. It was the observation information of the Inhumans.
“Five days ago, rumors about the existence of Inhumans started spreading through the Dark Net. After investigating, it has been confirmed to be true. The documents state it clearly. Inhumans have been appearing and spreading in every continent like a virus. They appeared out of nowhere, and their origins are unknown.
“From the information that we found on the Dark Net, the Inhumans have the following characteristics…” Gu Hui stated the information that they had on the players, which was similar to what the Germinal Organization had. They knew that the players disappeared instantly, would not die, and one other point. “Through our observation, their average power is not high. The threat level is identified as low.”
“If we don’t suppress this phenomenon, it might spread like a disease and cause a disaster,” one person said.
Gu Hui nodded and said, “The highest officials have given us their commands. Contacting these Inhumans will now be our priority.”
“What about the expedition? The supplies and our army have already been prepared. We can head to Andrea anytime.”
“The highest-level superiors have already come to an agreement with the leaders of other countries to temporarily stop the expedition. We have to first understand the situation of this inhuman phenomenon; it has higher threat potential.” Gu Hui Knocked the table, he scanned through everyone and said, “Ask our people to bring back some Inhumans. Also, be friendly—we do not know anything about their origin.”
“Some of our agents are undercover in Andrea. Should we call them back?” the head of field operations said.
“No need, let them retrieve more intelligence. We have enough manpower,” Gu Hui said. “When we have a conclusion on this, maybe the officials will seek help and answers from the Galactic Civilizations.”
…
As the average level of players became higher, their actions made a greater impact and attracted the attention of the organizations. The Six Nations, Vagrants, Dark Net, and many large financial organizations were all paying attention to the Inhuman Phenomenon. They had been sending their people to contact these Inhumans with different approaches. Some were friendly, and some were not. The exception was Germinal Organization—they captured large numbers of players in Andrea, which forced player in the novice village to leave the village early.
For players, which organization they joined would not actually make a difference to them, but they would naturally want to resist if they were forced. The Germinal Organization had definitely left a bad impression on players, and for those who were already captured, they could only accept their fate.
Players in Andrea had a tough time. Their game experience was extremely bad, but it made players very curious about one thing—Why were the NPCs surprised about their existence? The NPCs acted almost like real people.
More and more organizations started contacting players, and more and more players experienced similar situations. They started making guesses actively on forums about the situation, and this topic soon became the most popular topic in the forum.
This only happened on Planet Aquamarine and not any other planets, so a large number of players from other planets visited the Planet Aquamarine site, which made it the most visited planet site of all the novice planets.
There were hundreds of new posts every second; its popularity was astonishingly high.
All kinds of speculations surfaced. The seemingly most possible and accepted theory was the Electrolux theory, but the game developers did not give any response. Players could only make random guesses, some of which were quite out of the box.
“We actually went through reincarnation to conquer a new world for our gods, serial number A12651 reporting for duty!”
“Bullshit, we’re Earth’s army to conquer alternative dimensions, and we have an honorable mission on our hands.”
“798 Space feet from the Earth Association. Commander Blacky is waiting for deployment. Victory belongs to earth!”
“You’re all wrong. The earth is just an illusion. This is actually the reality.”
“You youngsters are too naïve. This is all part of the Elder’s plan.”
“This marks the first step of Skynet’s domination over mankind. One day, all of our minds will be locked up in the game.”
“Hail Hydra!”
“Previous commenter is in the wrong set!”
“Sigh, I’m a retired soldier of the 1999 clan wars. Come to think of it, that was a really dark age.”
“This Grandpa above surely has a strong body, playing Full Dive VR games at such an old age.”
These ridiculous speculations became a joke that was trending all over the forum.
In a big picture, organizations contacting players with caution was beneficial. It was easier for players to pick a side or organization to join, except for players in Andrea who were being continuously captured.
Han Xiao was following the situation. He had information from both the Dark Net and the forum, which meant that he knew much more than any players or NPCs.
The mindset of both parties was very different. The organizations were careful and serious about it, while the players found it fun.
Interesting. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.
The influence from the Inhuman incident was slowly fermenting as the organizations found out more and more about the players’ characteristics.
The pro players from my previous life should have met their opportunities by now.
Planet Aquamarine was China’s base camp, so there would definitely be some players who had met an opportunity, unlike other normal players.
The storyline was going on the right path. Han Xiao rushed to Maple, as the Mutated Heart Mission had a time limit.
Louis Research Institution was in Kaylos city in Maple. It was not near the border this time, so Han Xiao had to travel in a car for two days after being smuggled into the country.
The country of Maple felt lifeless. Its rigid political system, uneven wealth distribution, and resources were all tightly controlled by politicians, and the low class had very limited opportunities to improve their life. ‘Barely living and just waiting to die’ was the best phrase to describe civilians in Maple.
Walking on the street, long-faced pedestrians passed by him. Han Xiao rubbed his face. He felt that such a confident and handsome face did not fit in with the state of the people on the street.
Han Xiao changed his face again and even wore spectacles. He was sure that nobody could recognize him.
Louis Research Institution building was very tall and silver, which fitted the technology theme. The people in the building were all wearing white coats, as if they were worried about others not knowing they were doing technological research.
A receptionist walked to him with a well-mannered smile as soon as he walked in.
“Hi, do you require an introduction to the business scope of Louis Group Companies?”
Han Xiao raised the metal suitcase in his hands and said, “I have a heart from a Death Virus infected being. One of your researchers might be interested.”
“Please wait a moment, I will inform a superior.” The lady receptionist guided Han Xiao to the sofa and left.
Louis Research Institution accepted exterior research projects, so there were always customers who came to visit.
Han Xiao sat on the sofa and scanned the environment of the hall. It was built in the shape of a sphere, which made it look like a hotel hall.
After some time, two people covered in bandages walked in. Han Xiao raised his head as he smelled the odor of blood. It was the ‘superhero’ duo he had met in the Forbidden Zone.
These guys were saving some exploring team, could it be that the team was from Louis Research Institution?
Looks like they failed and are badly injured.
Han Xiao raised his brows but stayed put as they did not recognize him.
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Yang Dian and Ned were frustrated. The exploration team that they were trying to save belonged to Louis Research Institution, and it was Louis Research Institution that entrusted them with the rescue mission. After Han Xiao left, they had rested for a while and started searching with caution. Eventually, they found the target at the valley that the exploration team had lost contact in.
However, all of them had been infected by Death Virus and had mutated. Bone spurs grew on their bodies, and they had turned into crazed beasts. There was no way to save them anymore.
The leader of the exploration team had been able to retain a small part of his sanity. He gave the duo a metal suitcase and told them it contained an important material that could create the cure for Death Virus. With his remaining rationality, he requested that they take it back to the Research Institution.
The duo had no choice but to abandon the incurable exploration team and leave the forbidden zone with the suitcase. They were attacked by a herd of beasts on their way out, and they protected the suitcase with their bodies. They luckily escaped with the suitcase undamaged, but they were covered in wounds
Yang Dian and Ned dragged their exhausted bodies onto the plane and came to Kaylos feeling pitiful. They could not save the exploration team and were ready to be blamed by the research institution, as they felt they did not live up to the trust they had been given.
A guy with spectacles and looking like someone of a high position walked out the lift and trotted toward the duo with a face full of hope.
“Heroes, you have returned.” He sounded very welcoming.
“Sorry Mr. Kate, we failed the mission,” Ned said in a very apologetic tone.
Kate’s expression changed. “Are they all dead?”
“Sorry, they were infected. We couldn’t do anything.” Yang Dian could not look at Kate’s grief-stricken face.
“It’s not your fault…”
Seeing Kate taking off his spectacles and rubbing his eyes made the duo feel even worse. Ned took out the metal suitcase and said, “The exploration team asked us to make sure this is delivered to you. It’s an important material that can solve the Death Virus!”
Kate took over the metal suitcase and gave it a gentle touch. “Sigh, I wish they made it back alive. This is their accomplishment, and we’ll never forget that. If we are able to make a cure out of this, it will be named after them.”
The duo could not agree more. Yang Dian sighed and said, “They are heroes. Not being able to save them is a regret that I’ll remember for life.”
“Don’t feel that way. Their hard work wouldn’t have paid off if not for you guys. You have done what you could, and you shouldn’t blame yourselves for that. If you don’t mind, we would like to take care of your wounds for free,” Kate said with appreciation.
“No need to, I can’t trouble you any further.” The more appreciation Kate showed, the sorrier the duo felt. They rejected the invitation and walked out with straight backs.
Kate pushed his spectacles and watched the duo leave. He then walked toward Han Xiao with a smile and said, “Greetings, do you have any business for the Research Institution?”
Han Xiao returned the smile and opened the metal suitcase, showing Kate the mutated heart.
“This is a Death Virus infected heart from a very strong being.”
Kate’s eyes sparkled, and he said with an even brighter smile, “Please, follow me.”
Kate led the way into the elevator, and they went up to the thirteenth floor. A long, white corridor came into sight after the doors opened. At the sides of it were many experimental labs with glass windows. Some of them had people that were running experiments, some had machines and materials, and there were also a few free researchers that were chatting in the corridor.
The thirteenth floor was one of the experimental floors of Louis Research Institution. As he led the way, Kate said, “The Death Virus has always been a very important project in our research. We kept running into obstacles and meeting limits because we don’t have enough supplies of lively materials. This heart is very important to us; we might be able to make a drug out of it straight away. As usual, we will give you a dose of it once it’s completed, but of course, we can exchange that for something else if you would like other rewards.”
“No need for that, I want the drug.” Han Xiao pointed at the metal suitcase in Kate’s hands that came from Yang Dian and Ned and said, “I thought you already have the material.”
“This? Hehe, well, this is important, too.” Kate laughed it off and did not explain further.
They stopped outside a big biological experiment lab. “Please kindly wait here. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed in the experimental lab.”
Han Xiao passed the suitcase to Kate, who then walked in with both suitcases and spoke to someone that seemed to be the supervisor of the experimental lab. The suitcases were opened on the table. Inside the other suitcase was a white colored egg. Han Xiao was unsure what creature was it from.
Kate and the lab supervisor spoke quietly, but with Han Xiao’s LV 55 senses, he could hear everything they said.
“What happened to the exploration team. All dead?” the supervisor asked.
“Yes,” Kate replied, “the heroes couldn’t save them.”
“At least the stuff is delivered. Never mind that they died, with this heart, we can make the drugs very soon. What did the ‘heroes’ say?”
“They felt they couldn’t live up to our trust. Hehe, employing these heroes is so much cheaper than mercenaries. As long as we give them a good reason, they might even do things for free. Saved me quite some money.”
“You didn’t get found out, did you?”
“Of course not, they’re stupid and naïve. A few lies, and they were easily touched and even almost cried. These so-called heroes are the easiest to convince. A little compliment and appreciation will make them lose their senses. They thought that they did a very honorable thing when they left. I almost burst into laughter.”
“Don’t offend these heroes. Do our best to build a good relationship with them.”
“Don’t worry, I gave them a good impression. If there are any dangerous things, we can still find them. They will not reject us as long as we give them a good reason.”
Han Xiao waited calmly without changing his expression.
Kate finished the conversation not long after. He came back outside the room and said with a polite smile, “It takes one day to make the drug. If you don’t mind, we can provide a room for you to rest, and the drug will be handed to you as soon as it’s done.”
“Okay.” Han Xiao did not object.
They took the lift to the residential floor, and Han Xiao was given a guest room. Kate mentioned a few areas that he was not allowed to enter and found an excuse to leave.
Han Xiao checked the room for cameras and found two of them, so he took out his laptop and hacked into the system, controlled the cameras in his room, and set it to a loop.
He then hacked into the database of the research institution without hesitation to look at their research projects.
[Elementary Coding] was already at the highest level. His hacking skills could get him through most of the firewalls on Planet Aquamarine, except for the Six Nations, Germinal Organization, the core of the Dark Net, and a few other large organizations. A small research institution could not stop him at all. He entered with ease without triggering any alarms, and he could erase his traces afterwards, so no one would be able to find out he had ever hacked into the system.
He opened the projects file of the research institution, and names appeared on the screen.
“Green Lizard Potion, Wild Bull Steroid, Thunder Claw Extraction, Stone Plaque Pathogen…”
Many names were drugs that players received in his previous life. After some time of finding, he finally found the Death Virus project. Its full name was [Death Virus Enhancement Agent]. In its detailed description, this was an experiment that could enhance one’s physical capabilities, and the research institution was certainly not doing any research on the cure that Yang Dian and Ned talked about.
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed as he clicked his keyboard, and he had planted a program.
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Kate came to Han Xiao’s room on the next day, carrying a metal suitcase. He placed the suitcase on the table, patted it, and said, “The drug has been completed.”
When Han Xiao opened the suitcase, thick white gas escaped from within, and inside was a dark red, viscous drug. He reached out his hands to touch it, and information showed up in the interface.
_____________________
Death Virus Enhancement Agent (Low Concentration 3.5%): A drug made from some kind of gene mutation virus. Its essence can be used on human beings with high stability. Consumption affects: Strength +1, Dexterity +1, chance to awaken [Extraordinary Physique].
Remarks: Although its color looks like the product of menstruation, worry not, its taste is also like…
_____________________
Only low concentration, they gave me the one with the lowest quality, Han Xiao thought as he closed the suitcase.
“I’m satisfied with this,” he said with a smile.
“We look forward to our next partnership,” Kate replied politely.
“No need to look forward. I want to buy more drugs; what do you have in stock?”
“We only provide long term bulk supplies to large organizations and customers with abilities. If it’s a single customer… especially one with an unknown origin, I’m afraid it will be quite difficult. We hope you can understand. However, we can sell it in bulk to you if you can prove your ability to afford them in the long term.”
Kate expressed his difficulties just the right amount and made it look like he really wanted to agree but could not because of the rules and regulations. However, in the eyes of an experienced person like Han Xiao, it was very obviously done on purpose, most likely to raise the price.
Han Xiao smiled mysteriously. He adjusted his collar and said, “Allow me to introduce myself officially, I’m an Executive Officer of Germinal Organization, Heisenberg.”
Kate was very surprised.
Germinal Organization? Didn’t they leave the Western Continent? Is this so-called Heisenberg guy a secretly active executive officer, or is he lying?
“Forgive me for being so straightforward, but your identity is very suspicious.” Kate took two steps back and placed his right hand in his pocket holding the alarm. If Han Xiao made any suspicious movements, he would trigger the alarm.
“Don’t have to be so nervous, give me a moment.” Han Xiao walked into the toilet with his backpack.
Why is he going to the toilet? Just as when Kate was confused, Han Xiao walked out wearing Viper. The mechanical suit that looked highly advanced gave Kate a shock.
“Wha-what are you…”
Han Xiao swung his arms around and said through the suit’s speaker, “This is the latest single unit mechanical suit invented by the Germinal Organization. If your eyes still work, you should be able to see the amount of advanced technology used in this. Even the official experimental lab of the Six Nations doesn’t have this technology. You don’t have to worry about me lying; this is a secret project of our organization, and it should suffice to prove my identity.”
Kate opened his mouth slightly—he felt something was off. “But…”
“I am aware of your concerns. If you want to find a stamp of Germinal Organization on the mechanical suit, I suggest you save the effort. Times are very tough for us, and it is very dangerous to have a high profile. I’ve been given full responsibility for this matter, so if you want to contact a higher ranked official… Forgive me for being so straightforward, but your position doesn’t warrant that,” Han Xiao said in a serious tone. He almost believed it himself.
Kate hesitated and said, “I need to discuss with the other high ranked officials.”
He walked to the side and opened his laptop to contact the other high ranked officials. They were all experiment lab supervisors, and they were surprised by Han Xiao’s origins.
“He can’t prove it, not trustworthy.”
“Do you want him to shout ‘I’m part of the Germinal Organization’ everywhere he goes? I think there’s no need for him to lie. We will know if he’s the real deal when we make the trade.”
“Makes sense to me.”
“But cooperating with the Germinal Organization seems somewhat dangerous…”
Han Xiao cut in their conversation and said, “Any trade we make will be kept confidential. As long as you and I don’t tell anyone, no one will know. We can even give you some financial support to build new divisions in Andrea.”
The eyes of all the high ranked officials in the research lab turned bright. Andrea was filled with radiation, and many genes mutated flora and fauna avoided by others were treasures to them. They had heard about the generosity of Germinal Organization. In Maple, the government was corrupt, and they had just about had enough of it. It seemed like a rather good plan to change the environment.
Even if they did not move their headquarters, opening a research division in Andrea was a pretty good idea, too.
“Shall we try to make a deal?”
“Bring him to the exhibition room.”
With the discussion coming to an end, Kate smiled and said, “We accept the trade, Heisenberg. Please follow me. I will show you our research results.”
Han Xiao nodded. Without taking off the mechanical suit, he followed Kate into the lift, and they descended two floors.
The drugs exhibition room looked like cold storage from outside the door. Kate entered the password, and the doors slid open. Inside was a dark compounded room separated into two levels connected by a metal staircase. Showcases were laid out at the side of the walls, and inside them were drug tubes of various colors with tags describing their names and test results. All the drugs had finished products with different levels of concentration.
“These are the products of our research institution. Which ones does your organization want?” Kate said with a smile.
Han Xiao acted like he was looking around and said, “Every one of them. Money is not a problem… as long as you have enough in stock.”
Joy filled the faces for the high ranked officials who were watching through the camera—this was a big order.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “But I will have to verify their effects first.”
Kate opened the showcase’s password lock, took out a drug, and passed it to Han Xiao. Han Xiao read the information on the interface. It was a temporary enhancement drug; consuming it would grant a +3 Endurance buff for three minutes.
After making sure all the drugs in these showcases were real, Han Xiao calmly said, “I will need a large quantity.”
Kate received commands through the headphones. He took out a laptop, opened the price page, and said with a smile, “We have enough inventory. After you have made the payment, these cute little things will be yours.”
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “I will only make payment when I see the products with my own eyes.”
“Don’t have to worry, we are just a small organization, and we don’t have the guts to go against a large organization like yours. We won’t go back on our word, and we hope you understand our concerns. Anyway, I believe this is an insignificant amount of money for your organization,” Kate said with a smile on his face.
Seems like this is as far as I can get by lying. Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. He had no intention of paying. He placed the gun against Kate’s forehead before he could react and said, “This is my payment.”
Pa!
The laptop fell onto the ground with a bang.
The threatening feel from the gun muzzle made Kate tremble all over. “You are a fake!”
Han Xiao did not reply. He fired at the showcase, but the glass was bulletproof; it only cracked but did not shatter.
Far away in the surveillance room, the high ranked officials were shocked.
“He wants to rob our finished products.”
“Luckily, we brought him to the exhibition room where there are security systems!”
The metal door of the exhibition room shut tight, and the showcases moved back into the walls, leaving no traces behind. The room became empty, and the ceiling moved aside, revealing three rows of guns who range covered the entire room. Han Xiao and Kate were both under the guns,
The proud voice of a high ranked official sounded from the speaker.
“Didn’t expect that, did you? We were suspicious of your origins from the start. Now that your life is under our control, you have no escape. We just have to press a button, and you will be dead. Unless you want to know how many seconds it will take for these guns to turn you into a puddle of blood, put down the guns, take off the mechanical suit, and get down to your knees. Then tell us your true identity, origin, and who sent you. ”
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The superiors of the research institution were very angry. They felt like the man had thought them foolish monkeys, but the liar had walked into their trap.
How dare he come to mess with us without knowing who owns this territory.
In the exhibition room, Kate calmly backed off, adjusted his clothes, and looked at Han Xiao haughtily. “If you move, such as wanting to capture me as a hostage, you will be turned into a pool of blood, so don’t have any ideas of taking the risk. Just put down the gun and surrender; you can still live.”
Han Xiao looked up at the dark black guns. The cameras were in the corners of the room, and the high ranked officials were looking at him through those. He even knew that the vents could release poisonous gas.
With a cold expression, he issued a voice command.
“Launch program.”
The smart chip in the mechanical suit immediately recognized the command and connected to the standby computer. It then entered the research institution’s intranet and activated the hacking program planted by Han Xiao the previous night.
The research institution’s system fell like dominoes in the face of the hacking program. Without much effort, the entire authority system was overridden, and Han Xiao gained control in a few seconds.
This was not a last-minute simple hacking program that Han Xiao had created; he had created many smart chips, and to prevent losing their control to someone else, he had also made some anti-attack programs as well as some invasive programs, but he had not had the chance to use them before.
The tactical hologram screen showed the terrain map of the research institution. Han Xiao issued another voice command. The walls of the exhibition room reopened, and the showcases appeared again. The guns on the ceilings slid back, and the doors opened.
When he invaded the research institution system yesterday, he had already seen the structure of it, and he knew the security measures clearly. There are some tightly guarded warehouses in the research institution with a high amount of drug inventories, but it was much more than he could carry—the amount in the exhibition room was just right.
The sudden turning of tables left the high ranked officials of the research institution horrified.
“What happened? The system has lost control!”
“Quick, take back the control!”
The technician at the side was sweating all over. He smashed the keyboard rapidly, and lines of code kept appearing. Suddenly, his screen turned green, and the computer froze. The technician exclaimed, “I can’t. The invasion speed of his program is too fast; it’s impossible to solve it in a short time!”
“He was ready yesterday!” The high ranked officials were filled with hatred.
In the exhibition room, Kate was stunned. He looked into the Han Xiao’s black goggles, and fear gnawed at his heart. His legs softened, and he fell to the ground. ‘I-I…”
Bang!
Smoke rose from the ground between his legs where the bullet had hit.
Kate was extremely afraid, not even daring to move.
“Stay there and don’t move. You can still live,” Han Xiao said in a mocking tone.
“O-Okay, calm down,” Kate replied hastily as cold sweat wet his entire back. He could only sit there and tremble.
Han Xiao broke open all the showcase cabinets. The enhancement from the mechanical suit made his punches stronger than bullets. He took out his backpack and put all the vials inside. Soon, his backpack was full.
He patted his bag with satisfaction. It was a huge amount of rewards.
At the start, he had no intention of robbing the research institution. However, that changed when he accidentally overheard Kate and the high ranked official talking about Yang Dian and Ned. Since the research institution was not one with morals, Han Xiao did not bother to do things the nice way. They neither were good people anyways, so they might as well follow the rules of the wicked—whoever was stronger had the right to take from the weaker side.
If the opposite party had reliable morals and beliefs, Han Xiao would not mind interacting with them normally, but if they made Han Xiao unhappy and were not strong enough, Han Xiao would go back to his old habits when he was a player, robbing whatever he saw. Furthermore, he was very interested in the Research Institution’s drugs. He actually liked to convince people with his virtues… but if that did not work out, he would then fight them instead.
Although Han Xiao did not like the idea of sacrificing oneself for the sake of others and wasn’t like those superheroes who had a great love for the entire world, he still liked people who were kind. Befriending a kind person was definitely better than befriending an evil person. Even those who were evil would rather befriend those who were kind; it was safe and worry-free.
Unfortunately, the number of kind people in the world was dwindling. No one could tell if a smile had ulterior motives behind it or which ‘brother’ seemed to be loyal on the surface but talked bad about them behind their back. Betrayal was common, even between old friends.
Kind people were such rare animals that they could even be placed in the zoo as an exhibit. Zoo might not be the best term—’News Feed’ would be a better description. The research institution toyed with the ‘heroes’, and it was because of these snobbery hypocrites that kind people became fewer, society became harder to survive in, and spiritual traditions collapsed entirely.
Very often, one’s perseverance in others’ eyes was just the minimum of what one should do. One’s hard work was just a way of gaining more profit. Just like how the Louis Research Institution used the passion of Yang Dian and Ned, Han Xiao robbed the research institution’s hard work.
An old saying appeared in Han Xiao’s mind. “Karma will find its way. Wickedness will be dealt with by the wicked.”
“Looks like I’ve become wicked.” Han Xiao laughed. An opportunity to do bad things without feeling guilty did not come by often.
Why would he spend money on someone he could rob from? He could just change his face and become a new customer anyway.
It was not the time to check through his rewards. He picked up his backpack and walked toward the lift.
Kate’s body was still soft. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw Han Xiao leaving, but the fear was still lingering in his mind.
The high ranked officials in the surveillance room were bleeding in their hearts when they saw all the drugs being taken. One of them yelled in anger, “Quickly think about what can we do!”
“I got it. Ask the switchboard room to cut off all electricity in the basement and trap him in there!”
“Immediately seek help from Maple! We still have some guards. Gather them all at the main gate. We just have to stall him for fifteen minutes until the military force arrives, and I want him to be demolished then!”
As Han Xiao arrived at the lift, the entire floor’s lights turned off. He raised his eyebrows and switched to night vision. Cutting off the power, as expected.
Han Xiao’s legs bent as the power from nanotechnology muscle fiber gathered in his legs and burst in an instant. The floor cracked open, and he shot through the ceiling like a rocket.
After two jumps, Han Xiao bumped straight into the hall. A group of guards who were gathering came into his sights. There were only some twenty of them, not even one-fifth of the research institution’s guards. Han Xiao’s way of going up the floors was way too swift and violent. It didn’t give much time for the research institution to react.
The high ranked officials were shocked by the power of the mechanical suit. They hurriedly ordered the guards to attack.
“Stall the enemy. The rest of the guards will be here in less than twenty seconds… f*ck!”
Before he could even finish giving the order, Han Xiao bumped through the guards like a bowling ball hitting a strike and sent them flying. The guards could not even slow him down as he broke through the glass door and disappeared in the streets. The people there could only catch a tint of black shadow.
The high ranked officials of the research institution were raging with anger, they were hopeful that the guards could at least stall him for fifteen minutes, but they barely could for three seconds.
Seeing the drugs would not able to be retrieved, the superiors’ hearts were bleeding, and they were furious.
“When will the Maple Military arrive?”
“At least ten minutes.”
“That’s too long. That asshole would’ve been long gone. Is there any other way?”
Kate had returned to normal and immediately said, “The superhero duo is still in the city. I will contact them now!”
“Hurry up!”
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Yang Dian received a phone call from Kate. Confused, he asked, “Mr. Kate, are you looking for us?”
Kate sounded anxious. “A robber has taken the products of the research institution, including the oppressor for the Death Virus. If we can’t retrieve it, our results will be lost. Since the military can’t make it in time, we have to count on you guys!”
The duo turned serious. “We will definitely help.”
“That’s great. You’re our only hope. I’ll send you the coordinates. The enemy is a man wearing a black mechanical suit!”
Black mechanical suit‽
Yang Dian and Ned’s expressions changed.
“Could it be him‽”
…
Running on the street wearing a mechanical suit was too flashy. As soon as Han Xiao left the research institution, he climbed onto the rooftop of a building and continued running across rooftops. That way, even if someone saw him, it would not cause as great an impact. He was planning to find a hidden spot to take off the mechanical suit and change to a different face.
So many drug potions, enough for me to drink it like water. Han Xiao laughed.
After turning into a few streets, Han Xiao jumped into an empty alley. It was at this moment that two strong vital signs showed up on the radar, and after the automated search in the database, it surprisingly had a match. It turned out to be the two superheroes that he had met twice.
They’re chasing me? Han Xiao thought for a while, and he knew that they were being toyed with by Louis Research Institution again.
This time, a notice popped up on the interface.
_____________________
You have triggered mission [Trial of a Hero]
Mission Introduction: Heroes of justice are never in short supply, but only the right ways to do it. Some people become depraved and give up their initial goals; some lose their adherence and become what they swore to fight against; some are used and lied to. Choosing justice is a tough path, and you can be the trial for them to find the right path toward becoming a real hero.
Mission Requirements: Defeat Yang Dian and Ned, and expose the truth about Louis Research Institution.
Rewards: Random
_____________________
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
He was quite interested in this mission. It was a chance for him to feel what it was like to be the ultimate evil.
Han Xiao analyzed the data.
I’ve got a few minutes to kill, just enough time to play with them a little.
Han Xiao stopped in place and waited. Yang Dian and Ned’s figures flashed past the alley entrance not long after—they ran too far. After a few seconds, the duo realized and immediately turned back, standing at the alley entrance with a confronting stance.
“It really is you!” Yang Dian’s face was stern. He had seen the power of this mysterious warrior in the mechanical suit with his own eyes. Even in his peak state, he would probably be beaten in a few punches, and he was now injured. But the thought of Han Xiao robbing the cure to the Death Virus encouraged him to not back up even if he could not win.
Ned rubbed his hands and was ready to strike. He said in a low tone, “Even though you saved us before, I’m afraid we can’t let you take the cure.”
Cure? Damn these guys really are the type that are stupid enough to help someone who cheated them.
Ned struck first. His hands slapped forward, and a shockwave filled the alley. The paint on the walls shed, and cracks appeared on the ground.
In a flash, Han Xiao jumped up, drawing a swift arc midair, and bumped toward the enemy like a rocket.
Yang Dian bit his teeth and stepped forward, swinging out his punch.
Bang!
The mechanical suit covered fist was like a bolt of lightning, appearing and disappearing in an instant. Before Yang Dian’s fist could even swing fully, it had already hit Yang Dian’s chest heavily. Yang Dian’s vision turned hazy; everything in sight seemed to move away rapidly as he flew backwards. He then got punched into the wall with a loud noise, every bone in the body almost shattering.
One-hit victory.
His physical power is even stronger than the lion who caused serious injury to me.Yang Dian barely pulled himself out of the wall and breathed heavily. Suddenly, he heard a gust of wind around his ears, Ned was thrown toward him and fell beside his feet with a huge bump on his head. He had been knocked dizzy by a simple headbutt from Han Xiao.
They could not even last three seconds. With absolutely zero chance to fight back, Yang Dian was filled with sadness and hatred. How are we supposed to stop the opponent like this?
Helplessness penetrated their hearts.
Han Xiao looked at the timer as he saw the duo trying to get back up. He had given himself five minutes to deal with these two superheroes, but the situation had turned out to be much easier. He had taken less than ten seconds to beat them completely.
They were both Superhumans at the level of thirty-something. With Han Xiao’s strength, it was a piece of cake.
Han Xiao took a few steps forward. Just as he was going to say something, Yang Dian managed to struggle to his feet. With a face filled with unyielding and anger, he clenched his teeth and said, “You took away the cure for the Death Virus. Lots and lots of people will die because of that. I will stop you today even if it costs me my life!”
Han Xiao stopped in place. He looked at Yang Dian with a mocking smile. “Dying as a hero—other than dead flowers, empty words, and a few hypocritical tears, what else can you get?”
Yang Dian clenched his teeth even harder. “It doesn’t matter how others look at me as long as I’m happy with what I’m doing!”
Suddenly, Yang Dian blinked. A large, black hand enlarged in his sight and grabbed his head. He was smashed into a wall, shattering the stones.
His head was bleeding, Yang Dian lay flat on the ground, his head spinning. He did not even have the strength to stand up.
Han Xiao took out his handgun and pressed it against Yang Dian’s forehead.
The black colored muzzle brought Yang Dian back to his senses. He wanted to struggle, but Han Xiao stepped on his legs, then slowly applied pressure to the trigger.
Yang Dian’s eyes widened. At this moment, regret uncontrollably flooded his mind.
If I wasn’t so meddlesome, I wouldn’t die today. In front of an enemy that’s this strong, even if I bet my life on it, I wouldn’t be able to stop him for a bit. Coming here was just giving my life away. I shouldn’t have accepted the request. I was too impulsive…
Ka!
The trigger reached its end. Yang Dian’s entire body trembled, only to realize that he did not feel any pain. He was stunned as he watched Han Xiao back off. Then he realized that cold sweat had drenched all his clothes. Although he could not see his own face, he knew that it was definitely a twisted expression filled with fear, regret, and unwillingness.
“What were you thinking just now?” Han Xiao said.
Yang Dian froze in place but kept silence. In the face of death, the belief that he had once thought would never be destroyed was shaken. He was not as generous and tough as he said at all. Instead, at that moment, it was regret he felt, and he even thought that giving up his life for a request from others was extremely stupid. Yet before this event, he had always been working hard toward the goal of being a superhero—he wanted to save more people; he wanted to protect more civilians; he wanted to sacrifice himself for others.
But at this moment, Yang Dian only felt lost.
Han Xiao put his handgun with the empty clip back to the holster, took out a laptop, transferred some data to a thumb drive, and threw it to Yang Dian.
Yang Dian and Ned froze in place.
The enemy left just like that?
“Why did he not kill us?” Yang Dian held the thumb drive in a daze.
“We are no match for him. Don’t go up to him and look for death. We have to leave here first.” Yang Dian held onto Ned, and they left limping.
Another mission failure, the duo’s hearts were filled with shame. They could not face Kate. When they arrived at Louis Research Institution’s door, the military was already there, and the area was locked down. The duo did not want to come into contact with the Maple Military, so they went back to the place where they rested and dressed their wounds.
Yang Dian kept thinking about what Han Xiao had said. He was confused and could not focus at all. He lay on bed dazed, the thoughts from just now flashing in his mind non-stop. He could feel that his belief and perspective of being a superhero were shaken; it was a war against his own mind.
At this time, Ned could not hold back his curiosity of what was inside the thumb drive. He plugged it into the laptop, and only a few seconds of looking at it made him break out in cold sweat.
“Yang, come here and look at this!”
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“What is it?” Yang Dian tried to regain his focus and went up to the laptop screen. Then he, too, was stunned.
The files on the thumb drive were a part of the data that Han Xiao had gotten from hacking into the research institution. Every research project of the Death Virus was clearly written to be regarding enhancing physical abilities and biochemistry weapons. There was no mention of the cure Kate talked about.
It was also written that the exploration team that had gone into the Robert Forbidden Zone had been gathering materials for physical ability enhancements research.
“Th-this is real? Could he be lying?”
“He could have killed us easily. Why would he lie to us?”
Yang Dian and Ned slowly turned from consternation to rage.
It turned out that they were like two idiots from the start to the end, toyed with by the people of Louis Research Institution. They could not believe that they were so naive to have believed the one-sided words of these people; it made them feel like their persistence was nothing but a joke.
No wonder the mysterious warrior in the mechanical suit did not kill them; he probably felt that they were pathetic and pitiful, so he told them the truth.
Yang Dian was so ashamed and embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole in a ground and hide in it.
They kept calling themselves superhero, but they were saved by a stranger who they deemed wicked twice! If the mysterious man had not exposed the truth, they would still have been totally in the dark.
“Too bad we don’t know his name. If we did, l definitely would apologize to him in person.” Ned was upset.
Yang Dian nodded heavily. With raging anger burning inside, he called Kate. “You have been lying to us!”
Kate sounded stunned. “What did I lie about?”
“You have been using us. You made us risk our lives to do things for you. The exploration team, the cure to the virus, that was all fake!”
“What are you talking about? Why would I do that? You are overthinking this.” Kate’s made an unnatural pause.
“I have evidence. The research of the Death Virus has nothing to do with saving lives!” Yang Dian said.
“That’s fake. You guys must’ve heard rumors,” Kate replied
“Still lying to us‽” Yang Dian was angry, he then stated the project serial number.
The other side of the phone remained silent for a while, then Kate replied in a cold tone—he gave up pretending. “So what? What do you want to do, or rather, what can you do?”
“I…” Yang Dian was furious, but he suddenly jammed.
“Humph, Superhero!” Kate’s tone was full of sarcasm as he hung up the call.
Yang Dian held the phone and froze in place. His aura was changing quickly.
Ned suddenly felt a chill. He quickly asked, “Are you alright?”
Yang Dian shook his head and put down the phone. “I’m alright, Why wouldn’t I be? Hehe.”
He laughed inexplicably.
…
The research institution was in a mess. The high ranked officials were sweating all over as they negotiated with the military.
Kate was annoyed. He did not expect things to have turned out this way when he lured the wolf into the room. No one had dared to mess with the research institution before. They had many financial organizations behind them, and anyone who stroked the tiger’s beard would face its wrath—they would be chased down by organizations with no escape.
After contacting the financial organizations backing them, the organizations were all understandably furious. He called himself Germinal Organization’s executive officer Heisenberg, and he had a mechanical suit with extremely advanced technology—it was quite convincing. The Germinal Organization was like a mouse crossing the street. Everyone wanted to beat them. It would not matter how many enemies they made, and it was very possible that they were throwing the helve after the hatchet.
The financial organizations decided to not only let Western Continent’s Intelligence organizations look thoroughly for this person, but they were also going to give money to the Six Nation’s expedition through military donations.
The reason behind these financial organizations having such an exaggerated reaction was because there were drugs that the owners of these organizations urgently needed among the stolen stock. Therefore, they desperately needed it back even if it meant they had to spend more money!
Kate was already annoyed enough. He did not even want to bother about the questioning from the two superheroes, and he did not care at all about them finding out the truth.
Because superheroes would never take revenge for such small matter
Thus, Kate was calmed and had nothing to fear.
…
Han Xiao had taken off the mechanical suit, changed his face and mixed into the crowd.
_____________________
[Trial of a Hero] completed!
+40 Yang Dian’s Impression of You, +40 Ned’s Impression of You.
_____________________
Han Xiao waited for some time, but there were no new notifications. That’s it? What do I need the good impression from these two guys for?
He had never even heard of these two guys before, so they were probably not anyone important.
Han Xiao was speechless. It was a reasonable reward, but he would have even preferred experience points over this.
Never mind, it’s just a small mission. The biggest rewards are these drugs.
Han Xiao chuckled as he looked down at the bulging package in his hands.
When he stole… that’s wrong, when he requisitioned the drugs, Han Xiao took everything in the exhibition room of Louis Research Institution, which was almost every type of drug.
He found a random small hotel and checked in. As usual, he first checked to see if there were surveillance cameras, then he opened his backpack and took out all the various drugs before arranging them in rows.
Let’s see if there’s any good stuff. Han Xiao rubbed his hands. He had heard that one would be lucky if one’s hands were heated.
_____________________
Green Lizard Drug (Medium Concentration 23.3%): Made from the Green Lizard Genes. This is a lazy being. After you drink this, you will feel calm.
_____________________
Han Xiao stunned for three seconds. Then he stood up in rage and threw it on the floor.
Green my ass, what’s the point of even inventing this kind of drug! I would’ve been luckier if I used my feet 1 !
Looking at this pile of colorful drugs, Han Xiao felt as if a black cloud of bad luck was floating above his head.
Let’s hope the other drugs are better.
He continued searching. There was a total of 34 types of drugs, and luckily, there was not another one that was as useless as the Green Lizard drug.
Some of the useful drugs were pretty great.
There was a high concentration Death Virus Enhancement Drug, which had a much stronger effect than the one Kate gave. The permanent attribute boost was greater, and the chance to awaken the rare talent was at least three times higher.
_____________________
Wild Rhinoceros Steroid: Taken from the heart of wild rhinoceros. Injection gives +5 Strength, +5 Endurance. Lasts five minutes. Second injection within 30 minutes will have no effect.
_____________________
Thunder Claw Beast Extraction: Extracted from the bodily fluids of Thunder Claw Beasts. +12% melee attack for the next five attacks.
_____________________
Stone Plaque Pathogen: Infects the user with Stone Plaque.
_____________________
There were three types of drugs—temporary enhancement drugs, disease spreading drugs, and the very rare permanent attribute boost drugs like the Death Virus Enhancement Drug.
Some of the permanent attribute boost drugs can only be used once, and some can be used multiple times. The Eagle Predator Drug is the former, and the Death Virus Drug is the latter.
That was why players were so passionate about going to the Forbidden Zone and killing the BOSS. Usually, it would be a competition between large guilds.
_____________________
You used Eagle Predator Drug.
+3 Dexterity.
_____________________
There were four bottles of the Death Virus Drug. He took a short break and finished all of them in one shot. His Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance all increased by four, and that bottle with high concentration made him awaken the rare talent.
_____________________
[Extraordinary Physique]
+10% Health
+180% Recovery Rate
+8% Abnormalities Resistance
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It was a tank biased talent, not up to the standard of being a Molding ability, but it did make Han Xiao tankier.
He recalled that Hila had a recovery passive too. Extraordinary Physique had similar effects and also gave him another 300 HP from the health boost.
As a Mechanic, is it really a good thing to be this tanky? Han Xiao did not know whether to laugh or to cry. This was forcing him to fight people head-on. He felt like if he continued like this, his style would totally shatter.
I just want to be a technical Mechanic. Close combat is for savages!
I need to find an offensive talent or manufacturing talent, but those kinds ofMolding ability are way too rare. The most common ones are still defensive and enhancement ones.
As a Mechanic, talents that could match with his firearms were what he needed the most. He had been hoping to trigger the [Lethal Shot] talent. Although it was not a Molding ability, it had rather good effects. The requirement was to deal extremely high damage with his firearm to targets that were at least the same level as him fifty times. He had already done that almost forty times, but enemies at his level were getting harder to find, he had to spend some time to do it.
As for the temporary enhancement drugs, he planned to put some of them in the mechanical suit’s rapid injection module and then find an opportunity to sell the rest, preferably to players, which would be another sum of money.
Among the drugs, surprisingly, there was one that was incomplete and only had one syringe.
_____________________
Unknown Drug: a semi-finished product of some drug, unknown effects.
_____________________
Its color was clear like water. Usually, unknown things would have surprising effects. Han Xiao had an inkling that this thing was not simple, but he would not use it when its effects were unclear.
Louis Research Institution might complete their research in the future. I will just have to go there again at some point, and I will know its effects when it’s completed.Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.
In order to make drugs or learn about magic potions, one had to gain the class [Pharmacist]. Han Xiao was not interested in making potions and wasting class slots, and he felt making potions and drugs were very different from making machines. As making potions demanded strict material ratios and manufacturing processes, a tiny mistake could cause failure, whereas making machines was just a channeling process.
Han Xiao snuck out of Kaylos in the afternoon. He had another threatening mission in Maple. Bennett wanted him to scare some government officials who lived in the capital of Maple. The two people who had gone there first to check on the situation was already at standby in the city of Maple Leaf.
The capital of Maple was called Karimochi, meaning the City of Maple Leaf.
…
The financial organizations behind Louis Research Institution issued a bounty on the Dark Net very quickly. The target was none other than ‘Heisenberg’, and it had the face that Han Xiao had used in the research institution, as well as a recording of him dashing out of the research institution wearing a mechanical suit.
The Germinal Organization saw this information very soon.
“There is no such person in our organization.”
The leader was startled. The organization only had a few deep-cover intelligence personnel and spies in other lands, and he absolutely did not order anyone to rob a civilian research institution. There was only one possibility. This ‘Heisenberg’ was a fake who used the Germinal Organization as cover.
He did not even think this was a framing act… because framing Germinal Organization was totally unnecessary. The whole world was against them, so they would not care for just one more enemy.
Since the Germinal Organization was beaten, everyone took them lightly, like a tiger without its fangs, and added insult to their injury. What kind of nobody was this Heisenberg?
What the leader focused on was the performance of the mechanical suit. To his surprise, he realized that this mechanical suit was using technology that was even more advanced than what the organization was currently working on. Even the Super Soldier project that kept having breakthroughs did not have this level of practicality.
If we can get hold of this mechanical suit, our single unit combat power will skyrocket. Which organization invented this mechanical suit? If it’s our enem y…
The leader’s hands grabbed harder onto the table edge, leaving a clear mark on the metal table. With a serious tone, he ordered, “Tell our intelligence network to pay attention secretly to the user of this mechanical suit—I want to know everything he’s doing.”
However, this was sadly the only time Han Xiao was observed using the mechanical suit. The intelligence agents of the Germinal Organization were unable to gather any more information. It was all very mysterious.
An organization that can invent such a mechanical suit definitely has very strong backing.
The leader felt like he had discovered the tip of the iceberg of some hidden organization, but they did not have any other leads, so there was nothing they could do at the moment.
He calmed his mind and asked, “How is the capturing of Inhumans going?”
The assistant took out the archives. “We have captured 2,103 Inhumans. At the start, they were gathered at a few fixed points, but afterward, they started to actively escape from the capture and spread to other areas. More and more people resisted to the capture, and our mission has been meeting some obstacles.”
“Cyberlos has come up with a new theory through observing the experiments. Even if these Inhumans are not brainwashed, they will still accept all kinds of requests, and they act with a very clear objective. They do not have much common sense, they talk weirdly, and they seem to have some kind of special way of communication between each other—some Inhumans knew each other. We are still investigating the causes of all that, but we have yet to gain any results. As Cyberlos put it, these Inhumans are like time travelers who came from the past.”
“What is the stance of the Six Nations toward the Inhumans?” the leader asked.
“Our intelligence network shows that the Six Nations have sent their own teams of people to contact the Inhumans. They had different attitudes anywhere from friendly to forceful.”
The leader nodded. After pondering a moment, he said, “They have stopped their war preparation, but it won’t be stopped forever. Agents from every country have already infiltrated Andrea, find them. I want their every move to be under our surveillance. I have a feeling that Inhumans will be the key for us in this war.”
…
Reflections on the sunglasses showed the exterior appearance of a luxurious villa. There were secret service agents in normal clothes patrolling around the area continuously. A white old man who looked like a beggar pushed his sunglasses up, touched the cap that covered his bald head, and then fidgeted with the mini earphone that was hidden under the cap in his ear.
“Duplex four-floor villa. The manor door needs the interior system to be opened. Two standard secret service teams patrolling outside the manor, one team inside, a total of eighteen secret service agents. Leaves house 8 am sharp every morning, travels in a bulletproof car. Two teams follow for protection, has lunch at the interior restaurant of the government building, the same team follows along for protection.
Hannes spoke softly into the headset as he pushed his sunglasses. “The target lives in Maple’s political area. Patrolling police and sentries are packed along the roads. If you’re doing it on the streets, you’d better be quick about it.”
The calmed voice of a woman, Vernina, was heard through the headset. “Then let’s do it on the streets. This reminds me of the old days.”
“I must be mad,” Hannes said with discontent. “Still doing things with you guys after I have retired, and it’s to kidnap a high ranked officer of Maple. Damn it Garian, why did you have to find me for this? Why didn’t you ask Bennett? He’s still fighting on the front lines. You had to look for this retired old man. Couldn’t you let me enjoy a few years of leisure!”
“Humph, you owe me a favor, and I don’t like Bennett. He gave me three bullet holes 33 years ago.” Another voice appeared in the headset. Garian was a rough man; his voice was like a cannon, “Anyway, stop complaining like some woman. Have the days of doing nothing and planting vegetation softened your toughness?”
“Gentlemen, don’t forget there’s a woman here,” Vernina said calmly.
“I am already sixty, and you are one year older than me. It’s not normal for you to think about fighting and killing all day.” Hannes was speechless.
“Humph, I’m yet to hit seventy. Is that old?” Garian whined for a while and turned back to being serious. “In nine seconds, patrolling officers will appear from the corner. Be careful to stay hidden.”
Hannes leaned forward, and his aura immediately turned unnoticeable. After nine seconds, a patrolling police officer walked around the corner of the street and saw Hannes.
He walked forward and yelled, “Identification check!”
Hannes took out the fake ID that looked exactly like a real one. The officer glanced through and returned it, “No lingering here. Move along.”
Hannes moved his feet slowly like an old man, turned into the corner, then sped up. He said softly, “There are too many patrolling police officers and sentries here. To kidnap the target quietly without anyone noticing, it’ll be best to do it at night.”
“Come back here first. We will discuss the plan,” Garian said with a heavy voice.
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It was gloomy and raining in the Western Continent. After a few days of taking the shaky civilian train, Han Xiao finally arrived in the capital of Maple, the City of Maple Leaf.
Maple’s population density was low despite having a large area of land. Houses were cheap, and the average house size was rather big; even those in the middle-income bracket were able to afford a villa. The civilians in the capital had a pretty high income. Every year, the government of Maple would chase the beggars and the poor to other cities, which resulted in Maple Leaf’s environment being optimal, peaceful, and comfortable with sufficient greenery.
Han Xiao was smuggled in as usual. Following the map, he found a villa at the edge of Maple Leaf. It was a safe house that Dark Net had bought with a fake account and identity. The contact would be waiting inside.
The villa had three floors. The door was made from gray glazed wood and had exquisite carvings. Han Xiao grabbed the door knocker and thumped to the rhythm of their secret code. The door opened with a squeak, and an old female butler who had more wrinkles than an expired orange invited him in with a plain face.
After entering the house, the old woman, whose true identity was a long-term resident contact, closed the door and said, “Both guests are waiting in the basement.”
Han Xiao nodded. He opened the hidden door in the cabinet beside the staircase and walked down to the basement. It was not as dark as he had imagined it to be; it was bright and surrounded by metal walls. Many pieces of equipment and firearms lay around. There was also a specially designed lathe and a material case at the corner.
The two contacts were waiting at the meeting table in the middle. They both looked toward Han Xian. His face was changed back to Black Phantom, so he was recognized.
Of the two contacts, one was Golden Fox, and the other was a young man.
Golden Fox hesitated and said, “Black Phantom?”
Han Xiao’s eyes brightened. He laughed and said, “Oh, it’s you. I’ve seen you before. You seem to have become prettier.”
Golden Fox was frightened. She touched her face and said in her head, Please don’t be interested in me, I beg you!
The other contact was a young man in his twenties. His code name in the Blood Pact Society was ‘Ghost Blade’. He was a scorpion—lowest rank—and a new member who had only joined recently. He was staring at Han Xiao with judgement and slight doubt.
Ghost Blade had been trained as an agent in Raylen, but he had escaped before graduation. Having been trained in an agent training organization, he naturally always felt a sense of superiority toward these underground killers. He had joined the Blood Pact Society around the same time Han Xiao did, but Han Xiao was already a legend in the organization while he was still struggling in the scorpion grade. So, he had always been unconvinced.
In terms of experience, Han Xiao actually did not have much of it, but he became the ace of Blood Pact Society with his strength and Bennett backing him up. There were a small group of proud contract killers who were unconvinced—most of them had other successful experiences before they turned to become a killer. Despite the results of these battles were written clearly, there would still be people who were in doubt unless they saw it themselves.
“I heard about your battles. They say you’re a legend, but it seems like there’s nothing special,” Ghost Blade said with a plain face.
Han Xiao glanced at Ghost Blade but could not be bothered with him.
Golden Fox cut in hurriedly and started talking about the main topic. “Ahem! There are five targets: Harry Reymen, Sennin Miller, Billy Angus, Dick Van Vancity, Dorasi Farami. They are all government officials who opposed the plan. There are guards around them when they’re out and where they live.”
With a glance to Ghost Blade, he snorted, took out a map, and laid it out on the meeting table. “This is the terrain map of the target’s villa. The guarding power and the patrolling routes of police nearby are also marked out.”
The data was very detailed. Ghost Blade’s ability to collect intelligence was the textbook example that strictly followed the training booklet of Raylen. He had collected almost every detail there was in this mission. With the secret knowledge he had as an agent, Golden Fox did not need to help at all when he was gathering the data. It made him feel superior to these killers. After all, he was a pro, and amateurs were on a different level.
Ghost Blade peeked at Han Xiao. He was confident that such detailed intelligence would surprise the Black Phantom, but Han Xiao kept a straight face as if it was a common occurrence to him.
With a frown, Ghost Blade said in a deep voice, “I have designed an action plan for you. You see these red lines and marks? These are the action routes I have planned out. As long as you keep to my plan and don’t make any mistakes, you will definitely succeed. I’m assuming you understand what I wrote here. These are special symbols used by agents. If you don’t understand them, I can explain for you.
“No need, I will look at it myself.” Han Xiao knocked the table while reading through the intelligence carefully. He then asked, “What is the exact mission?”
“To place these documents into the targets’ homes, somewhere obvious that ensures the target sees them. Inside, there are some pieces of evidence that have the ability to cause them harm. As long as they realize that we can put these in their house without anyone noticing, they will know they are not safe. This will act as a threat but not cross the line,” Golden Fox said.
“I will be infiltrating. What will you guys do?”
“I am only responsible for providing intelligence. Carrying out the mission is your mission as an ace, so don’t think about seeking my help,” Ghost Blade snorted.
Golden Fox gave Ghost Blade a stare, before saying in a pleasing tone to Han Xiao, “If you need me to back you up, I can do it.”
“Never mind, there’s no need for that.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “It’s a pretty easy mission. I can do it alone.”
“It is indeed easy when you follow my plan.” Ghost Blade nodded lightly. He had actually left out some intelligence in the data. It would not affect the mission, but it would give the person carrying out the mission some slight challenges. He wanted to test out Black Phantom. Although the latter was an ace of the organization, unless he could pass the test, Ghost Blade would still maintain a cold attitude toward Black Phantom.
However, Han Xiao looked at the plan and shook his head. “The plan is too complicated. I will do it my way.”
Ghost Blade was unhappy. “This plan was made from my careful and precise research of all the intelligence we have, and you came up with a better one within a few minutes of looking at it?”
“This mission is not challenging at all for me,” Han Xiao said.
Quit messing around! Ghost Blade snorted with anger and walked away. He was very discontent that Black Phantom did not follow his plan. He was a professional, and his plan was perfect; Black Phantom had no idea of what he was looking at.
There will definitely be accidents if he doesn’t follow my plan, Ghost Blade thought. He had some dark thoughts, and he even wanted to gloat at Black Phantom’s failure. To him, not following his plan was basically screwing around. Black Phantom had better have meant what he said. If he ends up using my plan, I will only look down on him.
Han Xiao looked at his watch. “I will act tonight. You guys just have to wait.”
The two contacts were not involved in the field action, and Han Xiao did not need a supporting intelligence crew. Since it was just Han Xiao acting alone, there was no need for a headset.
“He’s only just arrived, and he is already going to act. How impulsive.” Ghost Blade shook his head. He felt this mission was most likely going to fail.
Not listening to suggestions from professionals would almost always result in failure.
…
Night arrived in no time, but clouds covered the moon. Han Xiao had changed into a black outfit. He hid whatever he was not going to need in the safehouse. Then he made sure the circuits were working and reset the password to prevent anyone from opening it. He brought along the necessary equipment and left.
At night, the streets of Maple were quite. The night wind blew past the trees and made a calming sound as fragrance from the gardens at the side of the street filled the air. There were few pedestrians on the street. In fact, those pedestrians were mostly patrolling police, which hinted at the high-pressure policies within the country and the security not being as peaceful as it looked.
Han Xiao walked past quiet streets one after another and arrived at the political area of the city. Patrols on the street became more frequent, so he hid in the shadow of an alley, observed the situation, and waited patiently.
About ten minutes later, a patrolling police officer walked toward him.
‘This is B3248. We are clear,” he said into the walkie talkie and walked toward the alley entrance. Then, he unconsciously looked into the dark alley.
A pair of arms reached out suddenly and dragged him into darkness. His yelling only lasted a mere second before it stopped.
One minute later, Han Xiao changed into the police uniform with the walkie talkie at the side of his waist. His face had changed completely—the skin mask had scanned the policeman’s face and imitated it perfectly.
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Han Xiao injected sleeping medicine into the police officer and hid him in a rubbish bin in the alley. He probably would not be discovered until the next morning.
The strong sleeping medicine was not the normal kind one would find on the market but a secret recipe made by Golden Fox. She claimed that it could make a three-meter-tall elephant fall asleep in ten seconds. As for why she used an elephant to experiment, Han Xiao was confused too.
Golden Fox had the intention of endearing herself to Han Xiao by providing the sleeping medicine, but Han Xiao had a feeling that the atmosphere between him and Golden Fox was very weird. Every time their eyes met, it felt like it ignited a spark in the air. Golden Fox would shrink backward like an injured little beast and turn to look at somewhere else, not daring to look Han Xiao in the eye.
If Han Xiao did not remember giving Golden Fox a weird impression back when he was too bored, with Golden Fox acting like a young girl in love, he would have thought she wanted to do something inappropriate to him. However, he knew that she was actually afraid of him.
Han Xiao diluted the medicine so that it was not that strong. Normal people would wake up after about ten hours. He had tested it himself and was notified that one with Endurance higher than 45 would be immune to it. He had more than 80 and close to 90.
The average Endurance of a LV 55 Mechanic is around 70. Han Xiao did not exceed that by a large portion, but his health was more than 1.5 times of the same level Mechanic!
With Molding Ability [Basic Strengthened Life] and the recently awakened [Extraordinary Physique], Han Xiao’s health was an astonishing amount of about 3,400. Together with Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor and Viper that only a Mechanic would have, he was at the same standard as the same level BOSS.
However, this was the capital of Maple. If he was to be too high profile, he would probably not end up well, so he decided to do an ordinary infiltration like Hitman 47.
Wearing the police uniform, Han Xiao swaggered toward the villa of the first target, Sennin Miller. Trees and vegetation filled the garden on the side of the road, and branches sliced the light from street lamps into thin light curtains.
Using Night Stalker’s ability, Han Xiao entered [Stealth]. He walked around the villa and observed the cameras on the streets.
Total of three surveillance cameras looking at three different directions of the villa. They rotate at the same speed automatically… hmm? Seems like there’ll be a blind spot for a brief moment.
Han Xiao found the opportunity, but this was not written in the data. He wondered if Ghost Blade did not realize or did not write it on purpose.
In order to sneak in, I’ll first have to deal with the cameras.
Every five minutes, the cameras’ field of sight will leave a two-second blind spot, which made things much easier. There was no need to go through to trouble of accessing the circuits of the camera and invading the surveillance network. As long as he was fast enough to enter the villa, he could avoid getting caught by the cameras.
Due to the surveillance of the city not being looked at every hour of the day, a patrolling officer going missing would not be noticed immediately unless it was seen by the surveillance monitor.
He was not hoping to infiltrate perfectly without leaving any trace—all he wanted to do was complete the mission that night.
There were secret service agents standing both inside and outside of the villa, detection devices at the door, and electrical railings on the wall. But other than that, it was no different from a normal residence. The agents outside were easy to deal with—he just needed to divert their attention. However, there were also people in the manor, and he could not identify their positions with his eyes.
Han Xiao had his ways though. He put on a pair of sunglasses. They looked just like any normal sunglasses, but they actually had a portable version of the electromagnetic scanner. By clicking the mini switch on its side, the biological reaction inside the manor would appear as blurry human shaped images, which was enough to identify their location.
However, it was weird to wear a pair of sunglasses during the night. It reminded him of a scene in ‘Kung Fu Hustle’.
The officials of Maple had guards around them all day as if they were afraid of being attacked even on the streets, which was an indication of how much they were disliked by the civilians. Unlike the other five nations, which did not have this kind of measure, even the air in Maple felt pressurizing.
The cultures of various nations were different, and this protective measure of the government officials in Maple had not been there in the beginning. It happened because of the same reason that lead the government to create the policy of evicting low-class civilians in the capital—the ‘Ulrich Assault’, the government assault event that everyone in Maple knew but was afraid to talk about. It happened in the 11th year of the new era of the Six Nations. Han Xiao had seen this segment of history in the Dark Net history events.
Every civilization in Galaxy had some history that was worth digging for. However, in the case of Maple, whether in his previous or current life, Han Xiao did not know much about it.
These thoughts flashed passed as he was in the middle of the mission, then he continued to think about the infiltration plan.
The secret service agents patrolling the villa had looked like they should not be messed with. Han Xiao put down a Spider Detector and observed from a hidden corner. If he himself passed by the villa too many times, it would have raised suspicions.
He found an opportunity very soon. The second a blind spot appeared between the field of vision of the secret service agents and the cameras. He activated his Electromagnetic Hover-boots and slid over the wall without a sound, smoothly landing behind a tree in the manor.
Although he controlled his movements as much as he could, the leaves still shook a little. A highly alert secret agent hiding below the tree notices the movement and immediately looked up.
Han Xiao had a plan the moment he jumped in. Without any hesitation, when the secret service agent was carefully looking up with squinting eyes, Han Xiao moved like a phantom with his more than 100 points of Dexterity and appeared from behind the tree. He covered the secret service agent’s mouth and injected a syringe. Before the secret service agent could struggle, he was already quiet.
It did not make a loud noise, but there was another agent not far away that saw his friend leaving the position in the edge of his vision. Fortunately, Han Xiao was too fast for him to see.
“Seeley?” The agent called his friend’s name quietly and walked over.
Shit, Han Xiao thought. Traditional infiltration was all about timing. He kept his nerves tight at all times and came up with a solution very soon. He quickly scanned the face of the agent he knocked out and changed into his face. He walked out from behind the tree and shook his head, signaling that everything was fine.
“What were you doing behind the tree?” The agent who had walked over loosened his alert as he saw his friend. He continued to close in, wanting to know what happened behind the tree.
Han Xiao flipped his hands and a tiny handgun appeared. It shot a syringe out quietly and hit the neck of the secret service agent. The agent’s footsteps became unstable as he was falling asleep. Han Xiao immediately dashed forward and held him up. Then he carefully dragged the man behind the tree.
There were four patrols in the manor. They contacted each other with walkie talkie constantly, so within a few seconds, the others would realize two of their colleagues had lost contact.
I’ve got to knock out all the patrols, Han Xiao thought. The secret service agents inside and outside were two different teams, and they only contacted each other once in a while. Removing the external agents would give him about half an hour, which was enough time for him to act.
Han Xiao moved quickly and quietly like a cat. The other two patrolling agents were knocked out in no time. They were just well trained normal elites, so they could not resist Han Xiao at all.
After making sure the patrols were cleared, Han Xiao entered the Villa from the window. He turned on the electromagnetic sunglasses, and the villa’s structure was presented clearly before his eyes. The bald official was sleeping while hugging his young and beautiful wife in the master bedroom, and there was a maid sleeping in another room. In such a big house, there were only three people.
Han Xiao found his way to the study. He took out the document that had evidence collected by the Dark Net and placed it in an obvious position on the table. One target was completed.
“I shall not delay. There’s still some time till Maple finds out someone has sneaked in. I have to speed up.” Han Xiao swiftly sneaked out of the manor. The secret service agents that were guarding outside were still doing their job, not knowing what had happened inside.
Han Xiao infiltrated three more targets’ villas. The guards were all different from each other, but with his LV 55 senses and intelligence provided by Golden Fox and Ghost Blade, together with his skin mask and Electromagnetic Hover-boots, the action was carried out rather smoothly without many hiccups.
A small accident happened at the third target. When Han Xiao was placing the document in the study, probably due to the target being too old, he woke up quivering and wanted to pass by the study. Han Xiao hastily hid behind the floor lamp in the corner.
Without looking closely, floor lamps would usually be mistaken as a person and be ignored unconsciously. Although it was a very daring spot to hide, Han Xiao thought it was a brilliant idea. However, the result was completely different from what he expected.
Having woken up in the middle of the night, wanting to go to the bathroom, already being scared while walking in the dark corridor, the old man passed by the book room and mistook the floor lamp for a person, which made him even more nervous. When he wanted to take a closer look and assure himself that he was just being scared of nothing, he noticed… Holy shit! There actually is someone behind the lamp!
The target was an elderly man. He covered his chest and fell straight down.
_____________________
You have killed Dick Van Vancity (Lv5). You have received 1 EXP.
_____________________
The target was scared to death… to death… death…
Fu*k! Seriously‽
Han Xiao was completely stunned.
I didn’t kill anyone! You suffered from myocardial infarction, I’m innocent!
“Hey, grandpa, wake up. You still have so much youth to look forward to. How can you die like this?” Han Xiao shook the old man’s shoulders continuously, almost shattering his bones.
Accidentally killed the target, what now?
Han Xiao had a headache.
Suddenly, he had a flash of insight, and he had a new idea.
Wait a minute, the fundamental purpose of this mission is to reduce the number of officials that are opposing the project. If they all die, there will be nobody opposing.
…
“Ah-choo!”
Bennett, who was far away at Southern Continent, suddenly sneezed. He had a bad premonition.
“Flu?”
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One of the targets died, but the mission did not fail, which meant that killing was technically allowed.
Such an immoral mission. Han Xiao shook his head. He carried the dead body of the old man and put it into the cabinet. The longer it stays hidden the better it is.
He did not want to kill. The targets were all officials of a rather high rank, and killing them would cause a storm in Maple. Thus, there were no benefits, only risks.
One official had died, but it was an accident. They could not count him responsible.
Only one target was left, Dorasi Farami. He had the highest rank of all five targets. His manor was bigger, and the guarding power was stronger.
Han Xiao followed the same steps—he sneaked into the manor through the blind spot and hid in the shadows. None of the patrols could escape his sights.
He sneaked behind an agent and injected a syringe into his neck, then he dragged him further into the garden and changed into his clothes and face. He looked at his identification; the unlucky person this time was called Anguston.
Dorasi’s manor was rather huge. As Han Xiao was going to enter through the window from the back of the villa, the villa’s lights turned on. A command from a superior appeared from walkie talkie.
“All units assemble. Escort the target to the government building.”
All the secret service agents gathered. Now Han Xiao was stuck in a passive position. He replaced Anguston and had to continue playing the character if he did not want to get found out. Left with no choice, he followed the secret service team and assembled in front of the villa door.
The team leader knocked the door and yelled, “Mr. Dorasi, knocked out agents have been found in other officials’ mansions. The enemy infiltrated their homes. You’re not safe here. Please follow us to the government building and take refuge.”
Han Xiao realized it was about time for Maple to have reacted to the people that he knocked out in the previous mansions.
Too bad, just a while more I would’ve completed the last one. Han Xiao sighed. He had to change his plans because of the sudden change of situation. He hoped they would find out later about the old man who was shoved into the cabinet.
The glazed wooden door opened with a squeak. An old man with a straight back in formal wear walked out the door. The wrinkles on his face were like knife scars with vicissitudes and coldness, and his white hair was combed neatly.
Secret service agents surrounded Dorasi as they walked toward the car parked at the door. There were four cars. The one that Dorasi would be sitting in was in the middle, guarded by the three other cars in a triangle shape. Han Xiao sat in the car at the right rear.
As they departed, Han Xiao decided to stay put and observe since it was the best choice.
I could sneak out in the middle of the trip and complete the last mission on the way.
As he was thinking, a few fist-sized shadows flew toward the convoy. Han Xiao knew these were howitzers from one look.
Boom!
The howitzers landed accurately on the chassis of the convoys and exploded. The power exceeded the usual standard, almost like a mini rocket launcher.
Sky-high flames lit up the night. The three guarding vehicles spun in midair and landed bottom up with flames.
“Someone attacked the convoy!” the driver of Dorasi’s car yelled as he hastily stepped on the throttle, wanting to escape with speed, but a few rounds of bullets shot out from the dark and busted the wheels.
The car swirled and stopped at the side of the road. Four disgraced secret service agents got out of the car hurriedly, but before they could even raise their guns, sniper bullets shot from a higher up position hit their chests without missing a shot. They immediately fell to the ground, critically injured.
“All the guards have been dealt with. Backup from Maple will take at least three minutes to arrive. We have more than enough time. Vernina, evacuate with the target,” Hannes said through the walkie talkie.
At the junction of street lamps and darkness, the outline of a woman became clearer. Vernina appeared, holding a grenade launcher. She had short, blonde hair. The wrinkles at the side of her eyes showed she was not very young, but her appearance still had the signs of her beauty when she was younger. Every move she made played the rhyme of a mature lady.
Dorasi walked out of the car. He remained calm and looked at the struggling guards on the floor. “Who are you people?”
Vernina slowly walked toward Dorasi while taking out her handgun and killing the guards on the way. She took out a sedative syringe from her tactical pouch on her waist and said, “Put the gun down, or there’ll be a hole in your heart.”
Dorasi’s expression changed. He looked down and saw a red dot on his chest where his heart was. He immediately loosened his grip on the handgun behind his back. Looking up, he could see a looming red dot from a sniper scope on a high rise building.
At a window in the building, Hannes was holding a sniper rifle, providing ranged back up and controlling the situation from above.
“Seems like I have no choice.” Dorasi raised his hands with a long face and walked toward Vernina.
Bang!
Suddenly, an overturned burning car’s door flew off. A pair of hands grabbed the door frame and tore it with a piercing sound. Han Xiao walked out as he stretched his neck; his body was hurting all over from the crash.
Having been blown away by a howitzer out of nowhere, he was in a bad mood.
“There’s still an alive one?” Vernina turned around and fired at Han Xiao without changing her expression. Han Xiao reacted quickly. the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor wrapped around his body as the howitzer hit him, and he was devoured by the flames.
Vernina thought that was more than enough to deal with the tiny fish that slipped through the net, but after the smoke disappeared, Han Xiao was still standing there, staring at her coldly. The expression in his eyes made her nervous.
In her career of battling through the ages, she had fought all kinds of strong enemies and developed a sharp intuition that could quickly identify the strength of the enemy. She could tell from just one look that these were the eyes of a predator!
Han Xiao had a horrible expression on his face when saw the information on the interface. The enemy was called Vernina. She was an astonishing LV 60 Cannon Master, which was the limit of version 1.0, someone who was at the top of the pyramid on Planet Aquamarine!
This was the second person after Bennett on Planet Aquamarine that was at the maximum level! But she didn’t have as many Molding Abilities as Bennett.
Vernina… the name sounds familiar, Han Xiao thought.
For such a high-level person to attack an official of Maple, there was definitely some hidden agenda. Han Xiao was involved by accident, but he did not want to be meddlesome, so he admitted his unluckiness.
Just as Han Xiao turned around, wanting to leave the place with his Hover-boots, Vernina fired again.
Clunk!
A howitzer hit Han Xiao at the back of his head and exploded on the armor, pushing him forward.
Han Xiao stopped in place immediately.
The next monument, the armor wrapped around his entire body. Han Xiao turned around and dashed toward Vernina. He pulled out the retractable knife and dished out a quick stab!
The Electromagnetic Hover-boots were at full power, so the speed of his dash was like a bullet.
Vernina hastily held up her grenade launcher as a shield.
Screech!
The dark black blade penetrated the grenade launcher. It cut the complicated mechanical structure inside and pierced into Vernina’s abdomen, causing blood to drip onto the ground.
Han Xiao’s hands let go of the blade, and he launched his fist toward Vernina’s temple. She hastily raised her arms to block. As the fist and her arm clashed, she felt an irresistible force of strength that hit her head across her bones. She then felt pain on her lower abdomen as Han Xiao kicked it.
“You forced me to do this!” Han Xiao gnashed his teeth.
I don’t want to bother with you, and now you’re taking it for granted!
After taking a few ruthless shots, he was furious!
Having been hit two times consecutively, Vernina was extremely shocked. She had thought that this agent was just a fish that slipped through the next, but it turned out to be an enormous shark!
She was a legend in the old era, and now she was suppressed by an enemy that she had never heard about‽
The opponent seemed to have the intention of escaping a few moments ago and looked like he did not want to be involved but was pissed off by her two shots. Vernina was filled with regret. A slip of the hand had resulted in a confrontation with such a strong enemy, but it was not her fault. The intelligence showed that the guards of Dorasi were all normal civilians, so she never could have guessed that one of them had been replaced with Han Xiao. She was truly unlucky.
He’s not Pugilist, and not an Esper either; he’s a Mechanic? Vernina was stunned, and she distanced herself hurriedly. Firearms were extremely powerful in her hands; even Mag from before would have to admit his defeat.
Han Xiao did not intend to engage in a shoot-out. He did not bring sniper for this mission, only two Berserk Eagles and some small machines. Thus, he chose close range combat by using Hover-boots to close their difference in swiftness and then suppress the opponent with his Strength. The Dexterity of Vernina was high, but Han Xiao had an advantage in Strength.
Also, flighting Vernina at a close range would make the sniper cautious and hesitant to shoot.
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The interface shows that Hannes was LV 60, too. Han Xiao realized that things were more complicated than he had initially thought. Two people at the maximum level in version 1.0 appearing at the same time definitely meant something significant—it might trigger a hidden storyline. Furthermore, these two people’s names sounded familiar, but Han Xiao could not remember at the time.
Han Xiao just wanted to focus on the mission from Bennett and make sure to complete it without any interference, but he was dragged into this matter, and being hit without fighting back was not his style.
Han Xiao dragged the battle to a close-range fight. Although Vernina was a Cannon Master, the level of her [Agent] sub class was very high, which meant she was not completely vulnerable in close combat. They exchanged blows again and again. Han Xiao was at an advantage because of his Strength. He would never hold back because of the opponent’s identity, gender, or age, so Vernina was at quite a disadvantage.
Both of their physical abilities exceeded normal people, a swing of their hands was more than enough to break apart bricks and penetrate through iron plates. The environment around them was destroyed, and the ground became full of pits. There was even an overturned car that Han Xiao had kicked away toward the tree—it was a mess. Dorasi stood by the side, not daring to escape because of the sniper.
Dorasi felt stupid. He had no idea there was such a strong superhuman hiding in his guards. Was this a secret arrangement of the secret services? But such a strong person would have been more than enough to even protect the highest ranked officials. Since when had he been treated even better than them‽
For now, Dorasi could only hope that this strong hidden person would be able to defeat the attackers, so he was extremely nervous.
Han Xiao was like gangrene. Vernina could not distance herself away at all, and she became more anxious as time passed.
“This agent is way too strong. Their backup will arrive soon. I’m stalled, Hannes, quickly help me!”
“He is too close to you, and you’re moving at a very high speed. There’s a fifty percent chance I will hit you instead,” Hannes said.
Vernina felt troubled. It was originally an easy mission, but with Han Xiao appearing, all the plans were ruined. The intelligence clearly showed Dorasi’s guards to be normal people. Where did this guy jump out of?
Hannes quickly came to a decision. “Retreat!”
It was at this time that the police sirens sounded. Police vehicles and the special operations unit closed in at high speed, and the sound of rotors appeared in the sky—two helicopters were circling above. The place was surrounded from every direction, and they had locked onto the two people that were fighting each other.
The emergency backup team had arrived. It had only been three to four minutes since Dorasi was attacked; they surely lived up to their team name.
Vernina clenched her teeth and used her back to take two punches from Han Xiao, moved with the force from the punches, and dashed into the encirclement while enduring piercing pain in her organs. The people of Maple fired continuously.
She was very agile, so she avoided the attacks by repeatedly sidestepping and found a safe route within the concentrated barrage. Even when she was hit, it only caused her single digit damage. The damage from normal people using normal firearms posed next to no threat to her.
As Han Xiao saw Vernina was about to escape the encirclement, he snatched a heavy sniper from one of the special operation soldiers, activated [Flaming Will], and hit Vernina’s shoulder.
Blood splashed.
Her footsteps stumbled, then she sped up again and disappeared in the darkness, leaving blood stains on the ground.
The majority of the team chased in their vehicles.
Han Xiao threw the gun away, feeling much better. There was no benefit in chasing. Injuring the opponent was enough, and he could not kill her anyway.
I’m on their side in Maple’s people’s eyes for now, but if I escape now, they might chase me too. Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He decided to stay in place and find the opportunity to escape when the police officers were not paying attention.
More troops arrived, and they started cleaning up the place. Dorasi was surrounded and taken care of by a doctor.
From the conversation between the police, Han Xiao knew that both Vernina and Hannes had escaped, which was expected.
As he was leaning on a car, resting, a high-ranked officer walked in front of him and said in a low voice, “I’m Colonel Danny. You have done a good job, protecting Dorasi’s safety and not letting the kidnappers get their way.”
Han Xiao continued putting up a show. He acted calm and said, “It’s my job to do so.”
Danny looked at the street that was filled with pits, and slight shock appeared on his face. “Anguston, joined the army eleven years ago, trained as a special unit soldier for three years, took part in two military missions, kicked out of the special unit due to disciplinary issues, and joined the secret services to protect government officials. Your history is very common—never showed the strength of a superhuman,” he said.
Han Xiao shrugged and said, “People are constantly changing.”
Colonel Danny frowned. This was a very serious issue. This Anguston had been hiding his real strength. His motive was very suspicious and had to be checked thoroughly, but right now was not a good time.
Then, Dorasi came forward. “Good job, you saved me. I will let your superiors know about this and reward you for it.”
Dorasi knew that he had to keep a humble attitude after seeing Han Xiao’s strength. Such a strong superhuman was not like any other normal soldier he could just command around.
Han Xiao secretly observed Dorasi, thinking, What secret does this old government official have that interest two people that are LV 60?
After Dorasi showed his appreciation, he looked at Colonel Danny with a straight face and said, “What was the identity of the attackers?”
“We are still checking… Oh, they have found it.” Colonel Danny took the laptop from his assistant, but he was stunned with only one look.
“Vernina, former Raylen agent, currently decommissioned. She was once very active in the battlefields of the old era, was one of the shining legends of that era. She carried out more than one hundred highly dangerous missions, including assassinations, protection details, infiltrations, subverting governments, and so on. Today was her first appearance in decades, and her threat level is determined to be the highest.”
If it had something to do with legendary characters of the old era, then it would more or less have some connection to Bennett.
Oh, I remember now. Han Xiao had a flash of light in his mind. He now remembered where Vernina and Hannes had appeared.
It was in the middle of version 1.0 when players came into contact with these two names. They appeared in a form of something more like an easter egg.
In the biggest refugee camp created by Bennett in Han Xiao’s previous life, there was a small hill that had three graves on it. Two of them belonged to these two people. When players came into contact with them, they were already dead,
Bennett would sometimes stop in front of the three graves, and if someone were to ask him about it, he would sigh and say he had buried his friends and comrades—all respectable people.
Players only knew these three people were old friends of Bennett from what he said and nothing else; some players had tried triggering a mission, but it did not result in anything. Apparently, it was just an easter egg.
But now, the two people in the grave were still alive. Han Xiao was certain there must be a hidden storyline.
Two of the strongest people at LV 60 from the same era of Bennett… why were they against a Maple government official?
In the original storyline, how and what did they die for? Who killed them?
Colonel Danny looked up at Han Xiao with suspicion.
This person that he had never heard before had chased away a legend of an era. He was stronger than he had thought!
There was such a scary guy hidden in secret service, and the military had not noticed!
We’ll have to investigate thoroughly, Colonel Danny thought.
With such thoughts in his mind, Colonel Danny commanded the people to clean the battlefield, and within a short moment, Han Xiao disappeared from under his nose.
Han Xiao activated [Night Stalker]’s abilities as the attention of the people around him was diverted by cleaning up the battlefield. He walked to the corner and immediately changed his face and escaped. His level was much higher than everyone there, so as soon as he activated stealth mode, he was undetectable unless he lingered right in front of someone for a very long time.
As soon as Colonel Danny had realized this, he quickly asked the people around him, but nobody saw Anguston leaving. He stood still in shock. With just a slight dip in attention, the person had disappeared!
He commanded his people to search the nearby areas, which of course lead to no result.
Not long after Colonel Danny was confused, someone found the real Anguston lying in the garden of Dorasi’s mansion. He then realized that this ‘Anguston’ was a fake, and it was the same thing that the mystery person who infiltrated other mansions of the officials had done!
The attacker’s identity is confirmed, but who is the infiltrator? Colonel Danny thought with a heavy mind. The infiltrator was as strong as Vernina, so which organization did he belong to, and why did an ‘ace’ level power appear in the capital?
Dorasi was horrified and covered in cold sweat when he knew the truth.
After all, it turned out the person that was protecting him was also an enemy that had been stalking him all along.
Two enemies actually fought with each other. It was like he walked past the edges of hell and ended up unhurt!
“How am I alive?” Dorasi was still panicking.
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As the people of Maple were still investigating, Han Xiao had already returned to Dorasi’s mansion. He placed the last document in the study and left, swaggering.
_____________________
[Deterrence and Threaten] is completed.
You have gained 120,000 experience.
+500 Relationship with Blood Pact Society
Current relationship: Respect (4450/6000)
_____________________
There was an affiliation between organizations. The Blood Pact Society was a subordinate organization of Dark Net, so the relationship with it would also influence the relationship with the Dark Net, just like how his relationship with Division 13 also affected the attitude that Stardragon had toward him. In order to unlock relationship with the higher-tier organization, Dark Net, Han Xiao guessed he needed an opportunity, like a mission or something. As the relationship with the subordinate organization became higher, it would start to affect the relationship with the superior organization.
This was not a difficult mission. It probably also has some hidden benefits, like increasing my relationship points with Bennett. Han Xiao nodded, when he returned to the Southern Continent, he would become a partner of the refugee storyline. He was looking forward to it.
…
After being busy for more than half of the night, Dorasi finally returned home, exhausted and protected by new guards.
As he passed by the study, he realized that the desk lamp was on. He walked toward the study table and wanted to turn the lamp off, but then he saw a document on the table that he had never seen before.
Dorasi’s expression changed. He hesitated for a few seconds and started reading the document slowly.
Inside the document were pieces of evidence of his corrupt profits and his unpleasant history, and it was shockingly inscribed by Dark Net.
“Dark Net sends our warmest regards. We wish you a healthy body.”
Dorasi’s face turned green. He immediately understood why the Dark Net did this—it could only be regarding the appropriation of supplies. He did not expect the Dark Net to even find out that he was one of the people who opposed the appropriation.
He threw the documents on the floor angrily, gnashing his teeth, and said, “How arrogant. This is blackmailing, a bunch of robbers!”
They could sneak into his house and place something, which meant they could take away his life. The infiltrator belonged to the Dark Net! Everything tonight had been planned by the Dark Net!
But he did not dare plan revenge. If the document fell into the hands of his political opposition, his political life would be over; he would undoubtedly be abandoned by the people he depended on. Without protection from his political party, he would definitely be erased. As a government official, he was most clear with Maple’s ways of doing things.
Dorasi burned the document and lay down on the chair like he had lost his bones. He watched the document as it turned into ash in the fireplace, and he remained silent for quite some time.
I can’t let people know about this. I was not the only one that opposed the appropriation. The others wouldn’t be stupid enough to spread it. Dorasi’s eyes twinkled. If no one talked about it, no one would know, and it would remain a secret. As long as they agreed with the appropriation, Dark Net would not take further action.
However, things never turned out according to plan. One of the government officials whose house had been infiltrated was found dead, with his dead body hidden in the cabinet! This had immediately raised the importance level much higher. Secret service agents locked down the official’s mansion and investigated the entire house carefully. Han Xiao saw that the target died at the time. Therefore, he did plant the document. Of course, the intelligence team did not manage to find anything.
They did, however, have a rough guess. Five victims, but only one died—why were the other four unharmed? What was the motive of the infiltrator? The intelligence unit asked the rest of the four victims, including Dorasi, if there were any abnormalities—all four of them denied it. However, the Intelligence team had found a link between the five parties, which was their opposition to providing aid for the Dark Net not long ago.
The Dark Net was the most suspicious!
The infiltrator had battled with the legend of the old era then disappeared into thin air. Maple Intelligence Institution immediately narrowed it down to the most suspicious person, Dark Net’s Black Phantom!
Which meant that the four officials were lying, but why did the dead government official get killed?
The doctor checked the cause of death. They did not find any injury outside or inside; the cause of death was a myocardial infarction and overflow of adrenaline. In short, he was scared to death!
What did he see before he died to scare him to death!
Did he see a ghost?
What did Black Phantom do?
The more they thought, the scarier it was for the intelligence agents of Maple.
“Such a fearsome way of assassination. Natural, no trace, godly disguise, unbelievable!”
The Intelligence agents recorded it hastily.
The toughness of Black Phantom was known by everyone in the underworld—it was almost impossible to find him. The intelligence institution of Maple could only do all they could, and they were already expecting their efforts to go to waste.
…
Vernina sat bare top on the chair with her front facing the back of the chair. Her hands grabbed the chair back and placed her chin on the back of her hands. Hannes was behind her, dealing with the wounds on her shoulder. To the side were cotton balls drenched with blood.
Ding-Dong
Hannes finally took out the bullet that was stuck in the muscles and threw it into the metal plate.
The pain made Vernina frown a little. She sighed and said, “Such a shame. Can’t believe I failed such an easy mission.”
Hannes continued sewing the wounds without facing up and said, “Garian’s information had errors—it’s all his fault.”
Garian threw the laptop on the table as he heard what Hannes said. The screen showed the files on the secret service agents around Dorasi. “Bullshit, this is intelligence I got from the database of Maple through very difficult and tiresome hacking. That strong opponent is called Anguston. Look clearly at his history. He is a totally normal person. Who would have thought he was hiding so deeply?”
Vernina put on a white cardigan and tied her golden hair up. “With this failure, it won’t be so easy to kidnap the target next time. That Anguston is not easy to deal with.”
Garian looked at the laptop. He suddenly turned happy and said, “Wait, I have new information. The person we fought was a fake. He did not belong to Maple at all.”
“Who was it?” Hannes was surprised.
“Seems like it’s from the Dark Net,” Garian said as he typed on the keyboard and hacked for intelligence.
“Dark Net? Only Bennett and two other old guys are that strong, but it wasn’t them. There’s new blood in Dark Net? It has been quite some time since I paid attention to the data from the underground.” Vernina was slightly shocked. She touched her shoulder and said, “He also left a bullet hole in me. He is really not easily messed with.”
“We have no conflict of interest with him. We just met him unluckily,” Garian said. “And we met a strong one. Bennett has found a treasure.”
“The fastest way is to ask.” Hannes took out his phone, selecting Bennett’s number.
The call went through.
“Hannes? Didn’t expect you to call me. Didn’t you retire already?” Bennett’s voice appeared.
“Garian said that there was something important that he needed my help for, and I owed him a favor. Never mind that. I have something to ask you. Did you send someone to Maple?” Hannes then explained what had happened.
Bennett didn’t know to laugh or to cry. “Such a coincidence. I don’t know whether it’s him being lucky or you guys being unlucky.”
“Who is he?”
Bennett stopped talking for a second, then laughed and said, “Are you looking for trouble? I suggest you don’t mess with him. He might kill you.”
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“Fighting him was an accident. You know me—I won’t take revenge.” Hannes shook his head.
Garian cut in and said, “Let me guess, he is the recently active Black Phantom. He’s the only newbie worth mentioning in your organization.”
Hannes froze in place. He started thinking and said, “Turns out it’s Black Phantom. I’ve heard of him although I retired and don’t pay attention to freshmen. He’s quite tough. Seems like you’ve got yourself a great warrior Bennett.”
Bennett kept silent. Just as Hannes said, he also felt that he had found a treasure.
Back when he first met Black Phantom, his code name was still Mr. Black, and he was only a scorpion. He had been quite strong but still very far from top tier. He had also seemed like Bennett’s fan and gave Bennett some presents that suited his taste. Thus, Bennett had given him some guidance, but it was only a random act, and he did not take Han Xiao very seriously.
However, within a short few months, Han Xiao had shaken the underworld with his battle record and become one of the top ten killers and an undoubted ace of the Blood Pact Society. The speed that he grew at surprised Bennett.
Although they had not battled with each other, Bennett could feel the strength difference between him and Han Xiao decreasing at a very fast rate.
With Black Phantom’s potential, sooner or later, he would become someone that could share the responsibilities with him so that he did not have to do everything alone. Black Phantom’s partnership with the Dark Net was at the honeymoon stage, so Bennett paid a lot of attention to it.
“Since he’s one of your people, I want him to help us do something,” Hannes said.
Bennett rejected and said, “Black Phantom is not my subordinate, and I cannot command him. The most I can do is help you ask, but it still depends on his response.”
Hannes pondered and said, “Alright, I would like to talk to him myself.”
“That can be done.”
The call ended.
“You want to let a stranger join us?” Vernina said with surprise. “Although he’s strong, we know nothing about him.”
“He’s very strong. What’s bad about having another person assist us? We don’t need to keep what we’re doing a secret anyway.”
Garian was the initiator of the mission, and he completely agreed with what Hannes wanted to do. “We’re digging for a big secret, and three of us is not enough. I have been collecting intelligence for many years and have finally found some leads—I need to know no matter what.”
“One day, you’ll die of your curiosity,” Hannes said with a heavy heart.
…
As the sun began to rise, Han Xiao returned to the Dark Net’s safehouse. Golden Fox and Ghost Blade had been awake for the whole night. Seeing him return, Golden Fox breathed a sigh of relief.
“Is the mission completed?” Ghost Blade questioned. “Did you follow my plan?”
“Your plan wouldn’t work.” Han Xiao shook his head and briefly described the challenges he faced during the infiltration. Ghost Blade’s intelligence had missed out some details, and these were very important details.
After what Han Xiao said, Ghost Blade noticed there were errors and flaws to the intelligence that he had collected, despite him thinking it was as detailed as it could be. He felt shamed as Han Xiao pointed out the details that he had missed.
Ghost Blade had originally been very confident of his precise plan, but he realized that following the plan would not have been enough to deal with the sudden changes of situation. Yet Han Xiao improvised on the spot and completed the mission seemingly with ease like it was nothing.
The difference made Ghost Blade feel defeated and embarrassed.
But he realized that Han Xiao had no intention of blaming or insulting him; rather, he did not seem to care about what he was thinking at all. Ghost Blade was completely ignored; plus, having been slapped in the face by reality, he felt even more embarrassed.
Whether it’s taunting or respecting, he doesn’t care about what I think, Ghost Blade thought with discontent. It felt like he was provoking someone, but that someone treated him like air and completely ignored him. It was like punching a cotton ball. Furthermore, with their difference in position and strength, he felt his actions were even more laughable.
Being ignored felt horrible for Ghost Blade—it was like he was just an extra, and he felt like something was clogging his heart.
Although Han Xiao did not know about the change of attitude from Ghost Blade, he was able to guess it. It was probably nothing more than arrogance and doubts, then getting slapped by reality and feeling embarrassed. Han Xiao’s heart was completely unaffected.
Everyone’s mind was different. Whether it was childish or crazy, everyone would have thoughts that were way out of line. But as long as they did not act on it, it would forever be a secret. Therefore, the great Han Xiao did not care about the thoughts and emotions of others—that would be more meaningless than a pair of spectacles without lenses.
Whether Ghost Blade doubted or respected him, it would not affect his emotions even for a little bit. There was nothing that described this characteristic of his better than the phrase ‘doing things his own way’.
This was the legendary calming aura.
Golden Fox licked her bright, tender lips, and her emotions were complicated.
The first time she saw Black Phantom was in the manor defending mission a few months ago. Black Phantom had just been a scorpion back then—his rank had been even lower than hers. But in a few months, she was still in the same place, while Black Phantom had climbed up in a short time to be an ace of the Blood Pact Society as well as made a connection with the superiors of Dark Net.
Golden Fox envied Black Phantom’s position, but she knew she did not have what it took.
If she could sacrifice her body to have Black Phantom back her up, she would definitely do it, but it was too bad that Han Xiao had no interest in her.
She could understand it—what was wrong with men being weird?
Not bothering with the puzzled Golden Fox, Han Xiao opened the safe and took out the equipment that he had previously placed inside. There was no need to stay in Maple now that the mission was done. As he was getting ready to leave, his phone rang. It was Bennett.
Han Xiao picked up the phone.
“I have completed your request. There were some small accidents along the way, but I was overall stable.”
“I knew you wouldn’t fail. I have something else for you,” Bennett said. “The enemy you met in the middle of the mission was actually my friend. You might have heard of them before, Hannes and Vernina. They are from my era, ”
Han Xiao acted surprised. “Oh, what a coincidence.”
“It’s surprising that you didn’t lose. You were much weaker when I first met you,” Bennett said in awe. “The speed you’re improving at has surpassed my knowledge.”
“Are you calling just to compliment me?” Han Xiao said. “Go on, don’t stop. I can still endure it.”
With twitching lips, Bennett took a deep breath and calmed his emotions. “Hannes has asked me to tell you that he wants your help. Regarding the conflict earlier, it was just a misunderstanding.”
“Wants my help?” Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He realized that this was a mission that came to him without him looking for it!
Or to put in in a more direct way, he had met the requirements of triggering this storyline—he had legendary points and sufficient relationship with the Dark Net, and he was friends with Bennett while his level was high enough. Therefore, the hidden storyline had come to him.
Legendary points and relationships with organizations had their benefits. Sometimes, NPCs would come looking for the player and task them with a mission. These missions were usually more difficult than usual, but they also rewarded generously.
Missions coming to the players and players looking to trigger missions everywhere were treated very differently, just like the difference between seeking help from others and others seeking help from you.
Therefore, players favored attributes like legendary points that could give them a very good gaming experience.
“I could help them, but I need to know the details.” Han Xiao thought for a second and added, “Since they are your friends, they are my friends too. Don’t worry about that small conflict.”
This sentence made Bennett feel very good. He laughed in a very ‘reserved’ way, but he could not hide the fact that he was feeling comfortable all over. Since Han Xiao had given him so much respect, he would return the favor. “Count it as me owing you a favor. Hehe. Seems like I owe you quite a few favors already.”
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“There’s no rush to return the favor. Just don’t forget about it,” Han Xiao joked.
Every time Bennett owed him a favor, their relationship points would increase. Being in good relationship with one of the main characters on the planet would definitely be quite beneficial.
Triggering a hidden storyline without actively looking for it was clearly one of the benefits it had brought. Bennett’s relationship network was very wide, so one could go through Bennett to get in contact with many others, most of them being strong ones with missions that had a chance to be triggered.
After waiting for a while, Bennett transferred Hannes’ call.
Ka-chin.
They both kept silent after the call was connected. They could only hear the sound of each other breathing.
In the end, Hannes spoke first. “I’m Hannes, we have met last night.”
“Bennett had told me. Heard you need my help. What’s it about?” Han Xiao got straight to the point.
“It’s regarding a secret that was buried in history. We have found some traces of it, and I want to find out about this secret.
Han Xiao was very confused. He had no idea what secret he was talking about.
However, a notification showed up on the interface. Han Xiao could not move his eyes away from it the moment he saw it; he was completely shocked.
_____________________
You have triggered Planet Aquamarine’s Hidden Main Storyline Grade A Mission [New Era—Origin].
Remarks: This mission will cause unknown and irreversible effects to some events and organizations. Please consider carefully before choosing to accept or reject.
_____________________
Han Xiao’s eye immediately widened.
A main storyline mission that no one ever triggered!
There were three main storylines in Planet Aquamarine—two of them were the war between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization and the creation of the refugee camp, and another hidden main storyline was triggered by the players, but it was not it!
He had completely no recollection of it, which meant this mission had not been triggered by the players in his previous life!
Hidden main storylines were a special type of mission. They needed an opportunity to be triggered, and they would impact the other main storylines and change the plot in one way or another. Han Xiao had played through many versions in his previous life, and he had read about hidden main storylines on the forum before.
Without exception, they all impacted the main storyline missions of their civilization or planet in a profound way.
The first time Hannes and the guys appeared before the players they were already dead. No wonder no one triggered it.
Han Xiao suddenly realized how dangerous this mission was. Even two people at the maximum level for Planet Aquamarine had died. It would probably be much more difficult than he thought.
Han Xiao’s grade A mission against Germinal Organization [Fall of the Germinal] was a branch of the main storyline mission. Players in different organizations would receive different main storyline missions. For the Six Nations, it would of course be to destroy the Germinal Organization, but for Germinal Organization, it was the other way around.
However, Han Xiao’s mission was special because he did not belong to any organization but was Germinal Organization’s enemy. Thus, the requirements and details were different, but the main goal was the same.
However, he knew nothing about this hidden main storyline mission.
Origin? Does it mean to dig into the history of the planet? In that case, which event’s origin is this?
The unknown was feared, yet people were curious about it. Han Xiao felt an itch in his bones—it was the feeling of excitement and anticipation.
He was an extremely long-term player that loved to dig the important factors in ‘Galaxy’, and this was a secret that no player had found out about!
“Accept.”
_____________________
You have accepted [New Era—Origin].
+10 Relationship with Hannes, Vernina, Garian, and Jiang Yuan.
_____________________
Hmm? Han Xiao noticed something.
He knew that Jiang Yuan was the last person buried in the grave, but who was this Garian?
_____________________
Talk to Hannes. Listen to his introduction.
_____________________
The mission requirement at the moment was only this. Han Xiao was used to it; it was something like an opening cinematic.
“It has something to do with us attempting to kidnap Dorasi last night. He took part in a secret plan some years back, and this secret plan of Maple is one of the leads. There are many secrets in the nation of Maple.
“When you infiltrated the government officials’ mansions, did you feel weird that these officials were protected around the clock, but this doesn’t happen in other nations?”
Han Xiao nodded. “I know about this, the ‘Ulrich Assault’ from many years ago.”
“Yes, Ulrich Assault…”
Hannes described the event in detail.
Ulrich’s position in Maple at that time was similar to a prime minister. He had been attacked at home, not by a few people, but a large group of civilians who somehow had weapons from an unknown supplier. They used gunpowder weapons and burned Ulrich’s expensive mansion to the ground. Ulrich, his wife, and their three children aged around ten years old were brutally slaughtered by the attackers. The entire process was recorded and uploaded online. It shocked the nation and even the entire world.
The reason for this was that Ulrich approved a policy that was basically to remove power and citizen benefits from the civilians and to use it as an investment of a ridiculous project, which was actually a way for Ulrich to put money into his own pocket.
Corruption of the government officials in Maple was known throughout the world, but before the war of the old era had broken out, Maple had been known for their gentle government. They were normal and not a strong nation.
When the old era war broke out, the government implemented policies that were very pressurizing for the civilians. Most people showed understanding and accepted the policies under pressure, and some even actively contributed. The government officials of Maple had tasted the delicious fruit of evil. After the war ended, because of the pressure from the nation losing power after the war, they did not go back to the old easy-going policies. Instead, they continued to pressure the civilians with tax and labor, which was used to recover the nation’s power. Conflicts within the country became worse as time passed by, the gentle society environment disappeared and never returned.
People who were not living the life they wanted were like a spring that was pressed to its limit—the policy Ulrich approved was the last straw.
Then, half an hour after Ulrich was attacked, the special force received a command to kill everyone who took part in the attack. They showed no mercy. The nation was shocked, and this signified as the opening of the change of times in Maple.
If this had happened before the old era war, it would have a been a scandal that could cause the complete downfall of the government, but in the new era, where power was left unchecked, the other five nations had no intention of getting involved.
It was already difficult for everyone just to protect themselves after the war. Organizations that protected human rights and power alliances no longer existed.
The structure of the world changed. The balance was broken; economies were close to collapsing; resources and military power became the only standard to measure a nation’s power. Maple felt that the civilians’ feelings did not matter anymore, so they did not serve the citizens like before. In their eyes, it was time for the citizens to serve the nation.
The old era was over. With everything being destroyed and waiting to be rebuilt, it was a chance to reshape the country, so they chose a radical way of doing it.
The assault that shocked the nation also alerted the government officials of Maple. They decided to retrieve the ‘weapons’ from the civilians. The government officials had never been this united before—they approved twenty-four strict policies with high efficiencies within two days. The twenty-four-hour protection of the officials was the most basic policy, and there were even insane ones that graded civilians, which led to ‘rotten meat’ being evicted from the big cities every so often—rotten meat being citizens deemed worthless.
Thus, the effects of the assault went down a weird path. The Maple government announced that the attackers were not ordinary citizens—there was a reactionary group in the nation who planned the attack. Their weapons were the best evidence.
The Maple government listed dozens of lame pieces of evidence. With the justifying excuse of capturing the reactionary group, they started to use force to take back the power that they had given to the civilians, pressure the ‘reactionary group’, ‘deal’ with anyone who ‘might be a threat to the nation’, then lock the information down. They wanted to turn civilians into a completely controlled labor force.
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The way Maple dealt with what came after the assault became the biggest scandal of that year, but with strong military power, they completed the reshaping of their country and built a nation with a completely different style. People were classified as a pyramid, except there were close to no ladders between classes. The citizens saw no hope in life; they were just waiting to die.
Those with power were not born with it. Under high pressure, a real reactionary group had formed, but it was not the cold weapon era anymore—the standard of weapons that the nation had was like a wall that could never be scaled. If there was no external interference, it was almost impossible for anyone to overturn and take over the government, and Maple regularly removed ‘people who posed threat to the nation’. Thus, the citizens had turned from being terrified to being numb.
The assaults were started by a few violent citizens venting their rage, and it ended in more citizens bearing with the consequences, which perfectly described the case of hitting a rock with an egg. It caused the society of Maple to be reconstructed. It became a dictatorship, and the ones on the top had complete control.
The root of a gentle government changing was war. The high pressure from the war caused the government to collapse under stress, and they had no choice but to direct the pressure to its citizens, which then got out of hand. This was just like how it was easy to go from being poor to being rich but difficult to go from being rich to being poor.[a][b]
Citizens were the cornerstone of a country. Just like the parts of a machine, when the national machine needed these parts to overload, they would wear out and break quicker than usual and sacrifice the best time of their lives. But as long as they changed the parts to new ones, the machine could still function. The broken parts were replaceable, and the parts that were thrown away became ‘vessels of an era’.
Han Xiao was interested. He quite liked the history and stories of civilizations. After Hannes finished, Han Xiao contemplated for a while and asked, “What does this have to do with the ‘secret’ you talked about?”
“What I wanted to say is that the war had changed a lot of things. I have been through that darkest and most chaotic age. Many were controlled by ideas, missions, and honor and turned into a tool for killing while still thinking they were doing an honorable thing. Only a few woke up from this, such as Bennett, he became a hero, but an era that needs a hero is never a good era. The end of the war was filled with dirty conspiracies that were buried as secrets, and we want these secrets to resurface.”
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “And what benefit does this bring you?”
“Nothing, but the people of this world have the right to know what they went through and not let these conspiracies stay hidden to become a secret that never gets unveiled. I don’t think the original construct of society would shatter within a night just because we got in touch with galactic civilizations, and I don’t believe a so-called internal conflict would cause wars. There has to be someone behind all of it.”
“Every country has its secrets. It’s nothing unusual,” Han Xiao said.
Hannes smiled and said, “Since we have come to the new era, the world should also look different, the rules are changing. Why follow the old logic? Also, I owed a favor to someone who has a very strong desire to gain knowledge. He suggested this mission, and I joined in.”
Hmm, from his tone, seems like they are anarchists. They died in my previous life. This mission seems rather complicated. Han Xiao stopped asking questions. He considered for a while and decided to join them. No matter what reason they were doing this for, this was a very rare hidden mission, so it would be a waste to reject it.
Hannes requested to meetup. They were both in the same city, so with Hannes leading the way, Han Xiao soon found their safehouse.
They met and started observing each other. Han Xiao looked past Hannes and Vernina, then stopped at Garian. He was most curious about this person.
As he was observing the trio, they were looking at him.
So, this was the legendary Black Phantom.
“You are pretty strong,” Vernina said with a calm tone.
“Although we just met today, I owe you a favor for coming to help,” Hannes said.
Plenty of people who owed me favors, welcome to the party.
“What do I need to do?” Han Xiao asked.
The three people looked at each other. Garian took out a deck of documents and said, “The evidence is within the intelligence of the past few years. I spent a long time finding a lead. It is very cumbersome, so we need to divide our labor.”
As Han Xiao browsed the documents, his expression finally changed.
_____________________
[New Era—Origin]
This mission is a series of chain missions. You can complete the targets below.
Ending of the Survivor: In the Blade City of Raylen, find a guy called “Old Devin” and get the incomplete copy of [Sully No.485 Document].
The Key of Misplacement: In the capital ruins of the West Mountain nation within the Southern Continent (Coordinates——), find a misplaced important item [Attachment—Item Appearance]. this was the end result of West Mountain nation’s last research before they were destroyed.
Sealed Past: Control the warlord, Verna, of the Verna Colony on the Western Continent (Coordinates ——). His father was a high ranked military officer of a dead country. There are hidden clues—follow Verna and find the secret.
Mysterious Prisoner: Decades ago, an intelligence agent of Stardragon was imprisoned by a country. That country is already dead, but the intelligence agent was kept in a secret prison that had no guards. No one has found him. Find him or his relics (Coordinates of the ruin ——)
Same Type of Person: A loner who has secluded himself in the wilderness has some very important information. Intelligence shows that he appeared near the tribute valley in the Western Continent. Be careful, he is not a normal person. He was active on the battlefield of the old era. It is recommended you engage the contact with friendliness (Jiang Yuan).
This is the first round of the mission. As long as one of the missions are completed, the mission can be concluded. The amount and completion status of the missions will determine the mission requirements of the next round.
Reward(s) of the First Round: 350,000 Experience. Bonus rewards given as per evaluation of the missions.
_____________________
Han Xiao raised his brows. The freedom of this kind of mission was very high, similar to the series missions of an organization, but this main storyline was clearly more cumbersome, and it was a chain mission. The completion status of the previous round would affect the mission requirements of the next round.
This mission is extremely open. Every round has different clues that will lead to different endings. Usually, the more targets are completed, the better it is, and the higher the evaluation will be. Han Xiao had completed this type of mission before, so he knew that there were many possibilities.
It was like walking a maze. In order to find the exit, one had to gain as much information as one could, and with the ending of Hannes and the others, this mission posed very high risks.
The rewards of the mission did not bring shame to main storylines. Just the basic reward of the first round was already 350,000 experience, and the bonus rewards were very likely to be items, abilities, or talents.
But the mission was too cumbersome. The location spanned across three continents, so it would cost him a huge amount of time. No wonder it was an A-grade mission. Han Xiao tightened his brows, feeling a little distressed.
“I will try it.” No matter what, he needed to accept it first.
Garian nodded. “I will count on you for these missions. The three of us have other missions.”
Hannes and the rest were all very strong characters from the old era, so their mission was definitely not simple. Han Xiao decided to let the Dark Net help keep an eye on it.
After getting the mission requirements, Han Xiao left the safehouse.
“So, is he trustworthy?” Vernina asked.
Hannes shook his head and then nodded. “We don’t know much about him. Let’s see what he will do for now.”
“The documents I gave him have real and fake information,” Garian said. “It was only one tenth of the clues I had, so it will be best if he can complete them. If he has other thoughts, we won’t lose anything. It is just some unconfirmed intelligence anyway.”
“He is a friend of Bennett, so he should be trustworthy.”
[a]Is this the right was round? I’d have said it’s easier to go from rich to poor than poor to rich XD
[b]Haha I would say so too, I think I was not clear in the translation, this was regrading the transition of lifestyle
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This hidden storyline seems to have something to do with digging the history. Logically, it shouldn’t result in a big impact, but since it’s the main storyline, could it be that there’ll be some shocking secret that’ll be dug up? Han Xiao thought as he walked on the street.
No matter what secrets there were, it was not his mission, and there were enough chances for him to explore it, but of course, the rewards were the most important part.
Since the mission in Maple was completed, Han Xiao left that very day. The threats that he had issued had resulted in the local intelligence institution carrying out a hidden investigation throughout the city, but because of the ‘godly assassination’ of a government official, the investigation was very thorough.
Because they were in the same organization, Han Xiao brought Golden Fox and Ghost Blade as he retreated. Ghost Blade was unwilling at first, but the situation was severe, so he had to compromise.
Ghost Blade did not like the feeling of being protected by someone, so he was sulking most of the way.
After successfully leaving Maple, Han Xiao separated from the duo and rushed toward the cargo plane toward Farian without stopping. The players in the novice villages of the Western Continent were still waiting for his arrival.
The forum had exploded. The players that were waiting for Han Xiao panicked and were worried that he would not be coming anymore. They started being superstitious and spammed posts in the forum to pray for Han Xiao’s arrival. The posts reached the astonishing number of 300,000. It was so terrifying that Han Xiao was worried that he might be buried in the sea of players.
Some of the players started to play with memes.
“Youngster, did you drop this Black Phantom, this White Phantom, or this Yellow Phantom? Hmm, you’re an honest child. To reward you, you can exchange your money to learn skills.”
“Shhh, look at what I found, there’s a Black Phantom that is different from the others. We can try to capture it. One Black Phantom could provide us with energy for many days. But it is not easy to deal with. We have to quietly close in from its back… Ahhh, I’ve been discovered. Help, it wants to eat me, run Calvin!”
“Black Phantom used Death Stare. It was super effective.”
Finally, after tens of thousands of summons, the Great Mechanic Han Xiao arrived at a novice village. The players waiting for Han Xiao there were countless, much more than any other novice village.
The moment he appeared, players rushed over like an avalanche. People who did not know might even have mistaken them for a locust plague.
Han Xiao looked at the level of the players—they were at an average of level ten. The hundreds of top-level players on the forum have already reached LV 18; Maple Moon was one of them. With the help of the Great Mechanic Han, she had been the biggest winner of the prize pool.
However, other players also had their own opportunities. The number of people at the same level was not small, but most of them were players from other countries on other novice planets. Planet Aquamarine was the base camp of China’s esports clubs, but the number of their players at the top of the level leaderboard was the lowest. It was quite a pain for Han Xiao.
Disappointing, come on guys, buck up!
Then, he looked at the countless players in front of him, pondered, and said, “What’s the use of leveling up fast? Being able to fight is the way to go.”
Hmm, nothing wrong with that.
Only players from big guilds that were climbing the level leaderboard would be rushing their levels without upgrading their abilities. Other players would not be doing the same. Even though leveling up was fast at the start, it would be slower as their level became higher.
With the experience quota, Han Xiao had to think about the missions he gave out. If he wanted to cultivate one player, he could make that player grow at a much higher speed than anyone else, but he would not do that, at least not before the players reach LV 20.
Before LV 20, [Energy Training Technique] had a lot of market potential, so it was extremely profitable.
…
Han Xiao taught abilities as usual, and the players came swarming. Gaining experience points in novice village was also a way of relaxation for him, so he had time to browse the forums.
On the forums, the popularity of Inhuman Phenomenon was over the top, and not only on Planet Aquamarine. Similar situations had occurred on other planets too, and players received different treatments.
On the Wizard Planet, they were researched by the witches and were discovered to have a very high talent for sorcery, which was in fact the learning ability on the player Interface. They then shockingly joined various sorcery academies.
On the Ancient Planet, they were seen as messengers of God and worshipped.
On the Ice Winter planet… Oh, the players in the Ice Winter Planet were the safest. The devil species had no interest whatsoever in their unique characteristic of being able to revive after death, and when the players saw the spaceships of the Space Devil species dash through the universe and breaking apart the meteors surrounding the planet for resources with their gravity capturing devices, they all understood why the reaction of the devil species was so normal.
To the Extinguish Army, the strength of the players was like an ant. Who would care about what an ant looked like?
Of course, there was also the possibility that the devil species were used to seeing the ability to revive. No one knew for sure. It was all just speculation anyway.
The planets above were all very lucky, but Planet Aquamarine was one of the unluckiest planets. NPCs were very fearful toward the players. The players were captured, experimented on, sliced to pieces, and brainwashed—they were treated like slaves.
Players being filled with hatred was a certain, and with the situation on Planet Aquamarine, the players had new speculations.
Black Phantom was probably a compensation from the game company and producers!
“No wonder! That’s why a character like Black Phantom only exists on our planet!”
“Luckily, there is Black Phantom. If we didn’t have him, we would have nothing to play with!”
Seeing comments like this, Han Xiao smiled. His efforts did not go to waste.
As he saw the expression in the players’ eyes, he smiled even brighter, looking like a farmer who was looking at his harvest.
The Inhuman Phenomenon on Planet Aquamarine had arrived at a key stage. All the organizations were contacting the players. Some of them were using a soft approach like Stardragon and Hesla; there were also some that went for a colder approach like Raylen and Ordina; other militaries and financial organizations were taking action, too. It was not all bad for the players, at least they had the opportunity to join an organization without having to run everywhere, and that was exactly what the players did, with the Six Nations having most players joining them.
In Han Xiao’s previous life, the Germinal Organization had lured in the most players, but now, their bases were all destroyed, and they could only capture players in the local area of their headquarters. It was pathetic—their player count was reduced by approximately eighty percent compared to his previous life.
The Inhuman Phenomenon also lead to another change; the players developed a hobby of teasing the NPCs. They became very curious and asked a lot of questions, and they liked to do things that were out of the line, wanting to see the reaction from the NPCs.
Players had a lot of fun, but to NPCs, they were acting extremely weird.
All the organizations did one thing at the same time—they added one line to the Inhuman documents. “Most Inhumans have a mental illness. Their actions are very random, and they might do anything. They cannot be judged with a normal mindset.”
Han Xiao did not know to cry or to laugh when he saw this line on the Dark Net. There was another line that made him burst into laughter.
“With research, the Inhumans have gender, but they do not have genitals and reproductive abilities.”
The game did not allow players to get naked, and from the NPCs’ perspective, it was like their underwear was part of their body, which was very incomprehensible.
Han Xiao was laughing uncontrollably. He could imagine how the organizations found out about this…
Unable to reproduce, which meant that Inhumans were not a new species. Of course, there was a possibility that their way of reproducing was different from what the people on Planet Aquamarine knew about. There were also all kinds of speculations about the Inhumans on the Dark Net, with various emotions like terror, nervousness, and many others.
Han Xiao noticed the once abandoned religion seemed to have rejuvenated. They claimed Inhumans to be messengers sent by God to save the world.
Some players had the thought of teasing Black Phantom. Since Black Phantom was the guider of new players, would he also be shocked like the other NPCs? Teasing an NPC was a fun thing to do.
“Black Phantom, your name is Han Xiao, you served Stardragon before, and you are now a member of the Dark Net, am I right?” a player named Flying Naughty Prawn suddenly said. He had seen the video from Bun-hit-dog and had an interesting idea. He wanted to expose Black Phantom’s identity right in front of him and see what would happen.
There was no way for Black Phantom to know that his identity was exposed. When he saw a stranger stating his true identity, would he be shocked and lose his cool?
Flying Naughty Prawn was staring at Han Xiao while snickering.
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The rubbernecking crowd all looked at Flying Naughty Prawn with respect.
This guy really is a courageous warrior who lives for trouble.
Then, they all stepped back simultaneously. They stood further back so that they would not be splashed by the blood.
Han Xiao knew where Flying Naughty Prawn had gotten the information from. This was an impact of Bun-hit-dog’s video. To expose some information and increase the curiosity of the players toward his identity and to increase his fame, this had gone through his consent.
The tiny amount of information exposed was of no importance to Han Xiao. The players were not like the NPCs who had a large intelligence network. Without the key information, it was completely useless to know his real name. Instead, the more viral the video became, the stronger his impact grew.
Therefore, Han Xiao had guessed long ago that there would be players who would asked him directly, so he calmed replied with a “hmm” then kept silent.
Flying Naughty Prawn was confused. It did not go as he imagined. How is Black Phantom so calm now that his identity has been exposed?
Does Black Phantom not care about strangers knowing his identity at all?
Or… is Black Phantom’s identity actually not a secret at all in areas that players don’t know about?
This plan didn’t work at all.
Flying Naughty Prawn was very discouraged.
Black Phantom was too steady. It was like he did not have a weakness and could not be teased at all.
The crowd looked at each other, becoming even more curious.
What kind of person was he?
Flying Naughty Prawn did not give up. He continued to look for trouble and asked again, “I want to join the Germinal Organization, do you know how can I do that?”
Everyone knew that Black Phantom was against the Germinal Organization. Thus, he asked that on purpose.
Yooo, are you provoking me youngster?
Han Xiao immediately deducted three relationship points as punishment.
Flying Naughty Prawn’s face turned green. Isn’t this reaction too straightforward? That was completely unexpected!
Han Xiao suddenly had a new idea. With the influence he had on players, maybe he could guide them on choosing a side to join.
So, he paused and said, “A war is going to break out. The Six Nations will come together for an expedition. The Germinal Organization will certainly lose. If you want to commit suicide, do as you wish. If you want to join the Dark Net, I can write a referral letter for you. If you want to join the Germinal Organization, get out of my face.”
The crowd got excited, Black Phantom finally had finally given a different reaction, and he had even said information that none of them knew. They started chatting with each other.
“Expedition? The Six Nations and Germinal Organization are going to war?”
“He knows much more than we do. His judgment is definitely reliable.”
“Then joining the Germinal Organization would be quite a loss.”
The players created a commotion. Only players in Andrea had joined the Germinal Organization. Han Xiao’s words would very soon be sent to the forums, and those who were planning to join the Germinal Organization might also change their mind.
He did not want to give up on any chances to harm the Germinal Organization. He had not bothered them for a while, and they seemed to be having a rather peaceful time.
Unacceptable.
Players noticed a keyword in Han Xiao’s words. “He said the Dark Net. That’s a hidden organization, isn’t it? Can he really help us join the Dark Net?”
Han Xiao smiled, opened up the store interface, and added a new item.
_____________________
[Referral Letter]: Unlocks the Blood Pact Society.
Remarks: The Blood Pact Society is a subordinate hitman organization under the Dark Net.
Price: 250,000 Aquamarine Dollars
_____________________
“250,000‽” The crowd was stunned. This was a sky-high price for them. Nobody could afford it.
Originally, to join the Blood Pact Society, there needed to be a few rounds of mission tests, but Han Xiao had gotten rid of all that. With his relationship with the Dark Net, introducing some players into the organization was a piece of cake.
A few months ago, when Han Xiao bought the Blood Pact Society certificate from Antonio, it had cost 200,000. He had used that as a basis and increased the price by 25%. He felt it was a reasonable price since inflation also needed to be considered.
With such a high price, normal players would not be able to afford, but Han Xiao was not planning to sell a large quantity. He was targeting the pro players from esports clubs who could afford the price with the backing of their guild.
Pro players were the ones who were most willing to become stronger by any means necessary. This strategy would attract pro players, which was beneficial for him in expanding his group of spare tires. Of course, most importantly, it was to earn money.
It’s not enough to only have inexpensive and high-quality normal items. There also needs to be a few luxury items with a sky-high price to enrich my store structure,Han Xiao thought.
250,000 Aquamarine Dollars was a price that none of the guilds could afford at the time, but they were rich and could use real money to purchase Aquamarine Dollars from other players.
Now, let’s see how many guilds will realize the benefits of joining a hidden new organization.
He was now Fisherman Han, waiting for people who were willing to bite the bait.
…
‘Unbelievable, the most expensive item by far!’
‘Black Phantom: Germinal Organization will certainly lose’
Posts with such titles appeared in the forums of Planet Aquamarine, and it immediately attracted players’ attention. When they saw the sky-high price of 250,000 for the referral letter, they were all shocked speechless.
“Wow, is this organization made of gold?”
“Blood Pact Society, no idea what they do.”
“The price is outrageously high. What’s so special about this organization called the Blood Pact Society?”
“Anyone had heard of this organization before?”
This person was just asking randomly, but someone unexpectedly replied, “I triggered the mission to join the Blood Pact Society. It is very cumbersome and difficult. The introduction of it is that it’s a killer association, and the benefits are still unknown. However, to me, it’s not worth it to spend 250,000 just to skip the prior missions.”
The outrageous price of 250,000 caused a wide discussion. The average value of a player at the time was about 3,000 to 5,000, so it was not difficult for guilds to gather 250,000 since the number of players was increasing continuously.
However, most of the guilds didn’t feel it was worth it, buying an organization referral letter for 250,000 was too luxurious, the situation was not clear yet, they decided to wait and see.
Han Xiao had quite an influence on normal players, but guilds had always been very logical, considering everything with the benefits they could earn. Other players were playing a game; they were running a business.
Compared to the outrageously priced referral letter, players paid more attention to the information Han Xiao shared about the war between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization. They were in an uproar.
After playing the game for a few days, players on Planet Aquamarine all knew that the conflict between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization was the main storyline, but war broke out when nobody expected it to, an expedition even, which proved that the battlefield would be in Andrea. Many players at the time had yet to even join an organization, and their strength was far from being enough to join the main storyline mission.
In the original storyline, war would only break out a few months later, and every continent played a part in the battle. Thus, players from everywhere had been able to join in. But with Han Xiao’s interference, not only did the war break out much earlier, it also became an expedition. The impact players had was minimized from what Han Xiao felt.
Most importantly, most of the players had yet to even trigger the main storyline mission between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization.
Black Phantom said that the Germinal Organization would certainly lose, which made many players hesitant to join them, but there were also some players who preferred the evil organizations and wanted to join the Germinal Organization
However, Han Xiao’s influence played its part. More players became hesitant. If they were to join the Germinal Organization, there was the risk of getting beaten horribly, then they might as well join the law-keeping organization of Six Nations.
With just one sentence, the Germinal Organization lost many potential supporters.
The influence that Han Xiao had on players grew as he maintained his image, and his position in the players’ heart grew stronger.
The things that he said would become important information for the players.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao had seen the impact that the leaked information had brought on the forum. It was just as he had expected it to be.
He had successfully sabotaged the Germinal Organization secretly again, and they did not even know who was doing it and what went wrong.
Doing evil things to the Germinal Organization secretly made him feel really good.
However, the referral letter was not popular. Han Xiao was somewhat surprised, but after he contemplated for a while, he realized the reason behind it. It was because of the current financial situation of the players. Although guilds could come up with 250,000, it was quite a risk for them. If the referral letter did not have a good effect, it would slow their progress down by a huge portion.
The price that he had set for the time being was too high, and the risk of buying the referral letter would only decrease when the average asset level of the players increased. At that time, there would be guilds that would try buying it.
At this price, the first person to eat the crab will take too long to appear. Han Xiao bit his nails and started pondering. The best solution was to lower the price…
That’s impossible! Not going to happen!
I could use some sales strategy, giving out other benefits together with the referral letter.
The first thing Han Xiao thought of was giving relationship points as a reward, such as when someone bought a referral letter, he would give some relationship points. Relationship points were the prior requirements of buying high-level equipment in his store—it was all part of the profit chain.
But on second thought, giving relationship points would not be a very good idea. They were maxed at one hundred points, so he had to treasure them. The relationship points that he gave to normal players were ten at most. He did not want the players to get them so easily.
If he used them with the referral letter, one or two points would be too few and unattractive, but giving too many would be disadvantageous to him as well.
What about giving bonus equipment? The moment this thought came up, it was rejected by him. He had to be a qualified businessman, so he should never have such good morals.
He had fused some blueprints recently, but he had not built any of them, so he could not sell those either.
And in terms of drugs, it was not a good time to sell them. Some drugs that gave enhancements based on percentage would have a much bigger market once the players reach a higher level. The pro players who had to compete in matches would be his target consumers.
As he was wavering, a surprise notification appeared on the interface.
_____________________
[Source of Stone Plague] Completed
Requirement One: Find the source of the plague. Completed.
Requirement Two: Suppress the spread of the plague. Completed.
Requirement Three: Cure all the people who are infected. Incomplete.
You received 60,000 experience, +400 relationship with the Black Pine Colony
_____________________
Han Xiao stood in place with surprise.
This mission was what he had given to Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog. They had completed it!
It seems I chose well. Han Xiao laughed. Their level was around 15, so this mission would have been quite difficult for them. Although they did not complete it perfectly, it was already a pleasant surprise. Since Han Xiao had not been involved in this mission at all from the beginning, the rewards dropped from the sky!
Wait a minute!
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
He was inspired and had another idea of promoting the referral letter!
“Nice one Frenzied Sword!”
Han Xiao laughed. It was just the right time for the mission to be completed. It had inspired him at a crucial moment.
At this time, the players in the novice village were learning [Energy Training Technique] one by one and were swing at the price of the referral letter.
“The flow of time carried everyone forward; the truth of the past has been buried and forgotten by the people who never stopped,” Han Xiao suddenly yelled. “I need a number of trustworthy people to help me with some things.”
As he was speaking, he distributed the five hidden main storyline missions from [New Era—Origin] that he had just received into new missions: [Ending of the Survivor], [The Key of Misplacement], [Sealed Past], [Mysterious Prisoner], and [Same Type of Person].
[New Era—Origin] was too cumbersome, and it would waste a lot of time if Han Xiao did them himself. Furthermore, it was only the first round.
Han Xiao decided to distribute the targets of the missions and let the players do it. This way, he could save time and get the rewards without doing much. The success of Frenzied Sword proved the idea, and he found out that he could still get the rewards even if the players completed the mission.
Just like the evil capitalists who used benefits to attract others to work for them but still ended up earning the most.
Furthermore, Han Xiao stated clearly that this was a Main Storyline Mission, which would increase his status among the players again.
An NPC that gives out main storyline missions. Damn, he has got to be someone important! was what Han Xiao expected the players to think.
The players saw the mission and froze in place. Then they became overjoyed.
“Main storyline mission!”
“God! This is another main storyline!”
“The rewards are plenty!”
“Quick, accept the mission!”
However, the players noticed that the mission was in gray color, which meant that it could not be accepted.
“Why can’t I accept the mission? Why‽”
The confusion was solved within a short period. They soon realized that the missions had a prior requirement—buying the referral letter!
That’s… that’s too greedy!
The players turned furious. How are they going to play 250,000? Who the hell could afford that!
Seeing the expression of the players, Han Xiao smiled secretly. Because of the quota, his Main Storyline Mission could only be given to a limited number of players. Thus, he had to target the elites, so he had decided to attract the pro players. Pro players had large guilds behind them, and it was perfect for promoting the referral letter and making bundle sales.
You want the main storyline mission? Okay, buy my referral letter.
Don’t want to spend money? Then why do you deserve to become stronger?
Pro players were willing to grow through any means; they would never give up the main storyline missions.
Another reason Han Xiao was doing this was that there was a chance for the normal players to fail the mission, which would result in him also failing the missions. However, pro players had higher skills on average, and they had guilds behind them who would help them with the mission. Clearly, they were more reliable.
Those that were rare were those that were treasured. He also added another important line in the mission introduction, which was that there was a chance to earn Black Phantom’s favor. This was an obvious hint that accepting the mission might trigger his ‘hidden storyline’.
Frenzied Sword, Bun-hit-dog, and Maple Moon were not attractive enough as examples. Very few highly skilled players came. Maybe it was because they felt triggering hidden storyline required luck; therefore, they did not take it seriously.
Han Xiao decided to go for a strong approach, to let the highly skilled players see that there was a way with a higher chance to trigger Black Phantom’s hidden storyline.
This is a good strategy. It’s killing two… many birds with one stone. Han Xiao was satisfied.
Even this won’t attract you‽ I doubt that.
…
The forum had a chat room function. At this time, there was a room with a password that had people joining in continuously, and the notifications kept popping up.
_____________________
Jade Green Sky entered the chat room.
Jupiter entered the chat room.
Morning Snow Twilight Frost entered the chat room.
Your Mom Collapses When I Cry entered the chat room.
_____________________
About a dozen people entered the chat room. They were all chairpeople of famous guilds in China, and they formed a circle themselves.
“Is everyone here?” Mountain Rain, the chairman of Drizzling Rivers Guild, spoke first.
“Nope,” Your Mom Collapses When I Cry said.
The chairman of Nine Gates Guild, Three Times Three Equals 9, asked, “Where’s Old Qi? Did anyone invite him?”
“Never mind, he spams all the time. We would never get things done with him joining in,” Cowherd Star, the chairman of Chrysanthemum Guild, said.
“Who opened the chat room? What serious matter are we talking about?” Jupiter asked.
Jade Green Sky cut in and said, “Yo, isn’t this the rich house of esports? I heard you have not been running your God squad well recently. Lousy chairman. When you step down, I will light firecrackers in front of your club doors to celebrate. @Jupiter”
“Fu*k off,” Jupiter snapped back.
Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.
“@Mountain Rain, Rainy Kim of your Thunder Storm has been quite active lately and always goes on TV shows. Can you help me ask for a signature?” Your Mom Collapses When I Cry asked.
“One for 3,000, no negotiating,” Mountain Rain answered.
“Damn, are you robbing me? Can you have some morals?”
Cowherd Star cut in and said, “My signature is free, do you want it?”
“Go away, your signature is not even worth enough to be used as toilet paper. I could consider if it’s from lady Yao Yao. @Seven Colors of a Peptachord[a] 1 ”
“Stop insinuating. She’s not even here.” Cowherd Star was upset.
Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.
“Stop talking nonsense, let’s talk about the matter, I’m very busy,” Jupiter said.
“You? You’re basically a mascot,” Jade Green Sky sneered.
“Go away!”
“Okay guys, I will pull us back to the topic,” Mountain Rain declared. “You guys have all seen the posts in the forums about the main storyline missions from Black Phantom.”
“Yes, we saw it, what are you saying?”
“We should come up with the money together. Then we let the pro players accept the main storyline missions from Black Phantom.”
“You want to share the risk? But only one person can accept each mission.”
“No, what I mean is that the pro players can form a team to complete it. It’s positive competition.”
“That sound pretty good, I will have to ask the expedition group for their suggestions,” Jade Green Sky said.
“I’m in. There definitely won’t be any objections from the club,” Cowherd Stars said.
“I’m fine with anything, smile!” responded Three Times Three Equals 9.
“Haha, I remember the pro players of Guild of Gods is all in Southern Continent. They can’t meet Black Phantom. You can’t play with us @Jupiter. Quickly kick him. He’s a spy here to collect intelligence,” Jade Green Sky mocked.
“You motherfu…”
_____________________
Jupiter has left the chat room.
_____________________
Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.
[a]Google is suggesting that this should be Pentachord, is that right?
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao was about done with harvesting the players in this novice village. He smugly counted the experience—he had gotten a huge amount yet again.
However, nobody had bought the referral letter so far, but Fisherman Han was patient—him giving out main storyline missions had already made a storm on the forums. Sooner or later, someone would come.
One last novice village left. Maybe I should delay it a while so that these large guilds have enough time to raise the money, Han Xiao thought.
This time, two players walked toward Han Xiao next to each other. Their IDs were Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail, which attracted the attention of other players. They were rather famous players of the Nine Gates Guild and the Fanatics Guild.
Han Xiao’s eye twinkled. The highly skilled players have finally come.
“Black Phantom, we want to buy the referral letter,” Wind Chaser said.
“Sure.”
Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail had received the funds from the guild of their clubs. A team was the face of a club, so as pro players, they were treated well. They took out 250,000 each.
The players around looked at them with envy. They had never seen such a large amount of money.
“Can’t believe someone can actually afford it.”
“Large guilds are really rich.”
“No wonder pro players are stronger than us. If I had such resources, I would be able to go pro, too.”
“You think just anyone can be signed by a club?”
“If we rob their money, we’ll be crazy rich.”
“Don’t be stupid. Putting aside the fact that pro player would completely skunk you, even if you succeeded, the guild will chase you everywhere, or maybe Blank Phantom will kill you first.”
The crowd talked among themselves.
He received 500,000 in one shot, then wrote the referral letters on the spot and gave them to the two pro players. He told them the location of a Dark Net stronghold in the Western Continent and said, “Take my letter there, and you can join the Blood Pact Society.”
He paused and then said, “Seems like I can trust you. I have some tasks here. Would you like to help me?”
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for.” Dragon Tail immediately accepted the mission. He wanted to accept one after another but was notified that only one mission could be accepted.
This had been set by Han Xiao—one referral letter for one mission.
“Shit, only one mission can be accepted. I thought I could accept all of them.” Dragon Tail was unhappy.
Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “Leave it if you don’t want to do it.”
Dragon Tail shut up. If he did not accept the mission, the money would have gone to waste.
Wind Chaser had no choice but to choose the same mission. The two clubs behind them had joined forces to do the mission as a team. Luckily Dragon Tail accepted a mission that was in the Western Continent.
“If you can complete the mission, there might be more things you can help me with.” Han Xiao hinted that in order to unlock his ‘hidden storyline’, first they had to complete this mission.
Pro players were always in a rush. They left immediately after accepting the mission.
Five mission targets, two in the Western Continent, two in the Northern Continent, and one in the Southern Continent—he had to make sure they were all accepted by someone. Fortunately for him, all these continents were part of his schedule.
Although the main storyline mission was A-grade, this was the easiest first round. Han Xiao separated the mission targets into many smaller missions that had a difficulty of around grade D, so the single mission experience quota could suffice for the experience he was rewarding.
In the later rounds, when the difficulty becomes higher, my quota might not be enough by then.
He felt that he needed a way to increase his quota. Levelling up was not an option at the moment, so he had to go for organizations and legendary points. There was no need to think about these at the moment.
Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail were normal pro players, and they didn’t have a very good battle record in my previous life. I shall observe for now.
Han Xiao was strict in choosing his spare tires. He was not going to choose every pro player.
…
Fanatics and Nine Gates posted about their players buying the referral letter on the forums, which was a promotion of themselves to increase their fame within the players. The huge amount of money that they had spent attracted many players’ attention, and they were all amazed at what they had done.
Han Xiao’s face also showed up indirectly because of the advertisement from these two clubs. The clubs that followed after would also mimic the same actions so that they did not lag behind. Han Xiao guessed that his face would probably appear many times on the forums.
Without stopping, Han Xiao came to the last novice village in the Western Continent. As he was harvesting experience, there were other pro players that used the funds from their guild to exchange for a chance to accept the missions. Normal players could only watch and envy from the sidelines.
Another mission in the Western Continent was also accepted by a pro player. Han Xiao could finally relax and happily sell his abilities, at the same time paying attention to the forums and the Dark Net.
“Hmm? New episode of ‘Galaxy Times’. Titled… Creation of the Professional League?”
Han Xiao felt wide awake. He had always paid a lot of attention to this show, so he clicked in immediately.
“Hello players,” the male host greeted, “this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority.”
“Spring, I have been quite anxious recently,” the female host commented.
“What’s wrong, Autumn?”
“I fell in love with a man. He doesn’t speak much, and he’s so handsome, but he’s never looked at me seriously and never talks to me.”
“Don’t worry, I think you two suit each other very well.”
Female host was surprised. “Really?”
“Of course, he’s handsome and cool, you’re short and ugly, how suitable.”
“…”
It was the awkward opening joke again. The style felt very nostalgic to Han Xiao.
The screen was filled with comments.
A lot of players watched Galaxy Times. In less than a month after beginning, they had already become the go-to show for the players. After all, they had the official background, so they had a lot of first-hand information.
They chatted for a while to bring up the atmosphere. Then, the male host said, “Alright, let us get back to our main topic. In today’s show, we will be digging deep into the most popular topic—Inhuman Phenomenon—the news from pro players, and we also invited Li Ge to be our guest. Be sure to stay.”
The contents of the show were interesting as always. They started off by going through the progress of players in all various planets while giving some comments on the level leaderboard.
“Currently, the highest-level players are already closing to level 20. Level 20 will be the first class advancement, so I wonder who will receive this honor. The first player to receive a class advancement will be recorded in the books of gaming history as a milestone.”
“As everyone can clearly see, the players on the top of the leaderboards are mostly not pro players. The Japanese players have the highest number of players on the list; as everyone knows, their base camp planet is the Lonnie Planet, where technology and magic coexist. They are at the peak period of the civilization, which is very suitable for getting missions and levelling up. There are also quite a number of players from France and America while there are not many from China. Oh, I see someone I know. Maple Moon, do you guys remember? Not long after the official launch, she received more than 100,000 experience points, which was from the first prize pool mission the players have seen.”
“Speaking of the Black Phantom, from the beginning of the game till now, he has been the center of attention for the players in Planet Aquamarine, and recently, something has happened again. He continuously appeared in novice villages to give out guidance and rewards, and not long ago, he showed another main storyline mission, but it had a prior requirement of buying an item that was priced at an outrageous amount of 250,000 Aquamarine dollars! If players from other planets want to know how much this means, please move to the currency exchange panel, and look at how many resources can be purchased with 250,000 Aquamarine dollars.
Players from other planets envied Planet Aquamarine. Why did they not have such a great novice guider?
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The male host changed the topic. “Recently, an event has raised wide discussion among the players. The NPCs in the game have expressed extreme curiosity over the unique characteristics of players. Every planet has witnessed different reactions and labelled this phenomenon differently, such as Chosen Ones, Inhumans, Genius Phenomenon, which was very exciting and surprising. It’s like NPCs have their individual minds and are not as rigid as NPCs in other games.”
“If every NPC has an individual mind of their own, the amount of computation needed will be extremely high, but Galaxy is using the latest light speed computers. Its limit is unknown,” the female host said.
Players wrote their speculations in the comments. The fact that NPCs seemingly had their own intelligence and interacted as freely as a person would in the real world was very new and exciting.
The hosts read from their scripts. They talked about the situations on various planets and made some speculations.
From the players’ perspective, they only knew the NPCs attitude toward them and not the responses from the organizations, but Han Xiao did. Recently, the information on the Dark Net had almost all been about the contact with Inhumans. The rapid increase in the number of players had given a lot of pressure to the organizations.
All the organizations agreed that, if the number of Inhumans grew continuously without a limit, it would bring endless potential dangers and subversively impact the current social construct, but they could not find a way to suppress that growth at all.
Luckily, Inhumans were weak and easy to control.
The organizations in Planet Aquamarine had yet to notice that the strength of players was growing at a very fast pace. Before they were LV 20, their power was still in the category of normal humans.
Han Xiao shook his head. When the level of the players is high, these organizations are going to be really shocked.
The topic of the Inhuman Phenomenon had ended. The male host said, “… we have invited Li Ge to join us today. Good to see you, Li Ge.”
Li Ge, the god tier player that ranked second in China, sat between the hosts with a smile on his face.
Galaxy Times frequently invited highly skilled players for an interview and discussion, so the female host asked Li Ge what his view on the Inhuman Phenomenon was.
“I think this is part of the game’s plot, to give the players a feeling that it is real. When I was playing, I kept having the misconceptions that I was in a real world, and I think that is what the developers want us to experience. As a unique character in a real world, everything that occurs required improvisation, and there will almost never be any repeated events. It’s all new and exciting. I have high hopes for what Galaxy can achieve in the future.”
“Talking about the future of the game,” the male host said, “our channel has received first-hand news that the international esports association has confirmed that they will be hosting the first ever pro league, and they have also informed the countries to host competitions. What is your view on this?”
“I would say that it means I have yet to lose my job.” Li Ge laughed. “On a serious note, strong esports clubs have all stepped into Galaxy. They will definitely be preparing for it, and I think it will be a great fight. Hopefully, I can lead China to a good result.”
The comments exploded again. The players were very excited about the creation of pro leagues. It was going to be a big event. There were also other comments like “Li Ge is so handsome!” and “Love you hubby” that came from the female fans.
“The competition has been established, and pro players will have to quickly prepare for it. Do you have any advice or tips that you can share with us?
Li Ge thought for a while and said, “We pro players have to distribute the experience points logically in our abilities in a way that suits our strengths best. Therefore, we stick to a steady pace and won’t rush our levels so that we can familiarize ourselves with the controls in every level and improve our skills, which is why there are almost no pro players in the level leaderboards. Oh, there are a few from Japan. Well, as you know, they like to show off,” he mocked lightly.
“We pro players will grab every opportunity to become stronger. Black Phantom in our Planet Aquamarine has become very famous recently. I think I’m going to try my luck too… but that’s if he returns to the Southern Continent.” Li Ge sighed.
The rest of the show was mostly chitchat.
After he watched finish the show, Han Xiao thought, Pro leagues are going to start soon. All the clubs will be preparing themselves and not wasting any time. My customers should be increasing.
Li Ge—a god-tiered player that ranked second in China, someone whose status was so much higher than Han Xiao in his previous life that Han Xiao was not even qualified enough to be in contact with him—had said that he would come to find him.
But now, Han Xiao had the power to choose if he wanted him to be one of his spare tires.
Li Ge… I’ll have to think about it.
…
Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog did missions in Black Pine. It was not a place for high-level players. The missions were difficult, but Frenzied Sword was a pro player after all. With his skills and the equipment that he had received from Han Xiao, he was having a good time and grew rapidly.
Through the missions in Black Pine, Frenzied Sword had received new equipment and new abilities, but these things could not fill his heart. Instead, he felt empty inside.
When he thought of Han Xiao, his heart would be filled with desire.
Only by following Han Xiao could he understand the true meaning of life, and the missions in Black Pine paled in comparison
“When will he return…”
Frenzied Sword was melancholic.
Outside the isolation zone in Black Pine, Lu Cheng was talking to Frenzied Sword. “Honestly, you have surprised me. You actually suppressed the plague.”
Frenzied Sword was upset. Bun-hit-dog pulled him to the side, and only then did he come back to focus.
“Hmm, yeah,” he replied perfunctorily
In the beginning, when Black Phantom had left the two of them to deal with the plague, Lu Cheng did not take it seriously at all, but not long after, he realized that these two people really could be of huge help. The characteristic of them being able to revive meant that they were unafraid of the infection and could do many things the researchers did not dare to.
The plague in the colony stopped spreading with the help from the duo, and the lightly infected patients were already cured. The number of people in the isolation zone had visibly reduced.
Lu Cheng has always been surprised by the characteristics of Inhumans. He had told the people of Green Valley Ville to research these ‘homeless wanderers’. He contacted his friends from other organizations and knew that the Inhumans phenomenon was happening everywhere in the world. As the Inhumans’ area of activity started to grow, even the Six Nations could not keep the secret from the civilians.
As the level of players increased, players from novice villages started to explore the map slowly. Many left Green Valley Ville, and some of them came to Black Pine.
Lu Cheng did as Han Xiao taught him to, which was to treat the Inhumans like mercenaries. He noticed that Han Xiao had surprisingly pointed him down the right path.
“Er… rewards?” Bun-hit-dog reminded the distracted Lu Cheng.
Frenzied Sword glared at Bun-hit-dog.
During the mission, he had done almost everything. Bun-hit-dog had just spent the whole time recording from the side like a boss, and yet he had the guts to ask for rewards.
Lu Cheng laughed and told his subordinates to pass the agreed rewards to the duo.
Frenzied Sword carefully read the details of the pieces of equipment that he had received. With the creation of the pro league, he had felt more pressure, so he improved on his skills as much as he could during his free time.
But Bun-hit-dog did not care. He browsed through the forums, then suddenly, he said, “There’s news about Black Phantom. He can give out main storyline missions… how come he never brought it up to us? We triggered his hidden storyline, so why aren’t we getting at least the same treatment?”
Frenzied Sword’s expression tightened, and he said in a low voice, “When he returns, he will definitely give the main storyline missions to us too.”
“Where did that confidence come from?” Bun-hit-dog questioned.
“I…” Frenzied Sword was at a loss for words. He was rather anxious, but he comforted himself with a firm expression and said, “I believe in him!”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In a military base in Stardragon, many players crowded around as if attending a mini fair on a bright, sunny day.
Stardragon’s approach toward the players was gentle. They held many internal meetings and tried to command the players. They realized that other than some Inhumans being mentally ill, they were capable of normal communication. They decided to put the players together as a special division and made them serve the military.
This military base was specially created for the players. Commanders from Stardragon gave out missions, and many players were opening stalls and grouping up—the whole area seemed to be prospering.
Impacted by Han Xiao, many players chose to join the Stardragon, including Maple Moon.
Fighting and killing was not Maple Moon’s style; she liked to collect materials and build machines then sell them to other players. Many players liked coming to her for supplies and repairs, so Maple Moon could easily find a team when doing her missions.
Maple Moon was just a casual player. The time that she spent online was less than other players. Plus, she preferred to enjoy the game more than doing missions all the time, so she wasted a lot of time by doing that.
Even so, with the prize pool rewards that she had received from Han Xiao, she still surpassed most of the players and became one of the players on the level leaderboard.
Maple Moon looked at her experience bar and excitement showed on her face.
Almost level 20. I will be able to find Black Phantom very soon.
…
A piercing cold wind blew across the wasteland with thin snow. Together with the ground, they created a view filled with gray and white.
In a wasteland on the Northern Continent, a player with an animal skin coat slowing trekked across in the cold wind. On the horizon behind him was the novice village that he had left from.
With blood scabs on his fists, seven dead Frost Wolf bodies lay one hundred meters behind him.
Frost Wolves were a common predator in the Northern Continent. Their level was around 10, so players at the time had less than a 20% chance of winning under the siege of seven Frost Wolves, but there were only a few shallow scratches on this player.
The ID above the player’s head was ‘Hao Tian’, which was clearly an old ID.
Hao Tian—a famous pro player, a pillar of the Long Sky club, and a veteran in the pro scene—had used this ID for many years.
There were many esports clubs in China, but only a few were considered top tier, such as Guild of Gods, Long Sky, Dynasty, Fried Eggplants with Fish… Yes, that club was called Fried Eggplants with Fish, and their mortal enemy was the Kimchi Club in Korea.
Hao Tian suddenly received a ranged communication request from Li Ge, so he stopped and accepted.
“Hmm?” This greeting clearly conveyed the fact that Hao Tian did not like to talk too much.
“Have you heard that the Esports Association has confirmed the creation of Galaxy Pro Competitions?” Li Ge asked.
“Oh.”
“What class did you change to.”
“Pugilist.”
“I’m an Esper,” Li Ge said. “Level up quickly. The situation of the Chinese players is not looking good. I need help from people to fight top clubs from other countries.”
“Speak for yourself.” Hao Tian did not give face at all, and he hung up.
Both were top players; their styles were very different.
Hao Tian had been in the pro scene for many years. He had steadily trained and climbed up to where he was. He did not like to talk, did not like to manage public image—all he did was shine in the competitions.
Li Ge was very passionate about managing his image. He often went to shows, so he had countless more fans than Hao Tian. Plus, he was handsome, so he had many female fans. Li Ge was the type of player that was talented enough to surpass other players without much hard work.
Every pro player had their own talent, and Li Ge was full of talents.
Some people are just that talented.
Many people admired Li Ge, and many envied him. Hao Tian was not one of those. He had known Li Ge for a very long time. Li Ge was just someone who succeeded in the same industry as him and nothing more; he did not care for other factors.
Li Ge was his old rival. Hao Tian lost to him many times, and in order to reach a higher place in Galaxy, he spent almost all of his time strengthening his in-game character. He did not want to miss any opportunity.
He opened the forum as was his habit, then saw the posts about Black Phantom giving out main storyline missions.
He suddenly stopped walking and turned back around toward the novice village.
With Hao Tian’s skill, a novice village was already useless to him, but for the missions of Black Phantom, he was willing to wait.
…
In the basement of the Dragon Horn building, the headquarters of Division 13…
The corridor toward the central computer room was dark and metallic, with infrared detectors in the walls all along the corridor. The ground was equipped with devices that recognized and recorded weight and footprints.
Gu Hui typed the password at the door, then had his eyeball, fingerprint, and voice scanned. Within a few seconds, the center computer recognized Gu Hui through the floor and infrared detectors.
“Identification authorized. Welcome, Deputy Director-general,” a robotic voice emotionlessly said.
All the security devices were turned off. The path was clear, and Gu Hui walked into the spacious center computer control room with a serious expression. He was carrying out the order of the highest ranked superiors—inquire about the Inhuman phenomenon from the galactic civilization far away in the universe, Godora.
It was an important issue. All the cameras in the center computer room faced him, and the leaders were watching through them.
Gu Hui knew that it was not only Stardragon—all the other countries were going to do this as well. The Inhuman phenomenon was too weird. They had absolutely no way of solving it and could only seek help from galactic civilizations. Godora was the only superior civilization that they were in contact with. It had a mostly neutral but slightly biased attitude toward them, and they did not interfere too much with Planet Aquamarine.
Gu Hui turned on the central terminal and typed a series of long passwords to unlock the encryption. He then opened the deepest layer of the program and typed another string of secret passwords, activating a secret program.
The screen turned entirely white, then a new simple window popped up. It was filled with countless options and links in weird Godoran symbols. All except one were gray, which meant they could not be selected.
The only one that could be selected was translated into Planet Aquamarine’s language.
_____________________
Godoran Communication Window with Star Zone 9, Planet Aquamarine.
_____________________
This was a star zone communication device model called [Feathers of Light—8]. All of the Six Nations on Planet Aquamarine had received it from the Godoran Civilization. It allowed them to connect with the galactical civilizations. This technology was yet to be obtained by Planet Aquamarine.
The Godoran Civilization locked many functions of the program and closed the hundreds of connections on the network; it was limited to only single-directional communication from Planet Aquamarine. Thus, Planet Aquamarine could only make use of less than 0.00000001% of the galactical communication device, and they could only get information about the universe from Godora.
But Planet Aquamarine did not have a choice.
Gu Hui calmed his mind and clicked the link. The ten-second wait felt like hours, but eventually, the screen flashed, and a dialog window appeared.
A sentence in the Godoran language appeared before it flashed into Planet Aquamarine’s language through the translation function from the device. “Human from Planet Aquamarine, why did you request communication?”
Gu Hui revised what he had planned to say before typing it out word by word. “My friend from Godora, I’m the person in charge of the intelligence organization of Stardragon on Planet Aquamarine. I have requested the communication due to an abnormal phenomenon on our planet. We call it the Inhuman Phenomenon. The details are as below…”
Gu Hui explained their research on the Inhumans briefly and sent the documents and records over. Then he ended his message with a brief plea for assistance. “As our technology is unable to find the reason behind this, we hoped you could help us to solve it. If you can provide assistance with this, we will give you our sincerest appreciation. Godora and Stardragon will forever be close friends.”
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After a few seconds, the person from Godora replied.
“There are many technologies that can achieve this effect. It also might be a natural occurrence. There are far more weird events in the universe, so don’t have to be so surprised. Tens of thousands of species die and come to life every second. We would have to research on it ourselves to know the exact cause.”
“That is what we are hoping for,” Gu Hui wrote back, “for you to send someone here to do field research.”
“Request authorized. Current date: 10th August 688 Galaxy time. Mission has been submitted into the schedule. ETA 7th May 689.”
Galaxy’s calendar was set by the three biggest civilizations. It is used across the entire universe, but of course, many places had their own calendar, just like the use of dialects. The general calendar would usually only be used in the communication between two civilizations so that time calculation would be easier.
“So long?” Gu Hui was stunned.
“Every activity follows a schedule. The request needs to be queued. I have already received the request from other nations on your planet, so it will be settled at the same time”.
The reply of the receptionist from Godora was typical. Gu Hui feel it was quite familiar. He thought about it and realized… Isn’t this the same tone as government officials pushing things around?
Gu Hui turned off the communication with a sigh.
“Have to wait one year. Who knows how the Inhuman Phenomenon will turn into after one year?” Gu Hui shook his head. “Luckily, the Inhumans are able to communicate and are passionate about being mercenaries. They are controllable to a certain extent.”
The highest ranked superiors of Stardragon hosted a meeting. Since there was currently no solution to the Inhuman Phenomenon, they decided to immediately focus on declaring war with the Germinal Organization before the phenomenon grew worse, to prevent the Germinal Organization using this phenomenon as a tool for them making a comeback.
Preparation for the expedition war started again.
…
Ta, ta, ta!
The military boots stepped on the metal floor. Hila walked in the corridor full of twist and turns with an expressionless face. She did not even hesitate at the intersections. She was too familiar with this place—this place where Aurora was locked up.
At the end of the deep corridor, a thick, metal gate blocked Hila’s path. She walked over with light steps, and the automatic guarding guns kept their aim all on her like they were going to open fire at any moment. Two guards stood in front of the metal gate and stopped Hila.
“I have authorization.” Hila’s tone was cold.
The guards turned around and tapped a few times on the control panel, made sure that Hila had received one-time authorization from their leader, and nodded. “You have one hour.”
He opened the metal gate. Light shone from within and brightened the exquisite but ice-cold face of Hila.
A pure white room came into her sight.
It was very simple: one bed, one table, one chair, one toilet, and one bookshelf full of books.
In a bed as pure as the feathers of an angle, a tiny, scrawny body cowered.
Hila walked forward inattentively and stopped five meters outside the room. She reached out and pressed against the glass that surrounded the room. She could not move forward anymore.
The corner of her eyes shook.
The palm pressed against the wall turned into a fist. She clenched her fist so hard that her bones started to turn white.
“Sis?”
The blanket started moving. A tiny bald head extended from within cautiously. Her face was pale like she was suffering from malnutrition and had not gotten enough sunlight for a very long time. Her eyes were flashing with surprise as she saw Hila.
Aurora lifted the blanket and stumbled toward the glass. Her steps were weak and powerless. She was only as tall as Hila’s shoulders and so skinny that she looked like she only had her skeleton left. The exposed arms from her patient suit were full of needle scars. Aurora pounced toward the glass with happiness. She put both of her hands on the glass and said, “You’ve come to see me!”
Hila hastily extended her hands and pressed against Aurora’s palms across the glass. She endured the lump in her throat and softly asked, “Recently… have you been alright?”
“The people in white lab coats have not come as often. The last injection was thirteen days ago already.” Aurora’s large eyes blinked, and she showed a faint smile.
Hila smiled reluctantly. She looked at the needle scars on Aurora’s body, and it felt like her heart was being stabbed rapidly. She knew why they drew blood from her fewer times—it was because Aurora recovered slower. Every time her blood and bone marrow was extracted, she needed more time to recover.
Her ability allowed her to feel one’s life force. The life force of Aurora, which had once been as bright as the sun, was now a candlelight that might extinguish anytime.
Her life force was withering.
Aurora sat down and hugged her knees. “Tell me stories elder sister. I want to hear the last one that you didn’t finish.”
Hila sat down too and leaned on the glass.
“Where did we stop at last time?” she whispered.
“Hmm…” Aurora tilted her head and thought about it. “The uncle called Zero escaped from the base. What happened next? Did sis fight with him?”
After a moment’s thought, Hila continued the story with a soft and gentle tone.
…
In the office of the leader of the Germinal Organization, a row of superiors stood in front of the desk and reported the various situations in the organization.
The leader sat straight and tight. No one knew what the expression behind the mask was. His black gloves covered hands overlapped each other under his nose. “The Inhuman Phenomenon has attracted the attention of the Six Nations, but it won’t last for long. At least the Inhumans made some time for us to recover. Be prepared, the enemy may invade Andrea any time,” he said.
The officers nodded in assent.
The leader looked around and asked, “Where’s Cyberlos?”
“There have been breakthroughs in a few projects recently—he’s busy.”
The leader stood up suddenly and left with large steps.
…
Electrolux was so touched that he was tearing up.
After a month-long ordeal, he was finally released.
It had not been easy!
Although he was trapped in prison, he had been paying attention to the forums, and he knew that the Germinal Organization had captured other players as well. After he was released, he was sent to join a special unit consisting of players; it was called the Inhuman Unit. It was all the unlucky players whose organization was locked due to being brainwashed.
Although he was far behind on levels, Electrolux was confident that that with his Esper ability that had A-grade potential, as long as he levelled up, he would definitely be stronger than other players.
A non-Chinese on Planet Aquamarine player like this was not uncommon. Some casual players did not care which planet was whose base camp; they only chose novice planets to their likings. Every novice planet had casual players from various countries.
It was Cyberlos’ idea to put the brainwashed Inhumans into one unit, and it had been accepted by the leader, who felt that undead Inhumans had a strategic value in war.
The leader had assigned a battle instructor to specifically design training and actual combat plans for the Inhumans.
At this time, Cyberlos was in another research lab. He stood in front of a specially designed sealed pod. The research personnel on the side were steadily adjusting the devices. There was an test subject in the pod, and a scream filled with madness and agony could be heard from within.
After some time, the inside of the sealed pod quieted down. Its gate opened, and what was inside could be seen.
It was a man fully armed with all kinds of exoskeleton mechanical parts that were connected into his bones. His skin had all changed into a soft, stretchable metal. With his bald head and machinery everywhere, his body size had grown a considerable amount. He looked like a beast.
This guy was none other than the first test subject of the [Super Soldier Project], No. 1!
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“How do you feel?”
No. 1 opened his eyes. His eyes had been modified, too. They flashed red light, and his field of sight could zoom in and out like a camera lens. He looked down at his palms covered in metallic skin, and as he moved his fingers around, a hideous smile appeared on his face.
“Never been better.”
With a buzz from the exoskeleton, he punched at the metal wall and created a pit. His hideous smile expanded and turned into a maniacal laugh.
Finally, after enduring endless pain, he had gained transcendent power.
He enjoyed the surge of confidence.
No. 1 realized that with this power, the Zero that had once killed him was nothing more than a weakling.
They were not on the same level anymore.
“Zero, don’t get killed by anyone else before I find you.” No. 1’s eyes were vicious as he talked to himself. “You’re mine.”
…
Cyberlos walked out of the experiment lab to report to the leader.
“As the schedule has been brought forward, the experiment has yet to reach a mature stage. No. 1 was the only one that could endure and finish all the modifications. I did not think that he could endure all that torture,” Cyberlos said.
“He was killed by Zero. Hatred turned his will indestructible,” the leader said indifferently.
“About Zero…” Cyberlos narrowed his eyes. “If he really has the power to predict the future, we have to get rid of him before the war. Otherwise, all of our strategic deployments and planning will be exposed.”
“He’s like a rat in the sewers, hiding too deep.” The leader fiddled with his fingers before coming to a decision. “Activate Destiny’s Child, find his position.”
Cyberlos smiled. He had always been very interested in the Destiny’s Child.
The duo walked in the twisted corridor and past locked gates that each required higher authority than the last. Elite teams of guards patrolled the corridor in synchronized footsteps. The secret room was deeply hidden.
The leader walked to the gate and entered the password. Next was the fingerprint scanner. He removed the glove that he had always been wearing. His hand looked horrible—it was full of scars like it had once been bitten and chewed by a beast.
There were scars on his fingertips, too. The leader put the glove back on after the authorization was completed. The metal gate slid open to the side. Only the leader could open this gate.
Inside was a hibernation pod with a man wearing a metal muzzle in it, and the nutritional liquid injections were all that was keeping his body alive.
The leader controlled the hibernation pod to inject a drug that would wake the person inside. The door opened up, and the man slowly opened his eyes. He was extremely calm. His eyes had no signs of life, and he did not seem to care if he was asleep or awake.
The Germinal Organization called this man ‘Destiny’s Child’. He had some ability to affect the future with his words, but the Germinal Organization did not know many of the details.
The leader waved behind his back, and his subordinate handed the documents on Zero over. He then flipped the pages. Destiny’s Child looked at the pages without even changing the focus of his pupils.
The leader flipped through the pages twice and said, “Make him appear.”
Destiny’s Child finally blinked.
The leader took out a specially made key and opened the metal mouth mask of Destiny’s Child.
Destiny’s Child closed his eye for five minutes. When he opened them again, he said slowly with a hoarse voice, “He will come here himself.”
The leader’s breath paused for a second and demanded, “When?”
“Not too long.”
“Hope it’s successful this time.” Cyberlos shook his head. Destiny’s Child’s ability did not work every time. The smaller the request, the more likely it was to succeed.
The leader put the metal mask back on Destiny’s Child and pushed him back into the hibernation pod.
The guards outside careful extended their heads and looked at each other with confusion.
Why were the leader and Cyberlos talking into the air with themselves?
…
After staying in the last novice village in the Western Continent for three days, Han Xiao left hurriedly in a plane. His next stop was the Northern Continent, which would be a long trip.
The average level of players was getting close to 20, so Han Xiao had to speed up on his schedule.
Stars filled the night sky outside the window. The plane flew stably in the clouds with its preset route.
The stars glowed in the clear eyes of Han Xiao.
Every time Han Xiao looked at the night sky and the bright stars in it, he thought of the countless civilizations and opportunities that existed in the universe.
Han Xiao was very aware of this, and every time he thought of it, he was filled with ambition.
A man’s journey belongs to the sea of stars.
He had already built his base on Planet Aquamarine—this was the starting point. The more he accumulated here, the more confident he would be.
Han Xiao opened the interface and counted his earnings.
In the more than ten days that he had stayed in the Western Continent, he had robbed a large number of drugs, one of which had an unknown effect but could potentially be a very valuable semi-finished drug. He had also built many relationships, with Dion, two superheroes that he had no idea of what use they would provide, Hannes, and others. Furthermore, he had managed to trigger the hidden main storyline.
He also built the mechanical suit, Viper.
Viper could increase both his Strength and Dexterity drastically, which made up for the Mechanics’ weaknesses in these two attributes in the early stages. In Han Xiao’s mind, Viper was his second battle plan, and it was only a prototype. He needed to continuously add more modules to it so as to enhance his combat abilities.
Sniping was for assassination, kiting, and stealth; Viper was for head-on combat, and he actually already had a few modification ideas for it.
His largest earnings were the experience and money from the four novice villages. [Energy Training Technique] sold very well just as he expected, and it had brought him an outrageous and unbelievable amount of rewards.
120,000,000 EXP!
Those who could afford [Energy Training Technique] were the players who were rather ahead—not everyone could afford it.
The class-change knowledge and basic skills were selling at a low profit margin, but the number of people who bought it was the highest.
He already had 20,000,000 EXP saved up. Thus, the accumulated experience on the interface totaled to 140,000,000!
Han Xiao felt content as he looked at the long string of zeros. Even for the players at his level, this amount of experience was beyond their imagination. Some players could not even get as much experience during the whole version 1.0.
Nice. Han Xiao was overjoyed. He would not have to worry about experience points for a long time.
As long as he settled the two biggest obstacles—changing class and upgrading tier—his level would increase tremendously, and he could even splurge on upgrading his skills. It would be easy for him to max the levels of all his abilities except for blueprints, and most importantly, he could infuse blueprints in bulk and build up his inventory.
Experience points were not the only thing. He had also earned 3,600,000 Aquarium dollars by selling [Energy Training Technique], and he had sold five referral letters, which totaled to 4,850,000 dollars. His wallet was packed.
Worth it!
Han Xiao rubbed his palms. He could not wait to open the interface.
Excluding blueprints, the abilities he had yet to reach max level were: [Accurate Shooting Lv.3], [Special Combat Lv.1], [Stealth Lv.1], [Steady Aim Lv.1], [Night Attack Lv.1], [Medium Enhancement Lv.4], [Energy—Magnetic Enhancement Lv.1], [Meticulous Repairs Lv.1], and the amazing [Pickpocketing Lv.1]
Without even looking at the experience points they needed, he maxed the level of each of those abilities!
That’s the feeling of being rich!
_____________________
Your Accurate Shooting and Sniping are both at Lv.5.
You learned [Field Controlling Vision].
_____________________
Your Grappling and Special Combat are both at Lv.5.
You learned [Lethal Critical Hits].
_____________________
You have received talent [Proficient Combat].
You have received talent [Proficient Shooting].
You have received talent [Bat Habit].
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao had unlocked two new abilities and three new talents. [Bat Habit] had been gained from reaching the max level of all abilities in [Night Stalker].
Without hesitation, Han Xiao levelled up all the new abilities to the max as well.
_____________________
Field Controlling Vision Lv.10: Upon activation, +15% Fire Rate, +20% Range, +22% Field Vision. Lasts 13 seconds.
Cooldown: 12 minutes
Stamina Usage: 300
_____________________
Lethal Critical Hits: Vital spot critical damage increases from 200% to 250%. Dealing four vital spot critical hits in two seconds has a 0.1% – 1.5% chance of trigger a lethal attack.
_____________________
Proficient Combat: +5 Strength, +3 Endurance, +6% Melee Attack, +4% Parry Chance.
_____________________
Proficient Shooting: +6 Dexterity, +8% Firearm Attack, +4% Fire Rate.
_____________________
Bat Habit: Vision will not be affected by the night, able to detect surroundings with sound. When fighting during the night, +5% Dexterity.
_____________________
He used about 12,000,000 points of experience to max the levels of these abilities, in which he spent the most points in [Medium Enhancement] and [Meticulous Repairs]. After all, they were the main class abilities of the second-tier class.
There were still a ton of experience points in the interface.
With all these abilities reaching the max level, Han Xiao’s strength had increased by at least 20%.
The enhance and repair abilities were the main abilities of Mechanic class. One such ability was [Energy—Magnetic Enhancement], which increased machinery affinity by 33% when it reached max level. Han Xiao clearly felt that he suddenly understood machines more deeply, and the speed and quality of him building machines increased tremendously.
It was just right for him, as his class-up requirement was to build five purple-quality pieces of equipment with a rating of more than 60. Increasing his ability to build machines would help him meet the requirements.
Five high-quality gear in purple grade and the ratings had to be more than 60—it was quite difficult. The rating of equipment in Galaxy followed a very easily understood system. Legendary quality low-level gear would not give as many attributes as purple-quality high-level gear. A high level and high-quality gear would be much more valuable.
Han Xiao still had a large number of experience points left after maxing all his abilities. By choosing a suitable mechanical blueprint and maxing its level, it would greatly increase the quality of the final product and multiply the success rate by more than seven times.
Han Xiao contemplated for some time and decided to fuse blueprints first to have more choices.
With more than 100,000,000 EXP, he could splurge on fusing basic knowledge.
Of course, he was not randomly fusing them; he only fused the machinery that he felt would be reliable. After all, there were way too many combinations between the basic knowledge, and with every fusion, the experience points required would double. If he did not use them wisely, even 100,000,000 experience points would not be able to fill this infinite pit.
After continuously infusing tens of times and spending millions of experience points, Han Xiao received tens of new blueprints that spread across various types with different uses. He carefully picked three pieces of machinery for the class change mission.
[Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades], [Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm (Can Be Disassembled)], [Mini Maneuvering Equipment].
Not only did these three suit the requirements, but Han Xiao also felt they would be useful to him.
Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was a weapon that was similar to the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor. It had a magnetic round metal plate as the body, and a few detachable magnetic blades filling the core with magnetic energy would activate the magnetic chain. The blades would then be dispersed and hover around the core with spaces in between. If one blade was within a certain distance of another, they would repel each other, and if they are more than a certain distance apart, they would attract each other, which provided a medium range combat solution.
The controls of Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades were cumbersome and unique. By using energy to adjust the structure of the magnetic chain, the blades could be turned into different shapes. With the combination of certain gestures, the blades could be used for both attacking and defending in many forms. It needed practice, just like the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor.
The blades could be put in different pockets and combined together during use, which was convenient for stealth purposes and suited the Viper. This was also superhuman equipment for a Mechanical Pugilist.
Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm (Can Be Disassembled) was a type of mechanical arm. Different from the lightweight mechanical arm, the size of it was very huge. It was many times bigger than his arms. Its power source was the built-in motor and engine. As its size was very huge, it had a high requirement of the user’s Strength. Han Xiao had to wear Viper to meet its requirements.
Han Xiao chose this because it could be disassembled. This meant that it could be used as part of Viper for enhancement if needed.
Mini Maneuvering Equipment looked like a belt. It could shoot out bursts of air that allowed the user to jump midair, and its fuel was very expensive. There was a fitting device built-in so that it would not fly off without the user. It would tire the user to a certain extent, but Han Xiao was practically immune to it with his amount of Endurance.
The most important thing this device gave Han Xiao was agility. He would be about to make turns in midair and perform all kinds of tricky movements, drastically increasing his mobility.
He had chosen those three pieces of machinery to attempt making purple-quality equipment. He wanted to give his mechanical suit melee weapons so that it would cover the close-range weakness of the sniping style.
The other blueprints such as cannons, land mines, and bombs were not suitable for making a piece of purple quality equipment as there was not much room to improve.
He immediately maxed the level of the three blueprints, which cost around one million EXP, but it was nothing to him with all the experience points he had.
There’s not enough materials on the plane. Han Xiao looked at his inventory. He had not restocked in the Western Continent. He pondered for a while and decided to make use of the max level [Medium Enhancement] and enhanced all of his current gear.
As he was keeping himself busy in the plane, it flew at a constant speed toward their destination, the Northern Continent.
…
One day later, the plane landed at the coastline of the Northern Continent.
Han Xiao walked down the plane. He got goosebumps from the surrounding cold air; it was freezing in the Northern Continent.
Han Xiao rubbed his palms against each other and breathed out a fog of hot air, opened the map, and said, “There are four novice villages in the Northern Continent, too. The highest level players should also advance to LV 20 soon.”
The clock was ticking. Han Xiao hurriedly asked the pilot to take off again as soon as the plane was refueled. He arrived at the first novice village in the Northern Continent very soon and was greeted with warm welcomes.
The players in the Northern Continent had been waiting for him for a long time. They had been reading about the players in the Western Continent showing off every day with envy and anticipation; it was finally their turn to show off.
Of course, the players in the Southern Continent were even more upset.
Han Xiao stood in place, and the players queued to give him money and experience points with smiles on their faces. The numbers on the interface kept growing.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the crowd. Hao Tian walked out of the crowd as the players around him stepped aside.
“I want to buy the Referral Letter,” Hao Tian said.
Han Xiao looked up. he recognized Hao Tian—a pro player who had around the same level of skill as Li Ge.
Hao Tian gave the money and took the referral letter, keeping an emotionless expression throughout. He took the mission and left without wasting any time.
At this time, Han Xiao heard the conversation between the surrounding players.
“Didn’t Hao Tian finish all the missions in novice village? I thought he left two days ago.”
“No, I saw him come back with my own eyes. He stayed till today.”
“Probably waiting for the mission from Black Phantom.”
“It’s not worth wasting two days for a pro player.”
“I would wait ten days if I could get the mission from Black Phantom.”
Han Xiao’s eye twinkled. Hao Tian seems like quite a good choice.
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Including Hao Tian, Han Xiao had already come in contact with many pro players and given them the missions.
The way to complete the mission was through a communication device. He gave the pro players his number and email, and the mission would only be completed once they sent over the details so that he could complete his own mission. If there were any mission items that needed to be handed to Hannes, he would have to take the plane and retrieve it himself.
As compared to doing them himself, ordering highly skilled players to help him complete these missions would save him a lot of time, and he could just sit back and enjoy the profit.
Among the pro players that came to accept the missions, many had been very strong players in his previous life, and Han Tian was at the top of that list. Han Xiao was rather interested in Hao Tian, but since he had said that he would only be amazed when the mission was completed, he was patient.
Han Xiao spent most of his time on the road as he was rushing between the novice villages in the Northern Continent. During this time, he used the max level [Medium Enhancement] and upgraded his gear and improved their attributes. He also tried to build the three pieces of equipment that he had chosen, and he was rather satisfied with the results.
He was able to achieve blue quality on the first try, which meant there was a chance to reach purple quality after some practice and familiarization.
There were already players that had reached LV 19 on the level leaderboards. With Han Xiao’s pace right now, he would be able to finish all the novice villages in the Northern Continent before the first player reached LV 20.
As for Andrea, Han Xiao did not think that he would be able to make it, but he did not want to go to Andrea anyway as it was the headquarters of the Germinal Organization, which meant it was very dangerous for him. Also, the players had all been forced to leave the novice villages and were scattered around everywhere. All in all, the risk far outweighed the profit for Han Xiao.
In the Planet Aquamarine panel on the forum, players in the Northern Continent were the happiest. The second most excited were the players from Andrea—in their minds, after Black Phantom finished running through the novice villages in the Northern Continent, he would go to Andrea next.
Well, that is awkward. Han Xiao sighed.
…
The weather in the Northern Continent was cold. Its terrain mainly consisted of snowy fields and icebergs. Thin snow danced in the air, fog surrounded the mountain top, and a clear line separated the black green mountain body and the snow-covered white peak.
The third novice village was called Frost Pine Village. It was in an ice-sealed forest valley, where fierce beasts roamed.
The plane landed outside the forest, and Han Xiao crossed the forest with his Electromagnetic Hover-boots, following the radar. The beast roars from afar reminded Han Xiao that the Northern Continent was filled with beasts, and many of them were of a rather high level.
As I remembered, the Sharp Claw Ice Bears on one ice field are all high leveled, between LV 53 to 56, not including the elites or BOSS. I can meet the requirements to unlock [Lethal Shot] talent there, Han Xiao thought.
That ice field was quite far, so Han Xiao decided to head there after he finished with the novice village.
He noticed another thing as he looked at the map—the Alumera family’s territory was not far from Frost Pine Village.
Not long after, Frost Pine Village appeared in his sights. He calmed his mind, slowed down, and walked over.
…
In the woods one hundred meters away from the Frost Pine Village, a dozen or so people who were all wearing combat suit, firearms, and daggers sat in a circle arranging their equipment.
They were a combat team from Alumera, following their order to capture some Inhumans in the Frost Pine Village and bring them back for research.
The captain, Keaton, was smoking a hand-rolled cigar with a vicious face. He pulled out a blaster and said, “Everyone knows the combat plan. Don’t mess up!”
“Relax, it’s just a bunch of Inhumans, piece of cake.”
“If they dare to resist…” Keaton patted the grenade on his waist. “You don’t have to be stingy with these little toys—blow them to smithereens.”
The team started laughing.
“Also, these Inhumans look the same as normal people from the outside, so don’t capture the wrong ones.” Keaton looked at his watch and commanded the rest to stand up. “Arrange your gear. We move on my signal.”
At this time, a human-shaped shadow passed the alley outside the woods. A member pointed over and said, “Captain, there’s a passer-by over there. Is it an Inhuman?”
“Probably, there are many beasts in this forest—only Inhumans would be alone.”
“Capture this one, and we will complete the mission.”
They were eager to do it.
However, they waited for a few seconds then realized that the captain was not giving any response. They looked back and were hit with a shock.
The lips of the usual fierce and vicious Keaton were trembling in fear. His face was pale, and even the cigar dropped onto the floor.
“What’s wrong?” A member was confused.
Keaton’s gulped before saying, “The plan is canceled, leave now!”
“Why?” The team was surprised.
“That’s not an Inhuman!” Keaton said in anger. “H—he’s Black Phantom! He had a conflict with the family not long ago!”
Black Phantom!
Everyone in the team was stunned. They wanted to look over and confirm it but realized the figure was gone; the shadow had disappeared.”
However, they heard the voice of a stranger appear behind them.
“I heard you were calling me.”
Everyone was stunned. They turned around rigidly and saw a black shadow standing behind Keaton, looking at them curiously.
They felt a chill run down their spines.
Keaton was horrified. He did not notice Han Xiao move behind him. The voice from Han Xiao was almost like a clap of thunder that made his heart jump and sweat even in such cold weather.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He had sensed them from afar. The reason that these armed men were this nervous in front of him was most likely that they knew his identity and had hostile motives.
“Are you going to tell me yourself, or do you want me to help you? You can try lying too.” Han Xiao bent his fingers. Seven blades flew out from the pockets on his waist and legs, floating in midair as they locked onto Keaton’s vital points.
Blue-quality Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades, their damage was based on the user’s energy usage, and they were able to form many weapon shapes while maintaining a very high attack speed. The equipment had an ability called [Revolving Slashes]. Once activated, all the blades would form a circulation like a clown throwing balls, inflicting multiple wounds at high speed. It was a great melee weapon before LV 60.
From the players’ perspective, this thing would be god tier equipment in the early stages. Han Xiao had spent more than a million experience points to be able to get this blueprint.
Keaton was terrified by the floating blades; he hurriedly listed the team’s identity and mission without leaving anything out.
When he heard that they belong to Alumera, Han Xiao’s eye twinkled. He easily understood why these people were afraid of him; he had helped Lu Cheng to attack Alumera’s territory back in the Green Valley Ville and stood against them, but when he saw the rumors on the Dark Net, Alumera only wanted to revenge Lu Cheng but did not mention him at all.
I should be their enemy—are they… scared of me?
Han Xiao was suddenly interested. He put back the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and said, “Go back and tell your leader that I will be visiting very soon.”
Keaton’s tight nerves loosened. He immediately ran away without daring to look back, and the rest of the team followed.
After running for a few hundred meters, out of breath, Keaton stopped and looked back. When he was sure Black Phantom had not followed them, he let out a sigh of relief. He was soaked in sweat like he had just gotten out of a pool, and his heart was beating extremely fast.
“Captain, what now?” Fear still lingered on everyone’s face.
Keaton swallowed his saliva and said, “We go and relay the message to the bosses.”
…
“Black Phantom is in the Northern Continent, and he wants to ‘visit’ us‽”
The eyes of Darryl, the leader of the Alumera family, opened wide and round like an angry bear. “We have yet to find him, and now he dares to find us first. He’s totally disrespecting us. I’m going to kill him!”
The third in command, Se Qi, was a Sharnuk. He was huge and had dark skin. “Don’t be so impulsive. He’s not to be messed with lightly. He definitely has some backing and no fear if he dares to find us alone.”
Darryl stared across. “Xiao Jin, what’s your suggestion?”
Xiao Jin pushed his monocle and said calmly, “He only said ‘visit’. If he wanted to attack us, he didn’t have to tell us. We should make contact with him and see what he wants. Maybe he’s not planning to engage combat.”
Darryl frowned and said, “I will see him myself and see how he’s going to explain killing our men!”
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Frost Pine Village was a poor novice gathering point. Poor meant there were many missions; therefore, although the players had low-quality equipment, they had accumulated a lot of experience points. Many players bought abilities from Han Xiao, and they were taking photos with him from time to time. He was like a celebrity; the crowd appeared wherever he did.
Han Xiao left Frost Pine Village in a plane after staying for one day and harvesting experience points. He brought along all his equipment and went to the Alumera family.
He did not feel a sense of belonging to the family of his original body, but he was unavoidably curious about it, so he wanted to ask around about it. Since Alumera was still pursuing his original identity, Han Xiao was very interested in making contact with them.
Alumera Family, a big warlord in the Northern Continent, they were partners with Theseus. Within the planet, they have 24 colonies of which five are large territories. They are very rich; they are registered as a legal financial organization in Theseus.
They are involved in businesses, politics, and many other fields, which are controlled by different factions in the family. The Alumera family is separated into four factions internally, which consist of the home faction lead by Darryl, the Xiao faction led by Xiao Jin, the red island faction led by the third chair Se Qi, and the more relaxed local alliance northern faction.
Alumera is a warlord organization made by the alliance of organizations from dead countries, the Home faction controlled the big picture, and the other factions are under them. They took in many loose warlords and became one of the strongest warlord organization in the Northern Continent. Then they accepted the request from Theseus to be part of the government forces and acquired government backing. They have not made any big movements recently and have mostly been settling tricky problems for Theseus, especially regarding Raylen.
The situation in the Northern Continent was different from the other continents. Unlike other nations that were peaceful, the conflict between Theseus and Raylen was very intense. Killing happened very often, and soldiers, agents, and superhumans battled in secret. Hatred was deeply rooted in both nations. Theseus and Raylen were both very invasive countries, and one mountain could not fit two tigers. For more than twenty years, they had not stopped trying to defeat and erase each other.
Only recently when they decided to work together for the expedition to conquer the Germinal Organization did they pause.
Alumera’s headquarters are full of danger. They dread my identity and strength only because they have a huge influence, but I am their enemy nonetheless, so there might be a fight.
…
A large colony sat halfway up an ice-covered valley—Alumera’s headquarters. It was a great strategic location as it was easy to defend but difficult to invade. There were only two routes into the colony—one was through the mountain, and the other was by climbing the cliffs at the side—both were heavily guarded.
The mountain rocks were black-green, the snow was white, and the wind was piercing.
At the juncture on the way up the mountain, a sentinel wearing a thick cotton coat was scanning the area as usual. He then suddenly saw a shadow in the snow far away.
“Someone’s coming!” The sentinel warned his friend to stay alert. The shadow soon revealed itself fully and appeared in their sights. The sentinels straightened their faces—it was none other than Black Phantom whom the leader had ordered them to keep an eye out for.
Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. The juncture was heavily guarded just as he expected from the intelligence that he had gathered.
He wondered what Alumera’s attitude toward him would be.
Before long, he was given the answer to that question.
After a short wait, the juncture opened, and a man surrounded by a team walked toward Han Xiao. He stopped in front of him and said with a fake smile on his face, “Mr. Black Phantom, welcome to the Alumera family. I’m Ummil, here to lead you in. Please follow me, the leaders have been expecting you.”
Well, looks like the fight will not happen so soon, and from the way he was talking, they are probably planning a Feast at Hong Gate 1 .
Sigh, how troublesome, couldn’t it just be solved by the simplest solution, violence? That wouldn’t be barbaric; it’s going back to the basics, skipping what was in between and starting the fight right off the bat. It would save everyone some time.
Time is money. Sigh, I’m already here anyway.
Han Xiao lifted the single shoulder backpack that was filled with machinery and followed Ummil up the mountain path.
The path wound among clouds, and the guards followed beside the duo as they passed one juncture after another.
Han Xiao kept a serious face all along. Ummil kept wanting to ask him questions but did not dare to because of the expression on Han Xiao’s face. He contemplated again and again, then asked with a laugh, “The leaders were very surprised when they heard you are coming. After all, there was some discord not long ago.”
“You guys are very curious about why I’m here?”
“Yes, we are not exactly friends, but since you are coming, I believe you have a friendly motive,” Ummil said.
“I’m here to look for trouble. I have yet to decide who to kill. How about we start with you?” Han Xiao asked.
“Hehe, with your strength, you wouldn’t have to visit if you wanted to kill us mid-level cadres,” Ummil said without changing his expression. “That’s not a funny joke.”
“Is that so?” Han Xiao scanned through the guards beside them. They were expressionless, their fingers were placed at the trigger at all times, and they looked cold, hard, and masculine. But the cold sweat dripping down from their sideburns and their short and rapid breathing showed that they were not as calm as they looked.
The guard captain secretly looked over and was immediately caught by Han Xiao. He looked away the next second with horror in his eyes.
“But they seem to find it funny.” Han Xiao expression resembled a smile yet not a smile. He patted the captain on the shoulder, and he clearly sensed the captain’s body tighten for a moment.
Ummil was smiling on the outside but was angry on the inside. He’s not here for a friendly reason. Not sure why he’s here.
Han Xiao squinted his eyes and asked out of the blue, “Ummil… right? What faction do you belong to, Home or the others?”
Ummil’s expression became unnatural. He coughed and said, “I’m a member of the Alumera Family, that’s all.”
Han Xiao smiled and did not say anything.
They kept silent till the door of the territory appeared in sight.
Ummil was relieved. “We’re here. The leaders are waiting for you in the hall.”
The door opened, and hundreds of soldiers came forward, staring at Han Xiao. They seemed to have confidence in numbers.
Ummil was leading the way in front. He walked very slowly on purpose to spend more time in the middle of the armed forces with the motive of planting fear in Han Xiao.
Han Xiao understood what was happening, but he was not affected. Suddenly, he saw a floating ID outside the crowd. There were players here.
Makes sense. Alumera is not far from Frost Pine Village, so some players that left the novice village will have come here. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. There are already players in Alumera, so why are they still capturing Inhumans?
There were many possibilities. Han Xiao did not think much about it and left the thought in the back of his head. His goal was Alumera; it did not matter if there were players present.
…
“What are these soldiers gathering for?”
Dozens or so of players discussed the situation softly from afar as they looked at the crow. They all had a ‘Bamboo Rain’ before their names. They were members of the Bamboo Rain guild, a small casual guild with less than a hundred members who were all young people.
The guild leader, Bamboo Rain Fragrance, was a beautiful young girl with long hair. “They seem to be welcoming someone. Is this an unexpected event?”
“Let’s go and take a look. Maybe we can trigger some missions,” the somewhat handsome Bamboo Rain Fly said. Then he looked at the rest of the members inquiringly.
Of course, no one objected. This group of players from Bamboo Rain guild was the only players in this colony, and they had only found it by chance. There was not much information included on the maps of this place that were sold in the novice village.
The map on the player’s Interfaces was full of fog. The places would only be revealed if they went there themselves or bought a map for it.
They walked toward the crowd, and Bamboo Rain Xuan yelled with surprise, “That’s Black Phantom!”
The group was shocked. They took a closer look and confirmed they were right, then looked at each other in awe.
“Why is Black Phantom here? The people here seem to be hostile toward him.” Bamboo Rain Fragrance frowned and pondered aloud. “He just appeared in various novice villages a few days ago, so there must be a reason he’s suddenly here.”
Bamboo Rain Xuan’s eye brightened up. “This is an unexpected plotline! There might be hidden missions!”
“Lucky, I have yet to see Black Phantom. Now I can learn abilities from him without going to a novice village.”
“I remember there are some video posters looking for footage of him.”
They stopped in front of the hall as they saw Han Xiao entering it. The hall was a high-level area that was not open to them. They needed enough relationship points to enter, but Black Phantom could just go in. They were frustrated.
“Let’s all wait outside,” Bamboo Rain Fragrance said. “He might come out very soon.”
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The hall’s structure reminded Han Xiao of the ancient kingdoms described in books. It was spacious with rows of chairs on both sides, and at the end was the master seat covered in the hide of a white bear. Lining the walls were guards on high alert.
The hall was filled with high ranked officials of Alumera. They turned to look at Han Xiao almost simultaneously, with coldness and hostility in their eyes.
Many of these people thought that Han Xiao had vicious intentions by coming here all of a sudden, so the majority of them disagreed with meeting the legendary killer who was possibly an enemy. They had heard of the things that Black Phantom did, and they knew that Han Xiao was elusive, so they had no idea what he would do. However, Xiao Jin said that since Han Xiao was a killer, it would be safer to meet him face to face.
There were guards in the halls as well, all of whom were ready to pull the trigger any time. Superhumans also hid in the dark, which gave the high ranked officials of Alumera some sense of security.
“Black Phantom.” Darryl, who sat in the master seat, waved his hands casually. “Give him a seat.”
A guard pulled a chair over and placed it in the middle of the hall like it was for an integration. Han Xiao knew that they were trying to plant fear in him. He had come alone, and Alumera definitely wanted to stand their ground.
Han Xiao did not care. He placed the enormous single shoulder backpack on the floor and sat down steadily. “Don’t you want to introduce yourselves?”
“Stop acting,” Darryl said coldly. “You’ve definitely already gone through our data in the Dark Net.”
Han Xiao scanned the Alumera members in the hall and noticed something quite interesting. These high ranked officials were seated separately. The ones belonging to the Home Faction sat around Darryl, while Xiao Jin, Sen Qi, and the North Faction all sat separately. This detail showed that there was some strong conflict within Alumera.
There were also a few very strong hidden presences around. Han Xiao was guessing that if the meeting went bad, he would be attacked in a split second… which of course would not be a problem for him.
Most of Han Xiao’s attention was on Xiao Jin and the members of his faction—he was scanning through them discreetly.
These were the family of his original body, and they had almost killed him.
Bang!
Suddenly, Darryl slammed the chair handle and yelled, “In Green Valley Ville, you attacked our territory and killed our men. What’s your explanation for that‽”
The atmosphere tensed up immediately. Those strong presences started to tense up as well, and the other factions were acting indifferent. Only the home faction was full of hostility.
Han Xiao remembered that he had killed one of Xiao Jin’s foster sons, but Xiao Jin had a poker face. Han Xiao could not figure out what he was thinking.
“So what if I killed them? If you’re not happy about that, fight me.” Han Xiao’s expression resembled a smile but not a smile.
Darryl could not believe that Han Xiao was so arrogant in his territory. He was almost shocked for one second, then it turned into rage. “You—”
Before he finished his sentence, Han Xiao suddenly said, “You worked with the Germinal Organization. I won’t be the only one that comes looking for trouble with you—the Six Nations will, too.”
The crowd was stunned.
Working with the Germinal Organization? Since when?
Darryl forced the shouting down his throat and suppressed his anger as much as he could. “What are you talking about? We have never worked with the Germinal Organization.”
“Zero, whom the Germinal Organization is offering an enormous sum for, was a member of your family,” Han Xiao replied. “How do you explain that?”
Darryl suddenly realized why Black Phantom attacked them for no reason—it was because he had mistaken them for having a connection with the Germinal Organization. The team that was searching for Han Xiao might have been discovered by Black Phantom when they passed by the Green Valley Ville.
Having heard that the Germinal Organization was Black Phantom’s enemy, Darryl realized that he had found the cause of the questions he was searching for. He shook his head and said, “You’re wrong. The wanted Zero is vice leader Xiao Jin’s second son, Han Xiao.”
Han Xiao frowned. He looked at Darryl discreetly with eyes that were filled with unspoken meanings.
Darryl continued speaking. “But Han Xiao is already not related to us. Furthermore, the Germinal Organization putting a reward for Han Xiao means he’s their enemy; there are more reasons for us not to be working with the Germinal Organization.”
It seemed like Alumera wanted to cut their ties. Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled as he slowly lured words out of their mouth. He purposely acted as if he was speaking in a very serious manner and said, “I believe, with the intelligence of the Germinal Organization, they definitely knew Han Xiao belonged to you. You are the best clue they have. Why wouldn’t the Germinal Organization contact you?”
Darryl’s face was stunned. “They really didn’t contact us.”
“You think I’ll believe that? Do you think the Six Nations’ intelligence organizations will believe that?” Han Xiao said coldly. “There are too many suspicious parts to the story. I can only assume that you are helping the Germinal Organization find the wanted man, and there’s even a possibility that that wanted man was sent by you to do things for the Germinal Organization.”
Darryl frowned and said, “That’s is completely not true. There’s more to this.”
“I would like to hear what more there is then.”
Han Xiao had no fear. His attitude made Darryl clench his teeth. For the family’s sake, they had to cut ties with the Germinal Organization very clearly. The war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization was about to break out, so if they were misunderstood, Alumera would be in a dire situation.
Although Han Xiao had come alone, Darryl did not dare do anything to him. After all, he was Black Phantom; with his identity and strength, the fact that he was there might even have been an order from the Dark Net. If they killed him, the Dark Net would become their enemy, and it would prove the fact that they were working with the Germinal Organization.
Most importantly, Black Phantom was unfathomable. The people in the headquarters had no confidence in killing him, and finding out if they could was not worth the risk.
Therefore, at this point of time, Darryl could only endure the arrogance of Han Xiao. He stared at Xiao Jin with a fierce look; he felt this was all caused by Xiao Jin. Therefore, he spun his eyes and said loudly, “Okay, Leader Xiao, you shall tell him the details.”
Xiao Jin looked at Darryl faintly. He turned his head and said, “Xiao Hai, tell him.”
A handsome young man walked out from behind Xiao Jin, his expression rather vicious.
Xiao Hai, the first and best son of Xiao Jin, partly in charge of the Xiao Faction.
He was someone with actual political power, and Xiao Jin had raised him to take his place.
“One year ago, I was guarding a convoy of supplies and was attacked midway. Han Xiao went missing. I have no clue what happened to him afterward,” Xiao Hai said coldly.
This time, a leader from the Northern Faction said, “More details, please. Our guest doesn’t seem to believe it.”
Xiao Hai let out a grunt and said, “The attackers came for me. Han Xiao is my brother, so I made him look like me and divided their attention as bait—only then I could escape successfully. I went back searching with more troops afterward, but we weren’t able to find him.”
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “So, you let your little brother die for you. Was he willing to?”
“What do you think?” Xiao Hai was already annoyed.
The crowd chatted among themselves, eyes with all kinds of different emotions fixed upon Xiao Hai.
“That is what happened,” Darryl said. “We can show you more evidence, and whether you believe it or not, we have no relationship with the Germinal Organization.”
Han Xiao nodded. He had already received the information he needed—what happened to the original owner of this body and the attitude of his family toward him.
When he mentioned the original owner of this body, the people in the Xiao faction treated it like it was a stranger. This was especially so for Xiao Hai, who did not show even a shred of remorse toward killing his own little brother, and Xiao Jin had no problem with that.
In conclusion, the original owner of the body was not loved by anyone; everyone treated him like nothing.
You had a pretty hard life, Han Xiao thought.
The people in the hall suddenly realized something.
What happened to controlling the situation?
When did it become Black Phantom interrogating us?
This is our territory—what about our dignity?
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“You killed my foster son,” Xiao Jin suddenly said.
“This is a private matter chieftain Xiao,” Han Xiao replied. “Let’s discuss it privately.”
“Sure.” Xiao Jin nodded.
The crowd’s eyes twinkled. Black Phantom’s reply to the same matter was completely different.
Darryl showed unhappiness on his face but did not say anything.
Han Xiao turned his head to look at Darryl and said, “It’s late. You don’t mind if I stay the night, right?”
“Xiao Jin, take care of him, meeting dismissed.” Darryl stood up and walked out.
The crowd walked pass Han Xiao with different expressions on their faces.
A man walked up to Han Xiao, smiled, and said, “I’m Xiao Ming, a foster son of Leader Xiao. I will be taking care of you during your stay. Please follow me.”
Han Xiao looked around and realized that Ummil, who had brought him here, was missing. The internal conflict in Alumera is really very severe.
The tense atmosphere in the hall earlier on further proved his point.
With such thoughts in his mind, Han Xiao walked out of the hall. Suddenly, a dozen or so players surrounded him with excitement on their faces. They were all from the Bamboo Rain guild. Bamboo Rain Xuan enabled the recording functions.
“We want to learn abilities,” Bamboo Rain Fragrance said.
Han Xiao surely would not miss out on an opportunity to earn some experience points, so he casually opened the ability interface.
Xiao Ming, who was standing on the side, asked in surprise, “Do you know them?”
Han Xiao shook his head.
“Black Phantom seems to be very popular among the Inhumans.” The Alumera members who happened to pass by noticed this, and they were rather surprised.
The Bamboo Rain Guild wanted to trigger missions, but Han Xiao did not make any other interactions. He walked away after stopping for a few seconds.
“It’s an unexpected plotline, but there’s no mission.” Bamboo Rain Fly was confused.
“Seems like my recording has nothing of interest,” Bamboo Rain Xuan said in frustration.
…
Xiao Ming arranged a room for Han Xiao. Although Han Xiao’s attitude in the morning had made many of the high ranked officials very angry, he did explain the source of his hostility. Therefore, the atmosphere was not all that tense.
That night, Xiao Jin invited Han Xiao to his mansion with the purpose of discussing compensation.
Upon arriving at the place, Han Xiao realized that Xiao Jin’s children were all gathered around, including Xiao Hai and other brothers and sisters. However, the foster kids were not there.
Xiao Jin had the same expressionless face as he had in the day, unpredictable.
Han Xiao was looking at Xiao Jin and his children, and these people were looking at him, too.
“What compensation do you want.” Han Xiao looked at Xiao Jin and put on a smile that did not really look like a smile.
“It’s his bad luck that he died.” Xiao Jin’s expression was cold. To him, foster children were just assistants and tools.
“Then why did you invite me here?” Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“There are no bad sides to getting to know a famous killer.”
Han Xiao could not figure out Xiao Jin’s motive, maybe it was just to build a relationship, maybe there were other motives, anyway Han Xiao was interested in making more contact with the family of his original body owner so he could lure more information out of their mouth.
They chatted casually, talking about all sorts of things. Xiao Hai and his siblings said a word or two once in a while, and the atmosphere was peaceful. Xiao Hai was the leader of the siblings; one could feel a sense of adoration when the siblings talked to him, but Xiao Hai did not react to it, as if that was the norm.
One hour had passed without anyone’s notice. Han Xiao suddenly frowned and said, “I’m very interested in Han Xiao. Let’s talk more about him.”
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Xiao Jin put the cup down and said slowly, “He’s my son. He has always been incompetent, but I didn’t think he would become wanted by the Germinal Organization.”
“I thought he’s dead for sure,” Xiao Hai said. “No wonder they say scourges last for thousand years; he’s still bringing us trouble.”
Han Xiao pointed at himself and said, “You mean I’m trouble?”
Xiao Hai gave a cold laugh and said, “Are you not?”
With a light cough, Xiao Jin said, “It’s getting late,”
“Indeed, it is.” Han Xiao stood up and left.
Xiao Ming brought him back to his room. He passed a stack of documents to Han Xiao as he walked through the door. “This is Han Xiao’s information. Father had told me to give it to you.”
Han Xiao nodded and accepted it.
As soon as Han Xiao entered the room, he checked every corner of it thoroughly. There had been three monitoring devices before he left, and now there was one more. He shook his head and used a program to crack it once again. After he was done with that, only then did he start reading the documents, from which he gained a deeper understanding of the original owner of his body. He was basically a nobody, and he did not hear about any NPC called ‘Han Xiao’ in his previous life either.
“Sigh.”
Han Xiao shook his head. He had made contact with Alumera to know more about the original owner of his body, and he had already achieved that. Whether it was Alumera’s attitude or their internal problems, none of that mattered to him because it had nothing to do with him, and his so-called hostility was just a form of showing his strong stand.
Alumera was already sucking it up and did not want to become his enemy, so Han Xiao would be stupid to kill their people in their headquarters. There was no benefit to creating another enemy for himself for no reason.
Once Alumera knows I’m ‘Xiao Han’, I wonder how they will react.
Han Xiao put the documents aside, lay on the bed, and closed his eyes. He planned to leave the next day.
…
At midnight in Darryl’s mansion…
“It’s all because of that asshole Xiao Jin that Alumera has been sucked into this. That asshole has been building on his power with no worries at all. He’s obviously trying to seize power. However, the North Faction is my ally, and Se Qi’s Red Island Faction has always been neutral. What does he have to be up against me?” Darryl clenched his teeth.
When Alumera was created, it had been peaceful internally, but when the size of the organization started to snowball, conflicts started to happen. As the master of the house, the Home Faction gained most benefits and were in the middle of the conflict. Although all the factions followed the orders on the surface, they all had the ambitions to take over and seize power.
Luckily, after all these long years of partnership, they were all connected to each other deeply, so none of them dared do anything too over the line. A murder was nearly impossible to happen. Even if there was one, it was planned in secret.
Xiao Jin posed the largest threat, and Darryl was the one who secretly planned the attack on Xiao Hai, which sadly failed. They had only managed to kill Han Xiao, who did not matter at all.
Who would have thought that after one year, the Han Xiao who nobody cared about would become a wanted person with an outrageous reward from the Germinal Organization and bring the family such a horrifying enemy?
Thinking back now, Darryl was filled with regret.
At this time, Darryl’s son, Lagos, walked in and said, “Father, Black Phantom has left Xiao Jin’s mansion. The meeting lasted for one hour and thirty-seven minutes.”
“Xiao Jin is becoming more unbridled. Now he even dares meet Black Phantom privately without my consent.” Darryl was enraged.
“What do we do, just let Black Phantom leave?”
“Don’t mess with him.”
“But he dared to be this arrogant in our territory.” Lagos was unconvinced.
“I said don’t mess with him!” Darryl slammed the table in a rage and shouted, “Get out!”
Lagos clenched his teeth and closed the door after he walked out. The moment he turned his head, his expression turned vicious.
…
As the sky started to brighten, loud noises woke Han Xiao up, who was in a light sleep.
He jumped out of the bed and looked outside through the window. Alumera members were yelling and rushing somewhere.
“What happened?” Han Xiao asked in confusion.
Footsteps closed in rapidly, and dozens of soldiers surrounded the room with guns.
“Black Phantom, don’t move!” one of the captains shouted.
These soldiers’ mission was to control him. They were all in a state of nervousness that could pull the trigger wrongly anytime. Han Xiao saw the people outside running in another direction.
Seems like something has happened, but it’s not about me. Han Xiao squinted his eyes and watched things unfold.
Not long after, the captain seemed like he had received an order. He yelled, “Come with us!”
Han Xiao wanted to know what had happened, too, so he followed the nervous soldiers. To his surprise, they went to Darryl’s mansion.
It was already extremely crowded; the high-ranking officials from all the factions had come. They were looking furiously at Han Xiao, and the latter was rather confused.
Han Xiao only discovered what had happened after he walked into the mansion.
In the office, Darryl sat on the chair with his head facing up, a bloody blue hole on his left eye, penetrating through the back of his head. The blood on the wooden floor had already coagulated, and the metallic smell of blood filled the room. The dead body’s hands hung from the shoulders, and the legs pushed against the table, holding him on his chair.
The leader of Alumera had been assassinated!
“Cause of death: gunshot. The bullet entered through the eye into the brain, penetrating and leaving through the back of his head. He would have died on the spot. From the size of the bullet hole, the killer used a high caliber handgun, and the leader did not show any sign of resistance. There are no clues at the scene that showed any signs of the killer ever being here.”
Han Xiao suddenly understood why the others were looking at him that way.
Darryl died in the night, and being the killer who came without invitation, he was the most suspicious. Also, the killer used a high caliber handgun, and the assassination-style was phantom-like.
There were too many coincidences.
He was being framed!
Han Xiao blinked. He took out a cigarette from the pocket, lighted it up, and inhaled deeply, blowing out a smoke ring in the face of the surrounding nervous soldiers.
“Now this is interesting.”
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The soldiers surrounded the place securely. The high ranked officials had different expressions, the home faction was furious, Xiao Jin’s faction was frowning with confusion on their faces, Red Island Faction lead by Se Qi and the Northern Faction all had surprise on their faces, they couldn’t believe it.
“Get him!” Lagos’s face was twisted.
Xiao Jin frowned and stopped him, “there’s more to this, Black Phantom visited us in bright daylight, there’s no need for him to do such thing.”
“What if that’s exactly what he made us think!” One of the chieftains of the Northern Faction said.
“Then why did he have to visit us, it’s more discreet to assassinate him.” Xiao Jin said.
“Our guarding power is strong, he wanted to get in!” Someone said.
“He’s the killer, and you still want to find excuses for him?!” Lagos was emotional, he took out his gun and pointed at Han Xiao, Se Qi who stood on his side hurriedly stopped him.”
“Calm down, there’s no motive for Black Phantom to do this—”
“Motive?!” Lagos was enraged, he stared at Xiao Jin, clenched his teeth and said, “is there no motive?”
Xiao Jin frowned and said, “you’re overthinking.”
The Northern Faction and the Home Faction agreed they should first control Black Phantom who was the most suspicious, then get on to find more clues. Se Qi felt Black Phantom was too dangerous, and suggested to question Han Xiao on the spot, but was interrupted by Lagos who believed they couldn’t trust anything Black Phantom says, they were unable to come to an agreement.
The soldiers surrounded Han Xiao, many strong presences in the dark were locking their attention on him, and the high ranked officials also had their attention on Han Xiao even as they were discussing, they were ready to engage the moment Han Xiao does anything suspicious.
Han Xiao thought to himself, “the result of framing me to take responsibility for the assassination is a conflict between Alumera and the Dark Net, only the third party will benefit from it. Could this be the goal of the people behind all this? If I start a killing spree, it would also fall right into his trap, it was planned for me to be in such a situation where my actions are very restricted.”
Han Xiao could kill his way out anytime, he didn’t care about making Alumera angry, but if he did it, it would be falling into the trap of the people behind this, as escaping would mean he admitted he was the killer, and killing someone creates hatred, he also could not just let them capture him. It seemed like the plan made by the person behind this had worked.
“I’ve only been here for one day, and they could make the assassination look like I did it, there has to be someone who’s an expert in assassination that has been here for a long time, and my arrival had given them the opportunity.”
Unless they could find the real killer, no matter how many things showed that Han Xiao had no motive to do it, he would still be the most suspicious person without any solid evidence that proves otherwise. After all, no one can truly know someone else unless they can read their mind, logical assumptions could not be taken as evidence.
“Wait, evidence—” Han Xiao had a flash of insight, it hasn’t been long since Delo was assassinated, the crime scene was not checked thoroughly yet, the killer might have left some clues.
This time, the discussion between the high ranked officials had come to an end, Lagos yelled, “Black Phantom, disarm yourself and surrender!”
Xiao Jin added, “if you didn’t do it, we will investigate clearly.”
Han Xiao smiled, “you know that’s impossible, how about you guys disarm yourselves?”
Both parties couldn’t trust each other, there was no way they would take the risk of disarming themselves, it was a problem that had no solution. However, Han Xiao had a thought, “there’s no point of continuing this argument, I can stay temporarily, and you can send people to monitor me 24/7, I will wait till you find the truth.” He said.
Han Xiao was very curious about who was framing him, he felt it was quite interesting.
“Well, that is one way to do it.” Se Qi said immediately, he wasn’t wishing for a conflict.
Before Lagos said anything, someone in the crowd suddenly fired his gun, Han Xiao reacted quickly and activated the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, the bullet was deflected.
However, this had made the soldiers who were all in a highly nervous state lose their control and all fired at the same time.
“Fire!”
Conflict broke out in an instant!
“Someone fired unexpectedly on purpose!” Han Xiao’s eyes became serious, the scene was chaotic, but he saw the person who made the shot clearly, it was an ordinary soldier.
Bullets emerged from every direction, Han Xiao had no choice by to deal with the shootings first, the enhanced Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor had an outstanding level of defence, the bullets only made sparks on the armor and couldn’t penetrate through.
Energy flow through his body and went into a circular metal plate on his had, the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was activated, seven sharp blades flew out of the pockets and shot out like a storm. Many soldiers’ gun muzzle was cut off, they backed off in horror and bumped into other soldiers on the exteriors.
The firepower of the enemy started weakening, just as Han Xiao was about to go for the soldier who made the first shot, the superhuman guards hidden in the dark acted.
“Hong!”
Suddenly, a fire appeared in the crowd, not one, but four. Three Pugilists, one Esper that could turn his entire body into fire, all pounced towards Han Xiao at the same time.
Fists covered in fire smashed down hard.
“Bang!”
Cracks spread out on the originally standing flow, the walls started to crack open as well, Han Xiao made it in time and jumped up in the air. Suddenly, Han Xiao faced a heat wave coming towards him, the person covered in fire straightened his arms, a snake-like pillar of fire flew towards Han Xiao.
Usually, one has nowhere to escape to during mid-air, but Han Xiao was an exception. He immediately switched on the [Mini Maneuvering Equipment]on his waist, the boxes on the edge of the belt made a turbo-like sound and shot out a jet stream of air, the belt emitted a strong force, almost like an invisible hand pulling Han Xiao to the side.
The fire snake slid by his back and hit the wall, creating a large scorch black hole.
“Level 46, 48, 49, three Pugilists, and one Esper at level 45, all Grade D superhumans, these should be the high tier power in Alumera.”
If it was before, he would have had some troubles, but now that all his skills were at max level, he was much stronger, it wouldn’t be much of a problem for him even if he didn’t wear his mechanical suit. In fact, he was more concerned about the soldier who fired first, but he realised that the young soldier was killed in the previous round of chaotic shootings.
Han Xiao felt a thump in his heart, he didn’t believe this would be an accident.
“Seems like the people who framed me are deeply rooted in Alumera, they saw me taking a step back and decided to attack me on purpose, to cause a conflict.”
With these thoughts, Han Xiao had more clues, he put the thoughts away and focused on dealing with the four superhumans and the soldiers. He spun his hands, the revolving blades covered him like a protecting storm, slashing almost ten times per second, inflicting wounds on the three pugilists who were just closing in. Everywhere he walked past, the weapons of the soldiers were cut into pieces, he used this sort of weapon in his previous life before, it didn’t need much practice, he was a pro in it instantly. He purposely held back and didn’t kill anyone.
Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, Electromagnetic Skateboard Shoes and other equipment he carried around all the time, all went through [Precised Enhancing Modification], their attributes became much stronger. Han Xiao’s own combat power had also peaked due to all his skills being at max level. Han Xiao didn’t even need Viper·Modified to deal with these four superhumans that had a lower level than him, he only needed Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades as a close range combat weapon to defeat them.
Han Xiao’s health had reached 3800 points, not far from a Pugilist of the same level, and he also had the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, he was very tanky.
On the other side, members of the Bamboo Rain Guild witnessed Han Xiao defeating a group of soldiers and four superhumans, Bamboo Rain Guild recorded them with excitement.
“That, is a recording that has the potential to go viral.”
Bamboo Rain Fly said in surprise, “I thought Black Phantom was their guest, but from what they are saying, it seemed like Black Phantom killed their leader. I made a scan just now, all four NPCs that are fighting Black Phantom have a danger level of [Extremely Dangerous], what they say in the forums are right, Black Phantom is at the top tier in terms of strength even amongst the NPCs.”
Bamboo Rain Morning Wind rolled his eyes and said, “you don’t say, which NPC that gives main storyline missions are not strong?”
“Shhh——” Bamboo Rain Fragrance made a hand sign of asking them to keep quiet, she stared at the scene and said, “keep quiet and watch the storyline.”
…
The destruction power of superhumans far exceeded normal people, the entire mansion collapsed in the heated battle, the high ranked officials had already escaped in rage and nervousness. More superhumans were on their way here, they definitely could kill Black Phantom, if these four guards were able to stall him that is.
Blades slashed open the fire, iron fists clashed against the armor. Han Xiao moved around with horrifyingly high mobility, the four superhumans could only barely hit him despite putting in all their efforts. Han Xiao purposely faked an opportunity for them to attacked and lured one of the Pugilists to a close range, then used the Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves to counter-attack and defeated one person first. He then used the blades to form a storm and slashed wounds all over the fire-controlling Esper, his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor had very good heat insulating abilities, fire dealt very limited damage to him.
The two people left soon had an even harder time dealing with Han Xiao.
“Whoosh.”
The blades slashed open the flesh of the Pugilist and shot out through his body, causing blood to shoot out from the wounds, this Pugilist ended up twitching on the floor with heavy injury and was unable to move.
“Shit!” Lagos was shocked, Black Phantom defeated the four guards in much shorter time he expected before the backup could arrive. The scene was now filled with broken bricks and ruins, no one could stop Black Phantom anymore.
If he were to start a killing spree, many of the high ranked officials would die.
Whoosh! A blade hovered before Lagos, he backed up in terror, but the blades followed him like a shadow, till Lagos fell on the ground with afraid and anger on his face.
It was at this time Han Xiao kept the blades back, he wiped off the blood on his face and said coldly, “I can kill you people, but that would be falling right into the trap of someone else, our terms remain unchanged, I can stay till you find out the truth, but if you insist on capturing me, I don’t mind to gift you a few slashes.”
His fingers turned inwards as he was saying, the blades danced in the air and formed a flower shape, the motive of threatening was clear.
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“You—” Lagos clenched his teeth in anger.
Before he could say anything, Xiao Jin cut in and said, “we accept your terms, I personally believe the assassination had nothing to do with you, it’s a conspiracy intended to spark conflict between both parties.”
The high ranked officials agreed in silence, Black Phantom was even stronger than the rumors said he was, he defeated the strongest people in the headquarters without even using his sniping style which he was known for. These people were not weak, but they paled in comparison to Black Phantom, they were not on the same level.
The backup finally arrived at this time, Xiao Jin immediately ordered the soldiers to keep their weapons, showing sincerity on their side.
Seeing so, Han Xiao kept his weapons too and walked towards where he resided in, the nervous crowd split up and opened a path.
Xiao Jin gave Lagos a faint look, then turned his head and ordered, “clean the scene up.”
Lagos was filled with fury, one of the high ranked officials from the Home Faction helped him to get up but was pushed away instantly.
“He could’ve killed us, but he insisted he’s not the killer, should be trustworthy.” Se Qi whispered.
“Naive!” Lagos said coldly, “if he kills us, all of Alumera will become enemy with the Dark Net till the very end, he’s doing this so we won’t suspect him!”
…
Having returned to Han Xiao’s residence, the interface showed a notification.
[You have triggered an urgent mission[The Real Killer]]
[Mission Introduction: You are framed and dragged into a conspiracy, becoming a chess piece used by the people behind this.]
[Mission Requirement/s: Confirm the real killer and accomplish the mission, you have only one chance.]
Reward/s: Random ability or talent x 1]
Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled, “it’s a puzzle type mission, with only one chance.”
There were many types of missions, the puzzle type was rather common, some required the players to collect clues like a detective, sometimes the clue would be provided, but it was all rather vague, the final decision was to be made by the players.
There was no notification after quite a long wait, Han Xiao guessed this mission belonged to the latter type of puzzle mission, with Alumera’s suspicion towards him, he probably would not be able to find out any clue.
“It’s best to wait and see.” Han Xiao thought.
At the same time, Bamboo Rain Guild triggered a different mission.
“[A Shocking Change in Alumera]: The leader of Alumera was murdered, Black Phantom who came to visit out of nowhere became the biggest suspect, but he claimed to not be the killer and suppressed objections with his raw strength. Alumera might seem to have submitted, but some factions still strongly believed Black Phantom is the killer, what information is hidden within?”
“There are five stands you can take on: Black Phantom, Home Faction, Xiao Faction, Red Island Faction and the Northern Faction, changes cannot be made after choosing.”
“Reward/s: Rewards will be given based on different stands and contribution, the basic reward is 50,000 experience points!”
Bamboo Rain Fly exclaimed in shock. “at least 50 thousand experience points!”
50 thousand experience points were an extremely large amount for them, there really always were benefits wherever Black Phantom went.
“What position will you guys be choosing?”
“Black Phantom for me.”
“Me too.”
Everyone agreed, they didn’t know Alumera very well, and Han Xiao just defeated all of Alumera’s military power, it was obvious following Han Xiao would be the most reliable.
Players of Bamboo Rain Guild approached Han Xiao and expressed their willingness to help.
Han Xiao was surprised, he thought about it and guessed that these players probably received different missions, with a different identity, the mission requirements that were triggered would be different as well. Usually, in an area where something happened, missions would be triggered.
“Follow me then.”
…
In a corner somewhere, two people were talking to each other.”
“The conflict did not happen, our man died for nothing.”
“The intelligence said Black Phantom was a serial murderer, but he held back this time, what a misstep.”
“Luckily the clues have been destroyed, as long as the truth cannot be found, Black Phantom would still be the biggest suspect.”
…
Next day, the Home Faction hosted a simple funeral for Delo, the atmosphere within Alumera became more and tenser in the next few days. Everyone seemed busy, when they looked at each other, their eyes were filled with unknown emotions.
However, Han Xiao had become almost invisible, it was like all the factions forgot he was even here, no one approached him except for the full 24 hours of surveillance.
After chasing the players of Bamboo Rain Guild away to seek information, Han Xiao stayed in the room with a calm mind, he had expected this to happen.
He was an outsider, and the biggest suspect, but Alumera didn’t have the confidence to deal with him so they could only leave him alone. Even if Han Xiao wanted to look for clues, none of the faction would give him any, all he could do was wait.
But the wait was not meaningless, the factions had started their own investigation and plans.
Han Xiao was thinking, Delo died very coincidentally, what good would it do to frame him for killing Delo? Firstly, creating hatred between Alumera and Dark Net would only benefit the third party.
Secondly, there were other motives for killing Delo, and he was just used as a very good excuse since with his strength and identity, it was easy to frame. If the real killer framed him to hide, then his identity would most likely be a party that would benefit from this — which has the highest possibility to be other factions other than the Home Faction.
Han Xiao remembered that the internal conflict within Alumera was very serious, killing Delo could very likely be an act to seize power within the family, then framing him to be the biggest suspect.
But going back to the first possibility, the real killer would still be the third party, which also made sense in the second possibility — creating conflict between the Home Faction and other factions, leading to Alumera collapsing internally.
“Sigh, I don’t want to think anymore.” Han Xiao rubbed his eyebrows.
Anyway, it didn’t matter who the real killer was, he stood undefeatable, as long as he doesn’t make any move, only the real killer would become more and more stressed. There was no way this mission would be a long term one, the impact of Delo dying would surface in a very short time, and by then, there would definitely be someone who would unintentionally leave some clues.
…
In one mansion, the high ranked officials of the Home Faction gathered, the atmosphere was intense.
“Leader has died, who is going to be in charge now?” A tall and muscular man said, he is Delo’s younger brother, Todd.
“Me,” Lagos said coldly.
Todd forced a fake smile and said, “Lagos, I don’t think that is suitable.”
“What do you mean?” Lagos frowned and said.
“You should call me uncle.” Todd said in a more serious tone, “the lead—my older brother passed away, we are all family here, I should be the one in charge according to precedence.”
“Humph, only a few days since father has died, and you’re already seizing power, aren’t you too impatient?”
Lagos said in a mocking tone, “don’t blame me for not warning you but, without father’s suppression, Xiao Jin, Se Qi and others are all making their plans, the position of the leader is now vacant, who knows what they will do. They may look like they were filled with sadness and regret during the funeral, but they were probably laughing uncontrollably in their hearts.”
Todd laughed sneered and said, “don’t say it like that, I was worried you’d make mistakes because you’re inexperienced, but since you think you can do it, uncle shall not compete with you. Now tell us, what do you plan to do next?”
Lagos grunted and ignored Todd’s tone, “our top priority now is to find out who killed father,” he said.
Todd frowned, he felt the priority should be suppressing the ambitions of other factions and regain control of Alumera, but it was inappropriate to express such feelings in front of the high ranked officials of Home Faction, therefore he followed with the topic and asked, “any clues?”
Lagos said coldly, “Black Phantom is the most suspicious, nothing he says can be trusted, I have already informed some people to contact the strongest killers and mercenaries, once they arrive, we won’t have to be afraid anymore, we will just capture Black Phantom and interrogate him. I have spent a large sum this time, the people who are coming are all famously strong!”
“Maybe it really wasn’t Black Phantom.” Someone whispered.
Lagos stared over and said coldly, “then it has to be Xiao Jin, that asshole is very ambitious, he has been under father for so many years and he’s definitely not satisfied with it. Right, I heard Black Phantom stayed in Xiao Jin’s mansion the night the assassination happened, maybe Xiao Jin hired Black Phantom with a huge sum to assassinate father, then put on a show together to fool the others.”
Everyone was shocked.
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“If Xiao Jin really worked together with Black Phantom, then the situation is very bad. It would mean he controls a very strong force, he could even seize power with raw strength.” Someone said.
Todd shook his head and said, “they won’t dare to, if something happens in the headquarters and high ranked officials of all the factions are slaughtered, our men in other places would revenge the enemy till their death, Xiao Jin is not stupid. Also Black Phantom is an outsider, and according to the rules, an outsider cannot interfere with our internal changes.
Lagos sneered and said, “foolish, how would you know Xiao Jin didn’t find a better place to go? Is there no organization behind him? His heart might not even belong to Alumera anymore!”
…
With his eyes closed, Xiao Jin asked, “what’s happening in the Home Faction?”
“Lagos is in charge of everything now, they are currently investigating Delo’s death but has yet to make any progress. By the way, Delo’s mansion was destroyed by Black Phantom during the battle, and so were the clues.”
Xiao Jin paused what he was doing and asked, “who ordered to bring Black Phantom to the scene?”
“The team leader that went to keep Black Phantom in control is called Miri, he was killed by stray bullets during the scrimmage on the day.”
“Stray bullets…” Xiao Jin shook his head, “what is Black Phantom doing?” He asked.
“He did not act.”
“Intelligent choice.” Xiao Jin nodded and said, “before the truth about Delo’s assassination is unveiled, no faction is willing to approach him, anyone that does will become a mutual target of the rest.”
Xiao Hai said, “the inhumans are working for him, I still do not know why he can easily order the inhumans.”
“Leave him alone, he can’t be the real killer.”
After a pause, Xiao Jin asked, “What is the Red Island Faction and Northern Faction doing?”
“They are working with the Home Faction to investigate for clues.”
Xiao Jin rubbed his temple and let out a sigh, 'sigh, dogs that bite surely don’t bark…”
…
Se Qi sat in the office, he pulled down all the curtains and made a call and said in a very quiet voice.
“Major General, what should we do now?”
“What are your thoughts?”
“Delo is dead, the leader’s position became vacant, there must be a vote for a successor, I will be entering as a candidate, hope you can give me support.”
“Sure, I will use my relationship network to help you gain votes of the high ranked officials, when you control Alumera, remember how you got there, don’t forget our promise.”
“Definitely.”
Se Qi let out a sigh of relief as he hung up the phone, a vicious and hideous smile appeared on his face, the skin lines of a Sharnuk wrinkled together.
…
Han Xiao was patient, he stayed in the room every day while the players from Bamboo Rain Guild helped him to gather intelligence, it wasn’t much, but at least he was not totally uninformed.
As rewards, Han Xiao was not petty in giving missions to the players in Bamboo Rain Guild — then earning their experience points by opening his ability shop, he was making a fortune one way or another.
As mentioned before, as long as Han Xiao’s ability level is higher than the player, learning the ability again would increase its level. The Great Technician Han’s abilities were all at max level, it was more than enough for this requirement. Players in Bamboo Rain Guild continuously spent experience points in his ability shop, they were willing to pay the price and Han Xiao was willing to let them.
“My Basic Combat is at max level.” Bamboo Rain Fly triumphed in happiness, the other guild members all came to check out its attributes.
Bamboo Rain Xuan said in sadness, “mine is only at level seven.”
Bamboo Rain Fragrance smiled and said, “that’s because you sleep for so long every day, and are online for too short.”
These players did not restrict themselves in what they were saying, and Han Xiao heard everything. He had noticed something magical, when the players are talking to each other, the system would usually censor any content that had anything to do with it being a game, but he could hear it, it was definitely because of the interface.
Ta, ta, ta ——
A steady footstep closed in.
Peng, the door was pushed open, dozens of soldiers stood outside, Lagos stood in the crowd with his hands behind his back and said coldly, “Black Phantom, we suspect that you worked together with Xiao Jin to kill my father, now get up and come with us!”
“Where did you get the confidence from?| Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, Lagos kept a low profile for so many days, now that he suddenly engages, he must have found help.”
As expected, Lagos sneered and stepped back, two people stepped out of the crowd, one man and one woman.
‘I see.” Han Xiao patted his pants and stood up, 'seems like you spent quite a lot of money,” he said calmly.
The man and woman were a married couple, Luann and Vanessa, legends of the mercenary society, with a position similar to Han Xiao’s in the killer society. Their strength was also at the peak of the third tier in Planet Aquamarine, they lived all the way till version 2.0.
Lagos had people contact them secretly, many rejected as soon as they heard they had to fight Black Phantom, they didn’t dare to become enemies with Han Xiao. Those who came had absolute confidence, he had investigated thoroughly this time, he knew these two people were on the same level as Han Xiao, and it would be most safe to hire both of them together. Black Phantom definitely could not defeat them head-on.
Lagos sneered and said, “when I capture you, I will make sure you spit out everything you know.”
Han Xiao shook his head and said, “isn’t it good to be alive?”
“Humph, quite arrogant I see.” Luann was a muscular black man, he rubbed his fists and said in disdain. “I heard you are very good at sniping, but now I’m only three meters away, I won’t give you a chance to even fire one shot, and how many of my punches can you endure? Be good and disarm yourself, or I will brush the floor with your brain juice.”
A third voice appeared from an empty area, “It’s been long since we met, Mister Black.”
This voice sounded familiar.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, “Invisible Demon? You’re here too.”
Invisible Demon did not reply, murderous intent filled the air.
It was not two strong opponents but three. Han Xiao smiled as he shook his head, no wonder Lagos was so confident, he really spent a huge some to deal with him.
Feeling the hostility from the three strong opponents, Han Xiao smiled, the change he was waiting for has finally arrived, it was an opportunity for him to showcase his absolute superiority in his strength.
The players of Bamboo Rain Guild didn’t know what to do, they couldn’t mess with any of these “Extremely Dangerous” NPCs.
Huuu——
A stream of piercing wind passed by Han Xiao, Han Xiao made it in time to activate his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, Invisible Demon’s nails scratched on its surface and created fire sparkles. In a few months’ time, Invisible Demon increased two levels and became slightly stronger.
Back then Han Xiao could not win Invisible Demon, it resulted in a tie.
But now, they were on completely different levels!
Han Xiao raised his hands, Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades formed a cyclone slashing through the air, numerous damage numbers appeared in the air, wounds opened and blood dripped down, and then disappeared in the next instant. Invisible Demon could retract his skin to hide his wounds.
Invisible Demon was shocked by the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and backed off hurriedly.
Before Han Xiao could make the chase, a wave of air pressure shot towards him, Vanessa pounced forward with her fists raining down hard. Han Xiao raised his hands to parry but they became numb, his Strength was inferior to Vanessa, both Vanessa and Luann were Pugilists near level 60, their Strength, Dexterity and Endurance were all much higher than Han Xiao who was a Mechanic.
Suddenly, Luann caught up quickly, his two fists combined into one and turned into a black meteor covered in flames, hitting Han Xiao’s chest armor plate.
With pain felt on his chest, Han Xiao’s interface showed a high amount of damage, this was an advanced tier ability of Pugilist, it is a vibration hit that ignores part of the physical armor, players in his previous life called it “Hitting the cattle across the mountain.”
Pugilist who learned advanced tier abilities were difficult to deal with, it had given Han Xiao some amount of pressure. Without a change of expression, Han Xiao backed up holding guns in both hands, high caliber bullets shot out rapidly, the power of his firearms increased furthermore as his shooting abilities reached max level.
Vanessa rubbed her hands and emitted a diffused sphere air shield, it deflected the bullets and disappeared.
“Shockwave Blast.” Han Xiao frowned, another advanced tier ability, Pugilist was popular all the time, its abilities were flashy and comprehensive.
This time, players of Bamboo Rain Guild fired, although they clearly knew they were no match for the enemy, they knew they had to help now since they chose to side Black Phantom!”
“Careful about positioning, do not close in, Fly and Cool attack continuously, Xuan, don’t go too close—” Bamboo Rain Fragrance yelled and gave out commands, she had experience in leading a team during dungeons, she used the same strategy when they were attacking dungeon BOSS.
“Inhumans? Luann was annoyed, he covered his eyes with his arm, the bullets were deflected by his protective flames, unable to penetrate his skin.
Vanessa straightaway swung her leg sideways, air blade flew out like a whip and slashed all of Bamboo Rain Guild’s players in half through the waist, they turned into white light and disappeared.
Bamboo Rain Guild was fully destroyed straightaway, the difference in strength was too vast.
Within a short moment, Han Xiao picked up his equipment bag full of machinery and dashed into the room.
Luann was just about to follow but Vanessa stopped him, “careful, he’s a mechanic, there might be traps,” she said.
Luann nodded, he punched the floor strongly, cracks spread out from the center of the punch and the entire house started shaking. No matter what trap Black Phantom had placed, it would all become meaningless once the house was destroyed and the battlefield turned into an open area.
Lagos hastily brought the soldiers to back off far away.
“Boom!”
The house collapsed, askes obstructed the vision.
Luann squinted his eyes and saw a shadow jumping out of the ruins vaguely, he immediately dashed forward like a warhorse, his fists punched forward like a hammer, leaving bright marks behind.
“Fall!” Luann yelled.
But the next moment, he heard the buzzing sound of energy and a cold metallic voice.
“Enhanced Mode!:
Bang! Luann felt like he had hit a metal wall — no, even metal wall would be destroyed by this punch, but it had only made this indestructible “wall” back off a little more than ten centimeters, and then the metal surrounded his fists.
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The dust dissipated, and the shadow’s true form appeared.
A heavy mechanical left arm, many times larger than a normal arm and made of a dense black platinum alloy, was holding onto Luann’s fists tightly.
Han Xiao, who was controlling this enormous mechanical arm, was already wearing Viper. The close-fitting black streamlined mechanical suit looked expanded like a human’s muscles.
Everyone was stunned.
“What is that?”
Han Xiao’s right arm that did not equip mechanical arm strongly grabbed Luann’s arm. Luann wanted to escape, but he realized that Han Xiao’s strength became almost as high as his. He was shocked as he could not escape for the time being.
Viper provided close to 80 points of Strength and 50 points of Dexterity. Han Xiao’s Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance were not lower than any Pugilist under level 60!
Luann was still reacting based on their difference earlier on, and it caught him by surprise.
Han Xiao’s heavy mechanical left arm buzzed and slammed Luann’s head heavily. Luann’s head was bashed into the floor, but the punches did not stop. They continually rained down on him, and the damp on the ground expanded rapidly.
_____________________
Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm (Left)
Quality – Blue
Basic Stats:
– Damage: 85 – 88
– Defense: 26–30
– Power Level: 77
– Durability: 986/1050
Requirements:
Minimum Strength: 45
45 – 90 Strength: +45% Attack Speed
Greater than 90 Strength: +15% Attack Speed
(Stats provided by this equipment is not taken into account)
Additional Effect(s): +28 Strength
Length: 1.24 m (Including exterior armor)
Weight: 85.5 pounds
Additional Ability: Bionic (Human)—Able to perform actions like a human arm, does not restrict the user’s arm movements, very flexible.
Additional Ability: Iron Fist Burst—Multiple energy cores (Engine and Motor) activate maximum output simultaneously to create a bursting heavy hit, dealing 170 – 213 points of blunt damage. 25% chance to ignore mechanical suit type armor. 24-second cooldown.
Additional Ability: Shock Resistance—Exterior armor is made of platinum alloy. Increases durability, harder to wear out.
Special Feature: Can be disassembled.
Remarks: This huge fist will bash your skull!
_____________________
Since he was acting alone, Han Xiao had brought along all his ace cards along in his equipment bag. The heavy mechanical arm had been disassembled into parts to become more portable, and the assembly process was easy and quick, capable of being performed during the battle in a short time.
Vanessa was raging as she saw Luann pressed against the floor. She dashed forward hastily. Han Xiao did not dodge or back up. He battled Vanessa in close range. His fists and legs contained a huge amount of power, and the floor split open inch by inch.
Shockwave Blast was a mid-range ability that hardly dealt any damage to the mechanical suit as it lacked power. Viper’s enhanced mode steadily gained the upper hand.
The two of them were extremely agile, so their fight looked like two blurry shadows in the eyes of the others. Only the constant explosions and destruction showed how dangerous these two were.
The black fists hit Vanessa’s face multiple times; her nose was bleeding.
At the same time, Luann finally pulled himself up off the ground, his head bleeding all over. He growled and pounced over. However, when he was halfway there, Han Xiao suddenly swung his fists and pushed Vanessa to the side. His right hand pulled out the folded the Ghost sniper rifle behind his back and aimed at Luann.
The black muzzle gave an even more dangerous feeling than earlier on.
Luann’s hair stood up all over the body.
Han Xiao pulled the trigger.
[Flaming Will]!
[Lethal Critical Hit]!
[Overload]!
This shot was his ever strongest shot!
It was not just the active abilities—the passive abilities had also made the firing power, critical chance, and machinery affinity much higher, and the firearms were also enhanced as much as he could. Everything was on a higher level than before!
This was the strength of every ability being at max level!
Bang!
A huge hole appeared on Luann’s chest, and blood spurted out like a fountain.
_____________________
After damage reduction, you have dealt 1,942 Damage to Luann (LV 58).
_____________________
Extremely close to 2,000 points of damage!
Luann health was only between 4,000 to 5,000!
One shot, almost half of his health!
Luann kneeled on the floor, his entire body twitching. He raised his head and looked straight at Han Xiao with disbelief.
“Didn’t you say that you were going to wipe the floor with my brain juice?” An emotionless mechanical voice came from under the cold mask.
Han Xiao pressed Luann on the floor with his right hand. His left hand bashed Luann’s head, again and again. Luann was paralyzed by the shot and did not have his energy protective layer. Metal continuously kissed his skill, his flesh was torn open, and his bones were scattered into pieces.
The splashing blood colored the floor and the mechanical arm red.
Han Xiao’s jumped up high into the air with his mechanical arm and dropped straight down. The ground shook with a loud noise, and dust shot up into the sky. The ground was filled with white and red, and Luann’s eyes slowly lost their gleam.
_____________________
You have killed Luann (LV 58). You received 175,000 experience!
[Lethal Shot]: Unlock Progress 43/50
_____________________
“Luann!” Vanessa screamed in sorrow, rage, and hatred. Then… she turned and started fleeing.
Black Phantom was much stronger than expected. She did not want to die for nothing. She only had a chance to revenge if she stayed alive.
“That’s why I said, isn’t it good to be alive?” Han Xiao shook his head. He unbuttoned the heavy mechanical arm, and the enormous metal arm fell onto the ground with a thump. He then gave a command. The armor slid open on both sides of the ribs, and a row of concentrated small holes appeared. Dozens of arrow-shaped shadows shot out and landed around Vanessa, which then exploded and created a high-pitched sound wave.
These were all mini sonic bombs. Han Xiao had made them into even smaller arrow shapes and added a simple ejecting module onto Viper, which allowed it to shoot this kind of simple and portable disabling weapon.
The determining attribute for the sonic bomb was Endurance. Although Vanessa was a pugilist, she still could not endure dozens of sonic bombs. Thus, she fell to the ground in agony.
Han Xiao jumped over in a few steps then activated the Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves and grabbed Vanessa’s eyes. He then turned on Sunworm flamethrower. With screams of pain and the smell of burning flesh, Vanessa turned into a piece of charcoal in no time. Vanessa’s struggling before death was all blocked by Viper.
Han Xiao let go of the body and let it fall onto the ground. He then activated all kinds of scanning modules. Through analyzing his smell, the scanning module highlighted Invisible Demon’s position. He was in the area where the sonic bombs exploded, trembling in pain.
Invisible Demon was absolutely terrified by Han Xiao. It had only been a few months since they fought, and Black Phantom had reached a height that stunned him. He deeply regretted accepting this mission and very soon had the thoughts of backing off. But unfortunately for him, he had been blasted away by the explosion just as he was secretly escaping.
“Saved me some effort.” Han Xiao broke Invisible Demon’s arms and legs then took out a mini GPS and injected it into Invisible Demon’s body roughly. He slapped him into unconsciousness and nodded in satisfaction. “I won’t lose him this way.”
The area became ruins. A large number of Alumera spectators had gathered, and their faces were filled with shock. They were all horrified by Han Xiao’s actions.
The revived players stood far away with their throat feeling dry.
“This… So strong!” Bamboo Rain Xuan exclaimed. She had recorded the entire fight, and she had a feeling it would definitely go viral.
Black Phantom had never shown the mechanical suit. The already high strength that they had seen before was just the tip of the iceberg—this was his true strength!
No, maybe Black Phantom was still hiding more.
Bamboo Rain Guild was excited. They realized that they had discovered information that others did not know about. They were the only ones that met this unexpected plotline out of all the players.
Lagos’ expression was terrified. His teeth were shaking, and his legs were trembling. The three people that he had high hopes for had been killed easily. They would most likely have been able to defeat Black Phantom if it was just his original strength, but who knew he hid such a horrifying ace card!
“How is this possible? All three of them were among the strongest superhumans and long renowned legends. I have consulted the experts. How did Black Phantom kill them so easily!” Lagos could not believe it.
Without anything to rely on one, Lagos entire body trembled as he faced Black Phantom with a strong murderous intent. ‘Filled with regret’ could not even begin to describe his emotions.
Han Xiao walked toward Lagos and tapped him on the shoulder. He said softly, “I have already given you a chance.”
“You can’t kill me!” Lagos looked fierce on the outside but was horrified on the inside. “I’m the person in charge of the Home Faction. If you kill me, Home Faction will—”
Before he even finished his sentence.
Slash!
The blade cut across his throat, and blood splashed slowly.
No hesitation.
Lagos’s eyes widened. He held his neck and fell down. His body temperature lowered as blood escaped from his body, and he looked at Han Xiao in disbelief.
Han Xiao looked at the high ranked officials of the Home Faction. He played with the blade covered in blood and said calmly, “Do you have any problems?”
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The Home faction was furious as they looked at Lagos’ corpse, but they did not dare provoke Han Xiao. After all, a real-life example of what would happen if they did was right in front of them.
This time, Todd walked out of the crowd and said, “This was all Lagos’ idea; he deserved it. On behalf of the entire Home Faction, we absolutely won’t hold a grudge for this.”
The Home Faction was surprised. They did not expect Todd to stand out at this time, and he even admitted their fear toward Han Xiao.
Words said under such circumstances had to be taken with a pinch of salt, and Han Xiao did not agree or disagree with his words but asked, “You are?”
“Todd, Darryl’s younger brother, Lagos’s uncle, I’m in charge of the Home Faction now.” Todd forced himself to be calm as he spoke.
The Home Faction gave him a weird look. They were amazed by Todd’s ability to grab the opportunity to take over the Home Faction as soon as Lagos died, but Todd did indeed speak their mind. Therefore, they all kept silent and accepted Todd’s position.
The people that they had hired who had such great strength had easily been killed; Han Xiao’s strength was overwhelming. Everyone knew that if they still wanted to spark conflict, it would be no different from suicide.
One thought appeared in all the factions.
Black Phantom could not be messed with!
“Find another room for me,” Han Xiao said as he looked at the ruins and put his machinery away.
“I’ll arrange it for you,” Xiao Ming immediately replied as an order from Xiao Jin.
The high ranked officials exchanged looks after Han Xiao left.
“Black Phantom has overwhelming strength and doesn’t care if he becomes our enemy, yet he still insists to claim he’s not the killer. Maybe he really didn’t carry out the assassination,” Se Qi said.
“But he killed Lagos—that’s a new grudge,” the head of the Northern Faction said.
Todd stopped him and said, “Lagos did this to himself, and he deserved it. Our Home Faction will neither seek revenge nor hold grudges.”
The others looked at him with despise while selectively choosing to forget that they were thinking the same.
“Then what do we do with Black Phantom?” someone asked.
To let an undefeatable monster stay in the headquarter would make them feel very insecure.
“He just wants to get rid of the suspicion,” Xiao Jin said coldly. “Once the truth surfaces, he will naturally leave, so don’t mess with him.”
…
Upon arriving at his new house, Han Xiao woke up the captive Invisible Demon. He had planted a locating device in Invisible Demon’s body and could know where he was without seeing him.
“What do you want?” Invisible Demon was horrified.
Han Xiao took off Viper, returned it to his bag, and said with an interested tone, “I heard your invisibility came from a laboratory experiment accident and your skin mutated. If I strip your skin off, it must be worth quite a fortune.”
Invisible Demon was terrified and started to sweat all over. “Don’t—don’t do that.”
“You’re my prisoner now. Do you think you’re in any position to object?”
Invisible Demon had nothing to reply to with. Han Xiao stopped teasing him and knocked him unconscious, then injected a strong anesthetic, tied him up, and threw him aside. There was a reward from the Dark Net for Invisible Demon, and Han Xiao planned to take on the mission then turn in Invisible Demon alive, completing the mission immediately and maximizing the profit.
Han Xiao had shown an overwhelming level of strength through this conflict, so Alumera did not dare do anything to him at all. Although he had the absolute upper hand in terms of strength, he still chose to stay, which reduced his suspicion with many factions.
Also, Han Xiao was in a position where Alumera could not do anything to him, as Alumera was not willing to start another conflict with him. This whole framing conspiracy was to spark conflict between Han Xiao and Alumera, which had already almost completely failed. At least, Alumera did not dare turn against Han Xiao to his face.
But this was not enough. The person responsible for the framing had yet to be found. Han Xiao guessed that there were two possibilities—one being that the person had given up and decided to continue hiding, the other being that person was still trying to save the plan or even attack Han Xiao. However, the possibility of the latter was not high since Han Xiao had already proven that he was not to be messed with.
The Home Faction kept a low profile since Lagos died. Todd did not have any hatred at all, and he was more concerned about what benefit he could get at the moment. Other than ordering people to investigate for clues of Darryl’s assassination, he also actively contacted the other factions to earn support for the election of a leader successor.
Darryl’s son had the highest chance of becoming the next leader after Darryl died, but Han Xiao had killed him, and now the successor’s position had become vacant. All the factions were ambitious and planned to seize power. Thus, a heavy storm was about to arrive.
Everyone seemed like they were focused on the truth of Darryl’s death, but they were secretly more concerned about the election of the next leader.
However, before the killer was discovered, the election would not take place.
Han Xiao was one of the main parties in this, but he was also an excluded outsider. However, he did not mind it at all. He stayed in the room and gathered information about Alumera through Dark Net’s intelligence network and the Bamboo Rain Guild.
A few days after, Xiao Jin came knocking on his door. He told Han Xiao that he had found an important clue.
“Through checking the guards’ verbal information and comparing it with the recording from the surveillance cameras, I have found some traces. On the night of the assassination, an assistant of one of the Northern Faction’s high ranked officials left his house and disappeared for 27 minutes.
“This high ranked official of the Northern Faction is called Su Dinghua—45 years of age, a Northern Continent local, always kept a low profile. Actually, I have been paying attention to him for a very long time. A spy I sent into the Northern Faction discovered that Su Dinghua has secret connections with Raylen, and his assistant only changed a few years ago, the same year that he started to contact Raylen.”
Many high ranked officials contacted other organizations discreetly, but all for their own benefits. However, Raylen had obviously turned Su Dinghua into a traitor.
Xiao Jin brought along quite a number of documents, which all clearly lead to Su Dinghua.
Han Xiao gave it careful thought. Alumera was Theseus’s partner, and weakening Alumera meant weakening Theseus. To create a strong opponent for Alumera and spark internal conflict, Raylen would benefit from it as a third party, which was indeed a logical motive for Raylen.
The Northern Faction was the most inconspicuous, so they would be the most suitable party for any conspiracy.
“Were the other factions able to get this information, too?” Han Xiao raised the documents in his hands.
“Not sure.” Xiao Jin shook his head. “I acquired the information of Su Dinghua secretly working with Raylen by accident, so the other factions probably don’t know about it.”
“Then why did you come to me?” Han Xiao asked.
“Raylen might have planted quite few strong people around Su Dinghua. I was hoping you could help us capture Su Dinghua and his co-conspirators, and this is a good opportunity for you to get rid of the suspicion as well. I was thinking you would want to do it yourself,” Xiao Jin said with a sincere tone. “Rewards will not be a problem if you want them.”
Han Xiao stared at Xiao Jin for quite some time and smiled suddenly. “I will help you this time, at market rate.”
“Okay.” Xiao Jin nodded.
…
At night, Han Xiao started to act. Since he already exposed Viper, he wore it this time as well, but without the Heavy Mechanical Arm—a stealth operation did not require such a rough weapon.
Su Dinghua’s mansion was located in a rural area. Han Xiao took out his laptop and hacked into the local network to freeze the surveillance cameras. Then he avoided the guards and jumped over the wall into the mansion.
Su Dinghua was a high ranked official who had a rather low position compared to others. His guarding power in the mansion was weak, and with Han Xiao’s level and strength, sneaking in was a piece of cake.
When he quietly entered the study, the light was on. Han Xiao stood against the wall and scanned the room with magnetic scanning; there was no one in the room.
Han Xiao entered the room without making a sound. He looked through the room and realized that the building was made of normal brick and wood—it did not have any special metal that could prevent any detection device, and the structure of the room was clear and simple.
“There’s a hidden safe behind the painting on the wall beside the table.” Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. Just as he was going to flip open the painting to open the safe, he realized something and stopped.
He carefully looked around the room, then left the safe alone and came to the table instead. He tried opening the drawers, but they were all locked. However, that was not a problem for him. As a Mechanic who could build firearms and robots, it would be a shame if he could not even open a lock.
Furthermore, Han Xiao was already experienced in lock picking.
The drawers were filled with paper documents, mostly Alumera’s internal information. There were some reports too. He dug through for a while and realized that they were all irrelevant documents. However, he found a slip of paper with a string of numbers written on it, which seemed like the passcode for the safe, and a small metal key that also looked like it was for the safe.
“Way too obvious.” Han Xiao shook his head. He closed the drawer and did not use the key to open the safe.
Hiding a safe behind a painting was too common. The key and passcode left in the drawer felt like it was done purposely; it looked like a trap.
There was a very high chance that the safe was either bait or a trap, which would trigger some sort of alarm, as one would usually remember the passcode to the safe instead of writing it down.
It could have been an incorrect assumption, but Han Xiao was just there to capture Su Dinghua—the safe could be opened any time after he captured him.
Han Xiao walked toward the living room. He heard a few guards that were chatting with each other, and after a strategic scan and a vital sign comparison, he noticed that these people were all around LV 20, which meant that they were not normal guards. They could be superhumans, and if they were not, it meant that they were normal people but very elite.
Seems like it was right. Han Xiao nodded. Su Dinghua’s guards hid their true strength, so there was definitely something suspicious going on.
Han Xiao turned and went upstairs to the bedroom. Su Dinghua was resting, so Han Xiao went in straightaway and shot a paralyzing bullet at Su Dinghua, making him unconscious before he could scream, then tied him up with the blanket.
There were eight guards in the mansion along with Su Dinghua’s assistant; Han Xiao was not planning to let any of them escape.
Returning to the living room, Han Xiao did not hide anymore—he broke through the door and entered.
“Who?” The guards pulled out their guns immediately.
However, with the mechanical suit, these four unprepared guards were defeated within seconds.
The commotion attracted attention. The radar detected other guards were coming quickly. Han Xiao broke through the wall with a loud bang and knocked out those guards one after another.
Su Dinghua’s assistant was hiding the most; he was at around LV 40. However, he still could not last for more than ten seconds before Han Xiao broke his arms and legs and knocked him onto the ground. The difference in strength was too vast, an easy victory for Han Xiao.
Han Xiao’s destruction power was like a demolition—the whole mansion turned into ruins, and the loud noise could be heard from very far away.
Xiao Jin was on standby right outside the mansion. He broke in as soon as he saw that Han Xiao had succeeded. Su Dinghua and his guards were all in the yard, and no one escaped.
Han Xiao stayed and stood to the side.
Xiao Jin did not avoid Han Xiao and started the interrogation in the yard. He poured water on Su Dinghua and the others to wake them up.
Su Dinghua knew that he had been exposed when he woke up.
“How did you know?” Su Dinghua was shocked and confused.
“I’ve known you were in contact Raylen for a very long time,” Xiao Jin said coldly. “You have changed your guards over the last few years—they are all strangers and sent by Raylen. You thought this was an opportunity when Black Phantom visited out of the blue and carried out the assassination, thinking that you did it very discreetly and destroyed many traces. Still, some clues were left behind.”
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“You bribed Miri to bring Black Phantom to the scene as soon as the assassination was discovered, wanting to spark a conflict so that the scrimmage would bury more clues. You also arranged people to kill Miri during the battle.”
Xiao Jin listed many pieces of evidence. Su Dinghua closed his eyes in pain and softly spoke to himself. “I knew this day would come. Being found out means death.”
Then, Su Dinghua looked at his assistant and said, “I did kill our leader, but I’m not the mastermind—he is. Raylen gave me many benefits and promised me even more, so I did things for them. He’s a spy sent by Raylen to monitor and control me—this plan was also suggested by him!”
The assistant looked at Su Dinghua in anger and said, “You’ve lost your mind…”
“You think there’s a way to get away alive?” Su Dinghua stopped him and said, “I did things for you people because of the benefits you gave, which won’t be of use to me anymore. Now that I’m exposed, Raylen won’t have an easy time either.”
The assistant’s eyes suddenly turned white. His lips became purple, and white foam came out of his mouth. He died while twitching. When Su Dinghua was talking, he knew that he would definitely die, so he crunched down on the poisonous capsule between his teeth and committed suicide. The guards all followed his lead.
The people of Raylen were known for being cold-blooded and loyal, so no one was surprised.
Han Xiao stood aside and watched with no intent to stop them. Very soon, Su Dinghua was the only one left alive.
Xiao Hai sneered and said, “It’s too late to save yourself.”
“I’m not planning to. I know that death is my only option.” Su Dinghua shook his head.
Xiao Jin cut in and said, “Su Dinghua, you have been a member of Alumera for a very long time. The leader treated you well, so why did you do it?”
“Hahahahaha!” Su Dinghua suddenly laughed so loudly that even tears came out of his eyes. He said with a mocking tone, “Xiao the second chair, this doesn’t seem like something you would say. Your blood is much colder than mine.”
Xiao Jin remained expressionless and was not affected by it, but Xiao Hai slapped Su Dinghua and said, “Seems like you want a slow death.”
The people from other factions have arrived for quite some time. They watched this scene in shock and confusion.
Su Dinghua laughed for a while, then suddenly said with sorrow, “I will apologize to the leader myself.”
Xiao Hai took out a whole set of torture devices and said coldly, “Then you have a lot of time to think about what to say.”
“Enough, he has already confessed. Bring him back then interrogate him,” one of the chieftains of the Northern Faction said. Su Dinghua was a high ranked official of the Northern Faction, so interrogating and torturing him in public would bring a lot of shame to the Northern Faction.
Su Dinghua was a traitor who did not represent the Northern Faction’s position, but it did bring them shame.
Xiao Jin looked at Han Xiao with inquiry in his eyes. The others looked over as well.
Black Phantom was the one that had been framed, so his opinion was very important.
“The real killer has been found. Anything other than that has nothing to do with me,” Han Xiao said. He then turned away and left.
…
The real killer that assassinated Darryl had been found. The whole plan had been Raylen’s, and Han Xiao was cleared of suspicion.
Su Dinghua died in the interrogation. He spat out quite an amount of intelligence before he died. He was a very important chess piece to Raylen, and the assassination was to spark conflict between Alumera and Dark Net, but the plan had gone south. Han Xiao’s strength was far beyond their expectations. They had thought that Black Phantom would be captured or even killed, so the hatred between Alumera and Dark Net could not be resolved easily, but to their surprise, Han Xiao had the upper hand.
The assassination only went so well because of Su Dinghua’s years of planning. Raylen suffered a huge loss when he died.
Xiao Jin was a huge contributor to finding the real killer. He gained a large about of prestige, and the Home Faction had to thank him even if they did not want to.
Everything was settled. However, Black Phantom, who had cleared his suspicion, decided to stay. No one knew what motives he had. The factions did not have time to care about him since they were all busy with the election of a successor.
In the room, Han Xiao looked at the mission [The Real Killer] on his interface. Su Dinghua had been caught, but he did not turn in the mission.
This thing has yet to end.
A flash of coldness appeared in Han Xiao’s eyes; one thought had become clearer in his mind.
…
Three days after capturing Su Dinghua, Xiao Jin brought Xiao Hai along and came to visit.
“Why are you looking for me?” Han Xiao asked.
“I should be the one asking. What’s your goal in staying here?” Xiao Jin asked back.
“I was framed out of nowhere, and your people wanted to kill me. I need compensation.”
Xiao Hai was shocked and angry. “This whole thing was planned by Raylen, and you even killed our people. How dare you ask for compensation‽”
“Raylen is too far away, so I’m getting money from you guys first.”
“You’re robbing us!” Xiao Hai was filled with anger.
“That’s correct.” Han Xiao nodded calmly. He looked at Xiao Hai mockingly and said, “What can you do about that?”
Xiao Jin pulled the furious Xiao Hai back, then wrote a number on a piece of paper and said, “I will compensate you personally. Is this amount enough?”
Han Xiao gave it a quick look and said, “Barely acceptable.”
Xiao Hai was frustrated. He did not understand why Xiao Jin was willing to pay; there was absolutely no need to in his eyes.
“There’s another reason for you to have come to find me, right?” Han Xiao crossed his legs.
“Indeed, I have something to ask your help for. Darryl is dead, and the leader position is now vacant. Alumera is a large family, so there needs to be a leader. In two days’ time, an internal election will be carried out in a vote from the high ranked officials. Todd from the Home Faction, Se Qi from the Red Island Faction, and Angleton from the Northern Faction are all strong competitors. When I was focused on investigating Darryl’s death, they were already approaching the high ranked officials and drawing votes. I’m now at a disadvantage, so I hope you can help me,” Xiao Jin said in seriousness.
“Why should I help you?”
“For the sake of me helping you clear your suspicion, please help me.”
“I need a reward,” Han Xiao said coldly.
“How ungrateful. If it wasn’t for Father, you would still be the biggest suspect. Don’t push your luck!” Xiao Hai could not take it and yelled in anger.
Han Xiao looked at him and said calmly, “You should be grateful for me not killing you, or you would all be corpses.”
Xiao Hai’s expression turned twisted and furious. He trembled in anger because of Han Xiao’s attitude. He could only look at Xiao Jin, hoping that his father would do him justice. However, he was bound to be disappointed. Xiao Jin had remained calm all along.
“How much do you want?”
Han Xiao touched his chin, pointed at the piece of paper, and said, “Three times this.”
“Maniac…” Xiao Hai was stunned. This request was outrageous.
However, Xiao Jin accepted the terms without hesitation and said, “No problem.”
“Father!” Xiao Hai yelled in disbelief. He could not understand why Xiao Jin kept listening to Han Xiao. “It’s no use getting help from him. Outsiders cannot interfere with internal elections. He has no position in the internal meeting no matter how strong he is!” Xiao Hai said hastily.
“I have a way,” Xiao Jin replied coldly. “Mr. Black Phantom, are you willing to join us Xiao Faction?”
Join the Xiao Faction? What does that mean?
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, “What do you mean?”
“Join my family with the same seniority in the family as me. My children will be your stepchildren.”
The atmosphere suddenly turned weird.
Xiao Hai almost staggered and fell. He was completely shocked. Xiao Jin had never discussed this with him, and now suddenly he’s going to have a stepfather?
“Damn, you can do that?” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. Xiao Jin’s level of shameless exceeded his expectations. “Would such a childish method work?”
“Politics has always been childish,” Xiao Jin replied coldly. “As long as you join the Xiao Faction, you can attend internal meetings. Your strength will signify your power, and as long as you appear, it will represent a threat. However, you will be a part of the Xiao Faction by then, which means you’re not an exterior threat. The other factions will give up automatically in fear.”
The meaning of a family member and an outsider showcasing strength was different. One was an exterior threat and would only attract displeasure, but if it was a family member, it would mean that Xiao Jin’s power had grown tremendously and that he had earned a strong ally for Alumera in the big picture. It would mean a huge contribution for the family. Given the power that Xiao Jin had gathered through the years and the recent prestige that he earned by finding the real killer that assassinated Darryl, the other factions would wisely give up.
Up till now, Han Xiao had already gotten a basic guess of the entire situation. He smiled and said, “I see no benefits in joining the Xiao Faction, why should I do it?”
“You join the Xiao Faction, and when I become the leader of the family, Alumera will become your ally.”
“Seems like you’re willing to pay everything to become the leader.” Han Xiao laughed. He then said teasingly, “Okay, I will join the Xiao Faction and reluctantly become the stepfather of your children.”
Xiao Hai was so angry that he was losing his mind. He had to give Han Xiao benefits just to become his stepson. He had never been in such a shameful situation before, and the part that angered him most was that Xiao Jin had actually agreed. He began to suspect that his father had been brainwashed.
Han Xiao looked at Xiao Hai and smiled mockingly. “Come, let me hear you call me stepfather.”
Xiao Hai’s face turned green. He was an arrogant person, so this was a fate worse than death. However, he saw Xiao Jin’s strict face, then suppressed his anger with all his might and forced the words out through gritted teeth.
“Stepfather.”
Han Xiao dug his ears and teased, “I didn’t hear that clearly.”
“Stepfather!” Xiao Hai yelled. He used so much strength that blood came out of his teeth, and a metallic taste filled his mouth.
“Hehe, good boy.” Han Xiao could not control his laughter in his heart. His body’s origin was Xiao Hai’s younger brother. What would Xiao Hai think if he knew the truth?
Xiao Jin reached out his hand and said, “I look forward to working with you.”
Han Xiao accepted the handshake.
The father and son of the Xiao family stood up and left, neither of them saying a word as they did so.
After returning to Xiao Faction’s mansion, Xiao Hai could not hold back his questions. “Father, why did you do this?”
Xiao Jin replied without an expression on his face, “Black Phantom is greedier than I imagined. I thought that clearing his suspicion could make him grateful, but I didn’t expect to spend so much for him to join us. Anyway, it’s worth it. At least we are the only faction that could approach Black Phantom and get his help. When I become the leader, these losses can be made up with ease.”
“I see, when you become the leader, you won’t have to care about Black Phantom anymore,” Xiao Hai realized.
Xiao Jin suddenly turned to look at his son and said with a strict voice, “You’re wrong. There’s even more need to fulfill Black Phantom’s terms after I become the leader. It’s suicide to kick someone to the curb when they’ve outlived their usefulness. This is a world where the strong live, and the weak feed. Black Phantom is standing at the peak with his strength; his personal strength is as threatening as an organization. As long as Black Phantom is part of the Xiao Faction on the books, we can rely on him, and the other factions won’t dare step out of line moves. I know that you don’t accept this deep down in your heart, but don’t act on your impulses and ruin my plan.”
Xiao Hai had objections in his heart, but he could only clench his teeth and accept it.
“Yes, Father.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The factions were all making moves in the dark. Xiao Jin had given Han Xiao the information of the other factions’ movements over the next two days, and he wired the agreed compensation and reward into Han Xiao’s Dark Net account—a total of 8,000,000 Aquamarine Dollars.
Han Xiao had a huge amount of money, a total of more than 40,000,000 dollars, more than ten times what he used to have. With such a large sum, he could splurge freely on machinery and carry out some of his ideas such as the robot army style that he once thought to be too expensive.
Two days passed in a blink of an eye. The internal meeting was carried out in the Alumera meeting hall as scheduled. High ranked officials across all the factions gathered within, and the guarding power was high.
Han Xiao wore a hood and disguised himself as an ordinary high ranked official of the Xiao Faction. He entered the meeting hall without attracting attention and sat down.
In the heart of the meeting hall was a circular shaped table. The leaders of various factions sat around the table, and the other high ranked officials sat on the more exterior seats. Those belonging to a faction sat behind their leaders. The factions were separated distinctively, forming smaller areas at different angles.
It was snowing lightly outside, but the meeting hall was warm thanks to the air conditioner. The people took off their coats and started talking among themselves. It soon became rather noisy.
Dang, dang!
Todd rang the bell on the table, and the meeting hall turned silent quickly.
“The meeting will now commence,” Todd said with a serious expression. “There are four candidates for the successor for the leader: myself, Xiao the Second Chair, Se Qi the Third Chair, and Mr. Angleton. Start voting when you’re ready.”
“I would like to say a few words before the vote starts,” Angleton said as he stood up and started his speech. It was a standard procedure to do a speech before the vote. Although the seated high ranked officials already had a basic idea of who they were going to vote for, this step was still not to be omitted.
Very soon, the four candidates finished their speeches. Todd looked around the table and said, “The voting shall begin.”
The high ranked officials spoke their choice.
Todd was nervous. He had been contacting other high ranked officials over the past few days and promised them many benefits. They had all agreed to vote for him when they had the discussion, so he could easily beat the other candidates in the number of votes.
But soon he became stunned. The high ranked officials who promised to vote for him all voted for Se Qi without even looking at Todd.
How did this happen? Todd was shocked and angry.
Se Qi had a bright smile on his face. He smiled at every high ranked official who voted for him. Watching his vote count becoming impossible to be beaten, his heart was relieved.
As soon as Darryl was assassinated, Se Qi had realized that the successor election was an opportunity. He had been in communication with Theseus secretly, and they had agreed to help him for the promotion, and he, in turn, promised many benefits to them if he successfully became the leader.
Although Alumera was Theseus’s partner, Theseus was very aggressive. They had been secretly wanting to control Alumera from the inside, and they had gotten into contact with Se Qi the Third Chair, who was not satisfied with his position. Theseus made use of their relationship network and discreetly drew in many high ranked officials to give Se Qi an advantage.
And for Angleton from the Northern Factor, he was basically there to watch the show. Even the people from the Northern Faction did not vote for him except for a very few—he sat in his seat with awkwardness on his face.
Angleton had been elected by the Northern Faction to just be a representative—he did not want to give up on fighting for the leader’s position, but he knew that he did not have a chance. Thus, he had mixed feelings about the matter.
Se Qi’s vote count was way ahead, and soon, it exceeded the half mark. The election was settled.
“Haha, thank everyone for your support and love. I shall not disappoint.” Se Qi stood up full of happiness on his face. He could not hide his satisfaction at all.
This time, Xiao Jin spoke. “Wait.”
Everyone looked over immediately with various looks on their faces, Xiao Jin was a powerful candidate as well, but he had not done anything up till now. They were very curious about what he was planning.
“Xiao the Second Chair, do you have any problem?” Se Qi’s heart skipped a beat, and he emphasized the words ‘Second Chair’.
Suddenly, a voice that was unforgettable to the seated high ranked officials came out of the Xiao Faction area.
“I have a problem.”
Everyone’s eyes widened, and their expressions turned into horror. They recognized that this was Black Phantom’s voice!
Xiao Faction’s members spit open and showed Han Xiao, who was hidden. Han Xiao was wearing the same black windbreaker and black gloves. His arms were crossed, and he said expressionlessly, “Xiao Jin is more suitable to be the leader.”
Se Qi was stunned for an extended moment till he regained his focus. “Xiao Jin, how dare you let an outsider interfere with our family issues. Are you intentionally breaking the rules‽”
“Black Phantom is not an outsider; he is a senior of my Xiao Faction. He is the stepfather of my children.”
As soon as Xiao Jin finished his sentence, the youngsters of Xiao Faction all bowed toward Han Xiao and yelled stepfather simultaneously, almost as if they had been practicing it.
The others were stunned in shock.
How shameless… Todd’s face was twitching.
According to Black Phantom’s previous actions, his stand was above all, and he did not care about Alumera’s internal changes at all, but now, he was suddenly interfering.
They gave it a thought and realized that, when Black Phantom was suspected, Xiao Jin was the only one that spoke for him, and it was Xiao Jin who discovered the real killer in the end, which cleared Black Phantom’s name. However, during that time, the other factions were all focused on drawing votes from the high ranked officials.
Then it occurred to all the factions that Xiao Jin might have gotten in touch with Black Phantom only because of this, which was why Black Phantom was willing to help Xiao Jin.
Also, Xiao Jin had definitely paid a huge price to attract Black Phantom into having diplomatic relations with the Xiao Faction.
Although the other factions were not happy, they could not deny the fact that Xiao Jin had increased Alumera’s overall strength by doing this, as this meant that Black Phantom had become an ally of Alumera.
Han Xiao sat down casually and scanned the entire place with a dangerous look.
The high ranked officials all turned away and did not dare look him in the eyes.
Words were not needed; Han Xiao’s intentions were clear just by sitting here.
A silent threat.
The atmosphere got awkward. The high ranked officials who had already voted became anxious and exchanged looks secretly.
Finally, a high ranked official could not take it anymore. He wiped his sweat and said hesitantly, “I’ve thought carefully and feel that Xiao Jin is more suitable as the next leader. Can I change my vote?”
Changing the vote was not allowed according to the rules. However, the host of the meeting, Todd, was cursing in his mind. Black Phantom was right in front of them, so he did not dare to say no. Thus, he nodded in dismay.
After the first, the second and the third followed, and soon came the rest. Han Xiao scanned around the room; whoever came into his sights immediately changed their vote. It was like his eyes had magic in it.
Se Qi did not admit defeat yet. He wanted to have a final struggle but realized that Han Xiao had looked over with eyes that were so sharp that they pierced right through his heart. Horror filled his mind, and he closed his mouth in fear, watching the position that had belonged to him moments ago slip through his fingers.
The result was a definite—Xiao Jin won with an overwhelming number of votes.
The people of the Xiao Faction were smiling brightly while the others had to suck it up and congratulate Xiao Jin one after another.
The Xiao Factions’ ways had the other factions feeling very uncomfortable, but the result was not unacceptable. After all, Xiao Jin was a very senior member of the family and had made a lot of contributions.
Who knew that Xiao Jin would win in the end? Todd’s heart was bleeding. The Home Faction had controlled Alumera for all these years, and now, they had lost their power all of a sudden.
Todd knew that from that day onward, the Home Faction would slowly become a vassal.
Seeing that things were settled, Han Xiao left. The crowd split open automatically, and the high ranked officials who were congratulating Xiao Jin also stopped to look at Han Xiao as he left.
Although Xiao Jin was the final winner, in the eyes of everyone else, the center of this meeting was Black Phantom. All he did was show up, and it decided Xiao Jin’s position.
This was the power of overwhelming strength.
The people were all very jealous of Xiao Jin. As long as Black Phantom remained in the Xiao Faction, Xiao Jin’s position would be forever stable.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The structure of Alumera changed. Xiao Jin became the leader, and the other factions all congratulated him. The power to make a lot of important decisions has been moved from the Home Faction to the Xiao Faction.
At night, Xiao Jin invited Han Xiao to his mansion. All the high ranked officials of the Xiao Faction gathered around. Xiao Hai and the other children were there, too. They bowed to Han Xiao and called him stepfather when they saw him. No matter what these youngsters of the Xiao Family thought in their heart, they had no choice but to maintain respect for Han Xiao on the surface.
The butler led Han Xiao to the book room and closed the door, leaving Xiao Jin and Han Xiao alone in the room.
Xiao Jin’s wish had been granted, and he had become the leader. Although he was still expressionless, one could tell he was happy and satisfied from the feeling he gave off.
He did not forget the benefits that Han Xiao had given him, and because Han Xiao said that he was leaving the next day, Xiao Jin dropped everything else and invited Han Xiao over to express his appreciation on the first day of becoming the leader.
“I really appreciate your help,” Xiao Jin said sincerely.
Han Xiao did not sit down. He stood in front of the bookshelf, played around with the small items in the drawer, and said casually, “Get to the point.”
Xiao Jin took out a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. He then walked to Han Xiao and handed one glass over.
“Our agreement remains unchanged. If there’s anything you need me for, I’ll provide help.” Xiao Jin smiled. His tone was more confident now that he was the leader.
The wine was amber and fragrant; its taste was smooth and soft. This was Xiao Jin’s very high-quality collection that he treasured. It would only be opened for extremely important guests, and it had been stored for many years before that day.
Han Xiao took the wine glass but did not drink it. He just swirled the glass around and said coldly, “I’ve been thinking recently and have come up with a very interesting theory. You knew Su Dinghua was going to assassinate Darryl a long time ago, but you didn’t tell anyone and let it happen because there would only be a chance to become the leader after Darryl died.
“Then, when everyone was suspecting me, only you insisted to help me because you knew who the killer was, and it was a good opportunity to gain my favor. Later, when other factions had already established a bad relationship with me, you found an opportunity to throw out Su Dinghua as a clue and became the one who found the real killer, largely increasing your prestige while simultaneously starting good relations with me.
“You used that as a reason to gain my help to win the leader’s election by using my strength to overpower all the other factions. You’re not the real killer, but you’re an opportunist who acted while riding along the waves and harvesting the final fruit of victory.”
Han Xiao turned his head and looked at Xiao Jin. “What do you think about this theory?”
Xiao Jin shook his head in laughter. He sipped the wine and said, “It’s interesting, but it’s not true.”
“I think it’s true.” Han Xiao’s expression resembled a smile, yet it was not a smile.
Xiao Jin’s expression changed slightly and said, “That’s just your speculation…”
Han Xiao walked toward Xiao Jin. His body was leaning forward, and the pressure forced Xiao Jin to step back continuously until he hit the table.
They stood extremely close. Xiao Jin could only look at Han Xiao in his eyes because he had nowhere else to look. He felt a cold murderous intent in Han Xiao’s eyes, and cold sweat started dripping.
“I don’t need evidence. If I think it’s true, then it is,” Han Xiao sneered.
Xiao Jin had to tighten his facial muscles to control his expressions, and his heart began to sink.
“Remember, whatever you borrowed from me, I can take it back anytime.”
Han Xiao’s fingers pressed two times on Xiao Jin’s chest strongly. The act was provoking.
Xiao Jin had been promoted with the help of Black Phantom, and Han Xiao could do the same thing for the others anytime. Xiao Jin had no doubt that the other factions would be willing to spend a huge sum to make Black Phantom their ally. With Black Phantom’s strength, he could even duplicate the assassination. If their relationship turned bad, there was no way Xiao Jin could protect himself against a legendary killer every single day and night.
Xiao Jin understood what Han Xiao meant—threaten, intimidation, and blackmail!
Black Phantom was more fearsome than he had expected. This partnership with Black Phantom was catching a tiger by its tail.
The atmosphere became more and more intense, and when Xiao Jin was almost suffocating, Han Xiao took a few steps back to ease the atmosphere. He played around with the wine glass and said coldly, “What are you going to do with Raylen?”
Xiao Jin sighed. He knew that this was the time for him to show his stance. “I will make them pay. I’ll pursue and kill all of their intelligence agents, attack the organizations they support, and destroy their bases in the wilderness.”
Originally, it was not suitable to start a war right after he became the leader. His original plan had been to stabilize the internals in six months. However, Han Xiao’s threatening made him understand that he had no choice. He could only listen to Han Xiao and retaliate against Raylen immediately. Alumera’s damage was not in his consideration anymore; he had to listen to Han Xiao no matter how he much heartache he felt.
“Very good.” Han Xiao gave a faint laugh then left and said, “Enjoy your time as the leader.”
The wine glass was placed on the table. Han Xiao did not drink any from the start to the end.
The sounds of the youngsters yelling “Stepfather!” outside the door grew faint and distant. Xiao Jin only sat down after the sound disappeared. The happiness of becoming the leader became weaker because of Han Xiao’s threats.
“He’s got my weakness.” Xiao Jin laughed in bitterness and called Xiao Hai in.
“Father, Black Phantom left.” Xiao Hai could not hide his happiness. The position of leader finally belonged to the Xiao Faction.
“Pass my order down. The out of town divisions will be launching a full attack on Raylen’s forces in the wilderness!” Xiao Jin was back to expressionless.
Xiao Hai’s smile froze. Waves of shock filled his heart, and he said in disbelief, “Father, you’ve just become the leader, and the structure has yet to stabilize. If we start a war at this time, the power of the family will be hugely damaged, and our position will be even more volatile. The priority right now should be to stabilize the internal matters! Although Raylan set us up this time, there’s no need to seek revenge immediately. There are many more days to come, and there’s no benefit to what you’re doing!”
“Stop talking, do as I said,” Xiao Jin said coldly.
Xiao Hai was stunned.
…
_____________________
You have unlocked the Alumera Family. Current relationship: Respect (3000/6000) – [Partner of Xiao Faction].
_____________________
The starting relationship is ‘respect’. Seems like Xiao Jin gave in. Han Xiao was very satisfied.
He did not threaten Xiao Jin out of nowhere. The deduction earlier was made from his speculation through the pieces of evidence. Firstly, Xiao Jin’s actions were all very goal oriented and connected with each other, and these actions all brought him a benefit, which was very suspicious. Secondly, [The Real Killer] was a puzzle mission, but Xiao Jin found Su Dinghua straightaway. Thus, the mission had been completed too easily, which made him feel that Xiao Jin knew who the killer was all along.
If Xiao Jin knew that Su Dinghua was going to assassinate Darryl from the start and did not do anything about it, then the character that Xiao Jin played was neither the real killer nor the mastermind, but someone who waited for the opportunity to take on the position of the leader.
Han Xiao had already thought of this when Xiao Jin came to look for his help, and he had planned this back then when he agreed to help.
He acted like he did not know and let Xiao Jin use him to increase his rank, but at the same time, Xiao Jin had to rely on him to do so. Therefore, Han Xiao turned around and threatened Xiao Jin because, unless Xiao Jin wanted to give up his position as the leader, he had to listen to him and almost become his puppet.
From Xiao Jin’s actions, he was an ambitious guy who knew how to analysis his situation. The chance of him compromising was more than eighty percent. He definitely could not let go of the leader’s position that he had worked so hard to get.
Furthermore, Raylen was the mastermind who framed him, and there was no way Han Xiao was going to let them have an easy time. Therefore, he had ordered Alumera to clash with them without considering the costs for them. The people of Raylen would definitely not expect Alumera to counter-attack so strongly; it went the exact opposite way that they wanted it to go, and they had brought fire to themselves.
This way, Han Xiao could take revenge on Raylen without getting blood on his blades, and he did not even have to do anything.
It was easier to fight a large organization with a large organization.
During what happened in Alumera, Han Xiao had been watching like a bystander and only showed his teeth in the end.
The fight between a sandpiper and a clam benefitted the fisherman in the end!
Of course, there was a possibility that his guess was wrong. Xiao Jin might not actually have been someone who knew all along and acted on the opportunities that surfaced.
However, this was not important at all. It was as he had said before.
I don’t need evidence. If I think it’s true, then it is!
It must be!
Xiao Jin did not have a choice.
I should complete the mission. Han Xiao opened the interface.
_____________________
Please state the real killer’s identity.
_____________________
“Su Dinghua, Raylen…” Han Xiao described the situation. The mission requirement was to find out the mastermind who framed him, which was Raylen without a doubt.
_____________________
[The Real Killer] has been processed. Determining…
Requirements met. Mission complete.
You have received a chance to learn a random ability or talent. Please select.
_____________________
Han Xiao pondered for a moment. He felt that a talent would be better; there was a chance to get a rare talent or even a molding ability.
“Talent.”
_____________________
Randomizing… Completed. Please choose from one of the three below.
Duplicate Channeling: 2% – 8% chance of duplicating the ability during channeling. Triggering the ability depends on Luck.
Call of the Wild: Increases default affinity with beast type monsters with a chance to communicate. Charisma increases the chance of communication.
Frost Resistance: +35% resistance to ice element and makes it harder to receive debuffs from ice element such as slow or frozen.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Between these three random talents, the one with the highest practicality on the surface should be [Frost Resistance], which had a very specific effect. However, in terms of usefulness, Han Xiao felt that [Call of the Wild] had a broader area of application.
Beast type monsters were a very large monster group. Other than planets that had been highly modified or had very little life, every planet across the entire Galaxy would have some beasts. Beasts were a very important part of the biological chain, and there were many types of beasts living across land and sea. There were even some stronger beast species that lived in space, unharmed by the radiation, meteoroids, and many other forms of danger existing in space. These types of species were all BOSSes that would appear in later versions of the game.
As for [Duplicate Channeling], it was a sorcerer talent. It did not apply to any ability other than magic, so it was completely useless for Han Xiao, who was a Mechanic. If it was not for the random factor, Han Xiao would have never gotten in touch with any talents from another class.
After some consideration, Han Xiao decided on [Call of The Wild]. Although his Charm was a little low, it was still a rather useful talent.
Planet Aquamarine in version 2.0 would be filled with monsters, beasts would be crawling across the planet. Han Xiao had a feeling that [Call of The Wild] would be useful by then.
His plan was to leave Planet Aquamarine before version 1.0 ended, but he had a thought in his mind. The main storyline of version 2.0 was [Mutation Disaster]. It was a virus that came from space and caused mutations in many planets, including Planet Aquamarine. The cure was later invented by a higher civilization. Han Xiao was thinking that he could return with the cure in the future and bring an end to the storyline earlier.
After he spread intelligence of the Germinal Organization before the game’s official release, Han Xiao knew that there were a lot of benefits to bringing large impacts to the main storyline.
This was just a blueprint of the future; Han Xiao was still focusing on the current issues.
The accident in Alumera had come to an end, and the result was satisfactory.
Not only did he not lose anything, he also gained quite a number of benefits. Although his schedule was delayed because of the days that he stayed in Alumera, no one disliked having more side missions; the more side missions there were, the more benefits they would bring.
The players would always be there, and they were not complaining or anything, so there was no rush for Han Xiao.
The next morning, Han Xiao left Alumera. All the high ranked officials came to see him off.
The cold of the north seemed to have pierced into the hearts of Alumera’s high ranked officials. They held on tightly to their beast hide coats.
Black Phantom had become a member of their family on the books, so this outsider was now the strongest in the family. The high ranked officials were willing to suck up to him, and they gifted him an SUV to save him the trouble of walking.
Everyone in the Xiao Faction arrived. They all greeted Han Xiao with manners and respect, displaying their closeness by having their youngsters calling Black Phantom ‘stepfather’ one after another. The other factions despised this yet were jealous of it. If they could get Black Phantom’s support, they would do the same willingly. They sighed in their hearts—that Xiao Jin had grabbed the opportunity before them.
Xiao Jin was having mixed emotions. He looked Han Xiao in the eye and nodded lightly. Only they themselves knew the deals that they made behind everyone else’s back.
Although Xiao Jin’s wish came true, he could not help but feel some bitterness deep in his heart.
Han Xiao waved as he got into the SUV and left in the wind and snow.
“He finally left.”
The tensed bodies of Alumera’s high ranked officials all relaxed. It was like a huge stone had been removed from their heart, and even breathing felt easier.
Not far away, the players of the Bamboo Rain Guild cheered with joy; their mission was finally completed.
_____________________
Black Phantom captured the real killer and brought a huge impact to Alumera’s structure. As his helper, you witnessed the entire process. Bonus reward: 15,000 experience.
_____________________
The experience from this mission was a lot for the players at the time, so they were very satisfied.
“By the way, Xuan, didn’t you make a recording of Black Phantom?” Guild Leader Bamboo Rain Fragrance asked.
Bamboo Rain Xuan said with pride, “I’ve already sold it and emailed it to Galaxy Times. They have given me a reward.”
The mechanical suit, men’s romance.
The background of Galaxy had players guessing about all sorts of combat system, and the mechanical suit was a very popular topic among them. Articles about mechanical suits created countless fans, and many players looked forward the day of them battling in a mechanical suit. Between the five main classes, only the mechanic class fit the speculations, but since the official release, no one had seen an NPC that fought in a mechanical suit.
Han Xiao was the first person who had showcased the mechanical suit, and he had created another first without noticing.
The impact of this on the players would only show after the next episode of ‘Galaxy Times’ was released, but before that, it first impacted the local organizations.
When Han Xiao killed Luann and Vanessa, he had used his mechanical suit. It had been recorded by the people of Alumera and leaked into the Dark Net, which triggered waves of shock within the organizations.
Everyone could see that Viper had an astonishing level of performance. It was a very advanced mechanical suit. Black Phantom was a Mechanic, so this had undoubtedly been built by himself, possessing a higher quality than the military experiments of many large nations.
Han Xiao was famous for his identity as a killer, but he had shocked the world again with his standard as a Mechanic. The organizations immediately updated his documents.
At the same time, there were also many organizations who were interested in obtaining this mechanical suit.
One of them was the Germinal Organization!
“This is a very advanced single unit combat mechanical suit. If we can gain control of it, the strength of our soldiers will increase tremendously, and the chances of winning this war will be higher.”
In their headquarters in Andrea, the leader and Cyberlos were watching the short combat recording on a large screen. Cyberlos’ eyes opened wide and were filled with fanaticism.
The leader, on the other hand, thought of something else.
“The guy who claimed to be our member and made a mess in the Louis Research Institution was wearing this mechanical suit, too. Turns out it was Black Phantom.
“During the evacuation in the Northern Continent some time ago, Black Phantom was involved as well, and he took us as an enemy.
“Not a guy to be easily messed with.” The leader frowned. “His mechanical suit is of high importance to us, but we don’t have enough forces in the other continents, and his movements are difficult to predict. Unless we send the strongest executive officers of the organization, no one can fight him.”
The leader did not want to give up easily on Black Phantom’s mechanical suit, but his senses told him that he would have no chance to deal with Black Phantom once the war started unless Black Phantom came to the battlefield.
The leader shook his head. The chances of that were close to none.
…
Two days later, Han Xiao accepted the reward mission for Invisible Demon in one of Dark Net’s based of the Northern Continent and only handed Invisible Demon away after a notification popped up on the interface.
Interestingly, the person in charge of the stronghold was very confused.
“Mr. Black Phantom, where’s the Invisible Demon who you’ve mentioned?”
Han Xiao pointed at an empty space on the ground and said, “Right here.”
The person wiped off his cold sweat and said, “I—I can’t see him.”
Han Xiao used more than ten torturous ways to prove Invisible Demon’s existence, and after the heavily wounded and mind broken Invisible Demon was retrieved, the mission was completed.
More than 200,000 experience and 150,000 Aquamarine Dollars. He had made another fortune with Invisible Demon. Although Han Xiao had amassed a small fortune, he was not going to give up any opportunity to make more—it was an accumulation process.
The players with the top spot on the level leaderboard had reached level 20 and were such on the class advancement missions, and at this time, Han Xiao had arrived in the last novice village of the Novice Village and made it in time for the last opportunity to make a huge amount of experience.
Upon arrival, Han Xiao realized that he was even more popular, especially among the male players who all surrounded him.
“What the name of your mechanical suit?”
“Do you sell the mechanical suit?”
These questions appeared the most. Han Xiao browsed through the forum and noticed that ‘Galaxy Times’ had released a recording of him battling in his mechanical suit.
This episode of ‘Galaxy Times’ was not as interesting, but this recording became the highlight of the episode. The quiet comments section exploded upon seeing the recording.
No wonder the players are so excited. Han Xiao could understand. When he was a new player, if he had seen a mechanical suit, he would have reacted the same.
The most direct influence was that players had even more of an interest in the mechanic class. More people came to this novice village to change their class, which in turn increased his sales.
An official announcement showing the various statistics of the game would be released some time after the official launch. Han Xiao was looking forward to seeing the percentage of players that chose the Mechanic class. In his previous life, this percentage had been a single digit, but now, with his influence, he was expecting it to at least double.
The more mechanic players, the brighter Han Xiao’s business future was.
Duu—Duu—
His phone suddenly rang.
Han Xiao looked at his phone, and it was Hao Tian who sent a text message. He had completed the mission, and he was the first among all the other highly skilled players who had taken on the [New Era—Origin] mission!
Not bad, no wonder he’s a god-tier pro. Hao Tian’s eyes twinkled. Hao Tian had completed the mission before he had even left the Northern Continent, and the players who had accepted the mission much earlier in the Western Continent had yet to do so.
Hao Tian accepted the mission [Ending of The Survivor], whose the requirement was to retrieve [Sully—Document 485]. The text content was the entire process of Hao Tian completing the mission, and the information included in the document was included as well.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the age of virtual gaming, interaction was very important. The players felt that Galaxy had done an exceptional job in that regard. The interaction with NPCs was very free, and players could casually write text messages, emails, and such sorts to communicate with NPCs from a far range.
The popular games at the time all had a certain extent of reality and virtual socializing functionalities. There was an old but always popular game, Ruthless, that was very good in this regard. Text messages could be written freely even though it was a single player game.
When VR-Capsule technology was invented, Ruthless designed a version for it as well. At the time, due to the level of reality and the rough play style of Ruthless, a debate was triggered, and the NPC Protection Society that people had only talked about was actually really created. It was a very interesting phenomenon.
_____________________
[Ending of the Survivor] completed.
_____________________
One of the five requirements in the hidden main storyline turned green, which represented its completion.
_____________________
You have received [Sully—Document 485]. From the document, you acknowledged a buried past.
_____________________
This mission has a commentator, damn. Han Xiao was surprised.
_____________________
The document recorded an old action plan, with a lot of information missing. Before the war of the old era, a country sent a team to a village in Andrea for a secret mission. What happened afterward was unknown, but all the residents of the village were killed by gunfire. That country is already dead now.
_____________________
That’s it? Han Xiao was confused. This description was a clue of the mission, but it was way too vague. He thought about it and sent it to Hannes. That old guy had more information on hands—maybe he could discover something more.
Completing the mission was enough for Han Xiao.
…
Hao Tian stood beside the mission character ‘Old Devin’ and stared at his phone, waiting for Black Phantom’s reply.
This mission had been very cumbersome. Old Devin had the document, so he had needed to gain Old Devin’s trust first, which he had done by completing many chore missions. The difficult part was that Old Devin suffered from mental illnesses. He had Paranoia, Amnesia, Schizophrenia, was prone to anger, spoke nonsense, and dozens more. He would quickly become anxious, and he would mistake a trash can on the road for bomb and passers-by for enemies who were chasing him.
Old Devin had been a member of this plan, and from what he said, after he completed the mission, the nation had killed his family and hunted him down. The hiding and stress he suffered through the years gave him the mental illnesses.
“Do you know why war broke out during the old era?” Old Devin would always look around his surroundings and make sure that there was no one before he started chatting with Hao Tian. “It was because of me. Every nation was looking for me, so they fought each other. Enemies were everywhere. They still have not given up. Look at these surveillance cameras in the city. They are all set up for me.”
Of course, Hao Tian did not understand a single word he said, and he did not care about the story anyway. He was just doing the missions, and with his high efficiency and strong will, he completed the mission.
Hao Tian soon received Han Xiao’s reply and the notification of the mission being completed, and a sense of relief washed over him.
‘You’re the first to complete the mission. I feel that you have quite the potential. Are you interested in helping me?”
“Sure.” Hao Tian gave a very simple reply.
“Wait at the border of Raylen, coordinate R1565.842. I will bring you along when I leave the Northern Continent.”
“Sure.”
Although Hao Tian had a very steady personality, he still felt a sense of excitement when he thought of the benefits of Black Phantom’s hidden storyline in the forums.
…
Han Xiao finished his journey of making a crazy amount of profits when he left the last novice village in the Northern Continent. Before leaving the Northern Continent, Han Xiao came to an ice field where high-level ice bears lived. He spent a few hours and used the Ghost sniper rifle to fulfill the requirements for [Lethal Shot].
_____________________
Lethal Shot: 12 – 25% chance to activate true damage with the first shot on target. This cannot be reactivated on the same target within 5 minutes.
_____________________
By changing the target, the talent could be triggered multiple times, which was very useful. Although it did not quite meet the standards of Bennett’s cheat-like molding ability [Legendary Battle Techniques], it was still a rare attacking talent.
After counting, Han Xiao had twelve talents, which was exceptional in version 1.0. Half of that would already be very high for a LV 55 player.
Han Xiao also gave the recently obtained [Call of the Wild] talent a try. The ice bears above level 50 was not affected by it at all—they were still as aggressive as they had originally been.
He lowered the level of his targets and realized that a bear cub was very friendly toward him. It was white, chubby, and furry, only as tall as his waist level. It hugged his leg and showed off its cuteness.
There’s quite some use to this talent. The cub is only at level ten-something, but there should be other hidden elements to the Call of The Wild. Other than it being affected by Charm, the level difference between me and the beast should also be part of the reason as well as the characteristics of the beast.
Han Xiao contemplated the matter. Suddenly, he saw this furry ball trying its best to climb up his leg. The Great Han Xiao squinted and kicked the cub away.
The white and chubby cub rolled over a few times and then came back again. Han Xiao just could not chase it away no matter how he tried; it was very clingy.
Its furry butt kept shaking, and it looked stupid. Its small, black eyes were filled with innocence.
Tsk, how adorable. Han Xiao could not resist its cuteness. He held the cub upside down and gave it a look. And it’s a female.
They looked at each other for some time, then Han Xiao reached out his arms. The cub climbed up laboriously to Han Xiao’s shoulder and hung onto it like a swing.
“You definitely have some koala blood. Didn’t expect you to be a cross-breed,” Han Xiao said in surprise. He twisted his arm, and the cub shook swung around it as well. It was like he was carrying a bag.
I shall bring it along as a pet.
Raising a pet was a spice of life. With a pet, Han Xiao suddenly felt much more relaxed. No wonder people in the big cities liked to have pets—it was such an effective stress reliever. When they were unhappy, they just had to bully their pet, and they could find back their sense of superiority as an intelligent species.
This was a Sharp Claw Ice Bear cub, only a few months old. Han Xiao was too lazy to give it a name, so he just called it Bear Cub.
Bringing along Bear Cub, Han Xiao boarded the plane to the border of Raylen and picked up Hao Tian. Following which, he immediately headed toward the Southern Continent.
On the plane, Hao Tian lived up to his image of a highly skilled player and kept silent, did not ask about their destination, and did not make any interactions. Han Xiao saw that he had nothing to do, so he gave him a mission to take care of Bear Cub. Hao Tian’s expression became interesting on the spot.
Galaxy’s details were all very real, especially the look and smell of urine and feces.
Flying from the Northern Continent to the Southern Continent required a little over half a day. Han Xiao received a call from Hannes on the way, saying that Old Devin’s document filled missing information of their clues, and it was a very important finding. Han Xiao knew that this would affect the next round of the hidden main storyline missions.
The earnings in the Northern Continent were not lesser than the Western Continent. Han Xiao’s experience and money had all almost doubled. Every time Han Xiao looked at the accumulated experience in the interface and the total of his Dark Net bank account, he would feel a surge of happiness.
…
When the plane landed in the Southern Continent, Antonio was waiting. Han Xiao saw his rough face as soon as he came out of the plane.
“Welcome back, my friend.” Antonio laughed out loud and gave Han Xiao a bear hug. The strong odor on his body almost made Han Xiao lose his health points.
“Hug a while more, and I’d be dead.” Han Xiao rubbed his nose with a frown. The odor was lingering in the air.
“Only out for a month, and look what you’ve done!” Antonio said with surprise. He remembered that Han Xiao said that he would not get into trouble, but it seemed like Han Xiao’s standard of trouble and his were very different.
Things about Black Phantom had been spreading like a disease recently. Many organizations had to spend some of their focus on Black Phantom; the man had most likely become one of the top names in many organizations’ threat lists.
Black Phantom had officially reached the top of Dark Net’s killer leaderboards.
After chatting for a while, Antonio noticed Bear Cub. His eyes immediately twinkled, and he ran over to pet it. Han Xiao was not surprised that Antonio liked furry things judging from his appearance—the two furballs were probably cousins.
Han Xiao walked aside and called Bennett.
“I’ve returned.”
Bennett breathed a sigh of relieved and said with a hint of sorrow, “I’ve waited for you for so long.”
Han Xiao went straight to the point and said, “The ‘Shelter Plan’ you talked about, what help do you need from me?”
Bennett was very touched. Han Xiao mentioned about helping the first thing after he returned, how noble!
In the society of lies and deception, people who had such good qualities were going extinct.
This was a friend that was worth building a stronger relationship with!
Bennett decided to make Han Xiao one of the people in charge of the plan and share even more details with him. “Let’s talk when we meet—I have a very important mission for you.”
Hearing that, Han Xiao knew there was a chance and got excited. He was very familiar with the main storyline [Shelter Plan], and he knew how much benefit there was in becoming a core member.
The Six Nations had been making a lot of moves in the dark recently—the preparation for expedition war was almost complete, and the expedition would probably officially commence in that month. The Germinal Organization was finally about to meet the disaster that had been created by Han Xiao, and the war was going to break out in Planet Aquamarine. The wanderers, militaries, warlords, financial organizations, secret organizations, and all the other organizations were nervous about it.
To open the [Shelter Plan] main storyline at this time completely messed up the sequence of the storyline, but its benefits were also clear. Under the threat from the war, Bennett would do anything to carry out the plan.
And the players’ attention would also be diverted by the main storyline [Shelter], which would reduce the number of players taking part in the main storyline of the war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, which was beneficial to Han Xiao. The smaller the impact that the players made, the more advantages that the Six Nations had.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The invitation from Bennett signified his trust. The meeting point this time was the first shelter that Dark Net was building, located in a city ruins named ‘Ruins of Lloyd’ in a wasteland in the Northern Continent. It had once been the financial center of a dead nation in the Northern Continent.
Han Xiao sat in Bennett’s private helicopter. When he looked down at the city from the sky, he could see the building process of the shelter. The first thing he saw was the tens of meters tall enormous wall that was being built. In the areas that had yet to be completed, he could see workers welding steel bars together onto the scaffolding. The concrete of the wall was mixed with other materials and had a metallic feeling to it. With Han Xiao’s professional knowledge, he knew that the wall was so strong that smaller rockets would at most only leave traces of burn marks on it. The wall was built to the standards of a fortress; it was extremely expensive.
The Dark Net’s symbol was painted on the wall in dark red together with the new name of this city.
Bennett Sanctuary One!
The helicopter flew past the wall, and the construction machinery came into sight, clearing the roads and the abandoned buildings. Countless workers in gray uniforms ran around doing their job to lay the foundation for the new buildings and planning the layout of the city. Steel bars, bricks, wood, and other stacks of industrial building materials lay out in the open, and it looked exactly like a gigantic construction site.
“You named the shelter after yourself.” Han Xiao patted Bennett’s shoulder with a smirk. “I didn’t know you’re this shameless.”
Bennett slapped the palm on his shoulder away and said, “Let’s go. Come to the high ranked officials meeting with me.”
“What has the meeting got to do with me?” Han Xiao asked in surprise.
Bennett shook his head and laughed. “You’re a high ranked official, too.”
Han Xiao blinked.
Bennett cleared his throat and said, “I strongly recommended you to be a director personally. You won’t disappoint me, will you?”
Dark Net had recently reconstructed their high ranked officials, with the highest ranking being the founders such as Bennett and one level lower being the various directors.
“What are you talking about?” Han Xiao asked with a serious face. “When did I disappoint you?”
Bennett did not know whether to laugh or cry. He led the way, and Han Xiao saw the construction of the shelter at a close range.
“Sanctuary One is our test. I’ve put in plenty of resources, and it’s progressing quite well. The basic layout should be completed within a year. The layout of the shelter is divided into a few sections. In order to have enough basic infrastructure to meet the requirements of its residents, the plants and livestock also needs to form a self-sustained ecosystem so that even if war breaks out in the outside world, the shelter can provide for its own, and the defensive measures are, of course, to defend against enemies.”
Boom!
An abandoned building in front was being demolished, and dust filled the area as it fell down.
Han Xiao waved the dust away and said in awe, “Just this shelter would’ve cost you a huge sum.”
“The Six Nations’ resources can only support two to three sanctuaries,” Bennett said with his hands behind his back. “My plan is to build at least three to five sanctuaries across the continents.”
“That will be outrageously expensive.”
“This sum of money is insignificant when it comes to preserving our civilization.”
“Wow, I could almost see the halo above your head,” Han Xiao mocked.
Bennett’s mouth twitched.
After arriving at the new fortress, directors of the Dark Net gathered in the meeting hall. They stood up and bowed slightly to show their respect when Bennett and Han Xiao walked in.
Black Phantom had displayed his strength and was now the top fighting force of Dark Net, and with Bennett’s support, the high ranked officials present all agreed that Han Xiao’s position was at the same level as theirs.
The high ranked officials reported the progress of Sanctuary One in turn, and when Bennett was done settling them, he said, “Sanctuary One has been proven to be practical. The message has been sent out. Many wanderers came to look for protection upon hearing the message. With more residents, the building progress can be sped up.
“At the same time, we can give them job opportunities to take part in the construction process of the shelter, which will aid in strengthening unity. I foresee that in the months to come, as the message of the shelter gets spread out further, more wanderers will come.
“The construction of shelter has to start sooner rather than later; I have decided to commence the construction of Sanctuary Two and Three immediately.”
The high ranked officials exchanged looks, and one of them asked hesitantly, “Mr. Bennett, wouldn’t that be too much of a rush? Why don’t we wait for Sanctuary One to be completed?”
“Because we don’t have much time. We need to speed up the progress.”
“Sanctuary needs someone to be in charge. Who will be in charge of Sanctuary Two?”
“Xena will be in charge of Sanctuary Two,” Bennett said. Xena was currently the highest director of Dark Net and had been recommended by many senior officials. Of course, no one opposed this decision.
“As for Sanctuary Three, Black Phantom will be in charge.”
Han Xiao’s eyebrows shot up. He did not expect Bennett to trust him this much and let him be in charge of an entire shelter. The power of this was very huge.
The directors were shocked as well.
Black Phantom had just become a high ranked official, and now he was in charge of such an important issue. It seemed to many that he was not senior enough to do so. Many directors wanted to object, but Bennett had already seen through their thoughts. One simple sentence made their mouths shut.
“Each shelter needs someone with extraordinary strength to guard. If any of you have the confidence that your subordinate is stronger than Black Phantom, feel free to object.”
Stronger than Black Phantom? The directors laughed bitterly. Across the entire Dark Net, other than Bennett and two others who had already retired, no one could beat Black Phantom.
Bennett ended the meeting since no one opposed the decision and brought Han Xiao to a private meeting room. They chatted for a while before Bennett stopped debating with Han Xiao over if there should be a reward for being the person in charge of Sanctuary Three. He faced Han Xiao’s look of contempt without any shame and showcased the detailed plan of Sanctuary Three.
“Sanctuary Three’s construction is basically completed. Its location will be in Graymetal Ruins.”
Han Xiao thought that place sounded quite familiar, and then he remembered that Graymetal Ruins was where he had set up his secret base. It was quite a coincidence.
Bennett briefly explained the layout and that Han Xiao’s mission was to sit in, monitor the construction team, and when any threat arose nearby, he could settle it entirely by himself. There was only one requirement—complete the construction of the shelter.
Han Xiao almost fell asleep because of how boring and tedious the explanation was, and at this time, a notification popped up in the interface. Han Xiao was immediately awake.
_____________________
You have unlocked a new organization, [Dark Net Organization]. Subsidiary [Blood Pact Society] detected. Relationship status: Respect (4450/6000) – [Rank One of Killer Leaderboard]
[Dark Net Organization] initial relationship: Friendly (2225/3000) – [Director]
_____________________
Part of the reason Han Xiao was able to become a high ranked official of the Dark Net was because of Bennett. If a player wanted to gain a high position in Dark Net, the relationship had to be at least Respect, and to become a high ranked official, it had to be at least ‘Reverence’. However, the prerequisite for Han Xiao was not that strict, which was a benefit of being an NPC. It was not restricted by the rigid requirements in the interface.
_____________________
You have triggered the rank-A mission [Sanctuary Plan — Sanctuary Three]!
_____________________
Seeing the mission requirements, Han Xiao smiled. It was as he expected. As the person in charge of Sanctuary Three, his mission was construction, and the mission type was also a series mission that was divided into tens of requirements. Each of them was one part of the construction blueprint. For every part of the construction that was completed, one requirement would be considered met, which included defensive measures, residential areas, bases, buildings, cleaning the ruins, plantations, farms, and many more. It was like modifying a city.
The mission also notified him that if an unexpected situation appeared, he would also be entirely in charge of solving it, and the grading might become lower or higher depending on the situation and results.
The more requirements that were completed, the higher the completion grading would be, and the rewards would be given based on the grading.
For the players, they could take on this main storyline normally, but their situation was completely different from Han Xiao’s. The players had to take on different missions from the lowest ranked or middle ranked personnel and take part in the construction from side missions. On the other hand, Han Xiao received the overall mission, which included all the side missions and main storyline missions. This was a benefit of becoming the core member of the plan—he was very clear on what needed to be done.
Also, his reward was far greater than the players’. The fragmented missions that players completed would all be considered as part of the construction in the end, which indirectly met his requirements. As mentioned before, the requirement for the same mission might even differ based on who was doing it, and with the special relationship Han Xiao had with Dark Net, he received this mission that had loads of benefits.
“However, there are some problems.” Bennett cleared his throat and said, “Due to funding constraints, the resources are concentrated in Sanctuary One and Two. Therefore, there might be not as many people who will be working with you to build Sanctuary Three.”
“How many?” Han Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. Sanctuary One had tens of thousands of workers, so he would require a similar workforce.
“About a thousand…”
Han Xiao squinted with an expression that said, Are you kidding me‽
“It’s mainly because of the flow of the funding not reaching its destination,” Bennett said awkwardly. “This will only be the case for the first month. We will hire more people to help you afterward.”
Han Xiao picked Bear Cub, who was sleeping on his laps, and threw it toward Bennett. Bear Cub fell onto the sofa upside down and finally opened its eyes slowly.
“Hit him.” Han Xiao pointed toward Bennett.
Bear Cub blinked in confusion and only understood after staring at Han Xiao’s finger for a very long time. It then turned over and slapped Bennett’s left cheek.
Bennett laughed bitterly. He rubbed Bear Cub’s furry buttock then pushed it aside and said, “I know it’s difficult, but you’re the only person that can help me. No one else has the ability to.”
Han Xiao pondered for a while before he nodded and said, “No worries, I will be able to build a basic layout within a month.”
Bennett’s requirements for Sanctuary Three were very low. As long as the construction was stable and the ruins were cleaned within a month, it was more than enough. He took Han Xiao’s words as a joke and didn’t take it to heart at all.
“By the way, I have another requirement,” Han Xiao said.
“What is it?” Bennett replied.
Han Xiao laughed and said, “Sanctuary Three has to be named after me.”
Since Bennett had already done that, how could the Great Mechanic Han Xiao not received the same treatment? And by naming the shelter after himself, it would definitely create a strong, long-term impact.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Many of the directors were not happy with the fact that Black Phantom was in charge of Sanctuary Three, but when they heard that Sanctuary Three was short of labor and that Han Xiao had actually received a very difficult task, they felt much better.
That should be the right way, letting the newcomer do the difficult jobs.
However, Bennett gathered the directors and announced an appointment.
“Black Phantom is my friend, and he doesn’t have much experience. Everyone here was involved in the construction of Sanctuary One, so I will appoint one director to be Black Phantom’s consultant and assistant.”
The directors panicked for a little. They exchanged looks discreetly, all hoping not to be appointed.
Going to Sanctuary Three was like being sent to the borders; there would not be any contribution within a month, and there was really not much benefit in being Black Phantom’s assistant. There also was not much credit to working under someone. All in all, it was a terrible job, and they would much prefer to stay and wait for other opportunities.
Although the motive behind Bennett’s Sanctuary Plan signified greatness and justice, the directors under him did not feel the same. All they saw in the shelter plan were the benefits that they could garner from it. In their eyes, this was a new round of power reshuffle, if they could be in charge of a shelter, the weight of their words would become much heavier in the future.
Bennett knew what these high ranked officials were thinking, but he did not give any explanation because the benefits could motivate the directors to work harder. Bennett did not expect everyone to be so noble; this was all part of his plan.
Not many people could catch Bennett’s eyes, but Han Xiao was one of them. This guy was really a great friend. All he wanted was to help, and even when he mentioned rewards, it was mostly in a joking manner—he never insisted on it
Bennett was someone who took profits very lightly, and he noticed that Han Xiao had a similar quality, which was why he felt a sense of closeness toward Han Xiao.
He decided to appoint someone who was very capable to be Han Xiao’s assistant.
Bennett looked around and said, “Huang Yu, you’ll help Black Phantom.”
The face of the guy called Huang Yu immediately dropped. He answered unwillingly, and when he saw the gloating faces of the other directors, he became even more unhappy.
Among the directors of Dark Net, Huang Yu was someone with very high capabilities. He was often entrusted with important issues as he excelled in taking care of all types of cumbersome issues and had always arranged them very neatly. Yet, this time, he had been appointed by Bennett to be an assistant. He was not happy and was not willing to do it, which would, of course, lead to him not taking things seriously. He had already decided to face Black Phantom lackadaisically and pass the one month without being serious. He took it as giving himself a holiday.
…
The idea of shelters had appeared in the minds of others during the old era war as well. Back then, when the nations were busy with the war, many people had lost their homes and wandered the streets. Therefore, one private group started to build a shelter and helped war refugees at all costs. It succeeded initially and protected tens of thousands of people.
However, because of the shortage of resources, the food distributed to the refugees became limited, which sparked unhappiness among them.
Humans cannot be content, especially during times of war, and even a slight idea of malice will be expanded indefinitely.
Those refugees had forgotten the people who helped them in their time of need and fought back. In the end, they took over the shelter and killed its original owners.
In such a chaotic world, things like that happened very often. It was not the shelter that did not work, but the old era did not allow it. Coincidentally, the person who created the shelter during the old era was Bennett’s friend. Bennett had never given up on the idea, and he felt now was the right time.
Han Xiao was familiar with the storyline. He knew that Bennett’s Sanctuary Plan had succeeded, and it grew like a snowball. Even the people in the cities were willing to move to the shelters; it was so successful that it was almost on a trend to become a nation, which caused an alarm within the Six Nations. If it was not for [Mutation Disaster] during version 2.0, the Six Nations might even have become hostile toward the shelters.
The shelters only fully utilized themselves during version 2.0. By then, they were considered to have lived up to their name.
“I’m now in charge of Sanctuary Three. This time, it’s truly a large part of the main storyline. The manpower assigned to me is not enough, but I still have the players.”
Han Xiao had already thought of how to do the [Sanctuary] mission a long time ago.
A helicopter landed in Sanctuary One. Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog walked out and looked around in curiosity. They trotted toward Han Xiao with smiles on their faces as soon as they say him.
Frenzied Sword had a lot of questions to ask, but it all stuck in his mind when he saw Hao Tian who stood on the side
“God— God Player Hao Tian‽” he exclaimed in surprise.
Hao Tian gave him a faint look and did not say anything—too cool.
“Wow, legend!” Bun-hit-dog widened his eyes and asked, “Did you trigger the hidden storyline as well?”
Hao Tian turned his head and did not reply.
How cold of the legend. Bun-hit-dog was speechless, and Frenzied Sword was much better after all.
This time, Bear Cub made a sound.
Hao Tian immediately dashed forward and picked Bear Cub up. He took out tissues from his back with seriousness on his face.
The duo suddenly understood why Hao Tian did not want to speak. They discretely took a few steps backward; the smell was really bad.
Seeing Hao Tian’s serious expression and skilled actions, Frenzied Sword felt respect toward him. What a true legend, doesn’t even change his expression.
The first meeting between the players was very peaceful to Han Xiao.
He looked at Bun-hit-dog. This ‘reporter’ would be of use for what he was going to do next.
…
Three days later…
“Congratulations to the player [White Mask] for completing the first class advancement!”
Every player received a notification from their interface. The first player to reach LV 21 in the level leaderboards, White Mask, was a foreign player. He shared the changes after his class advancement on the forums.
The players on Planet Aquamarine suddenly discovered that [Energy Training Technique] would automatically be awakened with the class advancement!
The people had doubts at the start, but as more and more players advanced in their class, it was proven that everyone would awaken this ability after their class advancement.
The players on Planet Aquamarine was stunned. The ability that they had spent experience to learn was actually an ability that would automatically be awakened after class advancement.
Was that bad?
Many players did not think so. To learn a high-level ability in advance did not seem like a bad thing—it was a growth ability after all, and it had a very good effect. It could largely increase one’s strength during low levels, which was very useful for these players who were discovering new locations.
The people who really suffered were the players in the Northern Continent who only learned it at LV 18 or 19. They had wasted their money on an ability that they would very soon awaken upon class advancement. They were filled with grief.
The Southern Continent players, who had been depressed for a very long time, suddenly realized that they were not the unluckiest, and they suddenly felt much happier.
Although the truth of [Energy Training Technique] was revealed, many low-level players still felt that it was worth it to learn this ability in advance.
Therefore, many Andrea players were still waiting for Han Xiao’s arrival, but what they were faced with was only shock.
Black Phantom had returned to the Southern Continent!
He was not going to Andrea anymore!
When Han Xiao had been in the Western Continent and the Northern Continent, players in Andrea had anticipated that they were going be the last ones, but the truth was too cruel—Han Xiao was not going there at all.
Their hope had resulted in disappointment; the players in Andrea were full of sorrow.
The Planet Aquamarine section on the forums was heated—even foreign players from the other planets joined in—yet players in Andrea had no position to say anything.
It had almost been two months since the official public launch. The average level of the earliest players was close to 20. With more and more new players joined the game, the number of players on Planet Aquamarine had reached hundreds of thousands, and it was still growing. The high-level players started to slowly interfere in the storyline of their planets, digging through the history, the environment, and joining the main storyline.
It was the same for Planet Aquamarine, more and more players were recruited by the Six Nations to be a special unit. The players had heard from the NPCs that the Six Nations’ expedition against the Germinal Organization would commence at any moment.
However, the interface had notified them that their level was not high enough to meet the prerequisites for the expedition mission, which meant that even if they followed the army to join the expedition, most of them would not receive any rewards.
Most importantly, with the current strength of the players, they would be easily slaughtered by the army.
This was the effect of Han Xiao bringing the main storyline forward; the players had lost the time that they should have had to become stronger and join the war immediately.
Also, the organizations of Planet Aquamarine had finally noticed that there was a limit to the number of times the players could revive, which made them more relieved. They felt that at least the Inhumans had flaws; they were not as nervous as before and started to take the Inhumans as a special kind of mercenaries.
At this time, a new issue of Bun-hit-dog’s ‘Galaxy Exploration Journal’ was released.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wild Boy, a member of Sky Territory Guild, was a loyal fan of Bun-hit-dog.
There were many types of Galaxy video hosts on the forum, but Bun-hit-dog was the only one that had first-hand information about Black Phantom, which meant that he was always ahead of other video hosts. Wild Boy liked videos about Black Phantom very much; he was really attracted to the dark and mysterious feeling that Black Phantom gave.
As soon as Bun-hit-dog updated, Wild Boy saw it. He clicked into it immediately and commented before the video even started. “International rule, ask for new updates before watching!”
The video started playing, and Bun-hit-dog’s bitchy voice appeared.
“Pure white legs and cherry red lips, rip your skin and harden your bones, take off these clothes and these pants, drunk by choice but not by booze, cup of Viagra is all I need—I will last through the night! Hello everyone, welcome to the Galaxy Exploration Journal. Audience, this is me as always, the different kind of Bun-hit-dog!”
Wild Boy spat out a mouthful of water. It was a standard procedure to always start with a poem every episode. The words used became more and more shameless. Even Wild Boy, who had a strong ID, could not take it anymore.
The comments would always explode when the poems came. It was so much that even the screen was obstructed.
“I once had both knowledge and fighting skills, but now I can only yell 666.”
“Clear theme, good poem.”
“I’m calling the police!”
“I sang along although I’m a girl…”
“Extraordinary level of dirtiness!”
“I can’t stop singing it!”
“Please be considerate toward the feelings of lady fans!”
“Reported, you’re welcome!”
The last episode had been about Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword making a mess in Black Pine. This episode was a continuation, and the audience enjoyed it very much. When the mission was completed and the show entered the second half, the scene suddenly changed to a city that was being built. The large ‘Bennett Sanctuary One’ came into audiences’ sights.
In the scene, Han Xiao wore a black coat and stood with his hands behind his back.
The comments stopped for a moment before suddenly exploding.
“Wow, I get to see my Uncle Black again!”
“Great video host, have a recommendation ticket.”
After so many days, Black Phantom could finally be seen in Bun-hit-dog’s video, and Bun-hit-dog was the only person who could do this. The audience felt a sense of grace; it was like seeing someone they knew.
Since the public launch, Han Xiao had been in the sights of the players, and he had already made an impact and occupied a special position in the hearts of the players.
Wild Boy opened his eyes wide; he did not want to miss even one second.
“Black Phantom brought us into a special scene going during construction. During this time, I discovered main storyline missions from Black Phantom…”
The audience discussed among each other within the comments. The players knew that Han Xiao gave out main storyline missions, and the requirements for receiving the hidden storyline were very high. Could this main storyline mission be a different one?
Bun-hit-dog showcased his mission list, and a new mission appeared within, [Black Phantom Sanctuary Three]!
“What’s this?”
“There’s Black Phantom in the mission name…”
“What’s a sanctuary?”
“It is very similar to the name of this place.”
Bun-hit-dog explained the inside information with excitement. Dark Net was building shelters, and Black Phantom had brought a group of thousand people to Graymetal Ruins to build a city. This information had been gained from Han Xiao himself.
There were not any prior requirements this time; the mission could be triggered easily.
After the mission introduction ended, the comments section was filled with shock once more.
“It’s the construction of a city. My god, that’s such a large main storyline! Almost as huge as the expedition war.”
“This should be part of the Planet Aquamarine main storyline, too!”
Wild Boy paused the video. He read the mission requirements carefully again and again then swallowed his saliva before playing the video.
Without even having time to think about what the sanctuary actually was, he saw in the video that Han Xiao was yelling at the people below him.
“The overcast of war obscured the blue skies like the wings of death, and the scars of the previous war have been torn apart before they could even heal. Only a few decades have passed, but no one has forgotten the pain that the war cast upon the land. Up till today, it is still affecting the ground under us and the skies above us. Radiation, specks of dust, wasteland, and dead nations!
“How ridiculous! After the old era, our civilian technology regressed, but the military technology that is used against our own kind has been advancing continuously. They fight for their ideals and the nations’ benefits; they used iron and fire to spread death!
“For these empty and false reasons, they slaughtered those of their own kind who had no power to defend themselves! Countless people have been killed in the fires of war! The world became wounded and broken because of them, and it is on its way to the end. The ending of the world might quietly be upon us one day. The construction of the shelters is for preserving our civilization. Even if the world ends tomorrow, I still want to save the last bit of tinder for the civilization!
“I don’t possess greatness, but too many are small.
“If no one wants to pay the price, okay, I will be the first!
“But I know, I won’t be the last!”
Han Xiao’s tone was filled with cadence. Wild Boy felt short of breath. Although he was watching a video, he could feel his blood turning hot in his heart—that raw emotion was extremely infectious!
Wild Boy was not the only one who was shocked by this. The comment ‘I don’t possess greatness, but too many are small’ passed by the screen with three exclamation marks behind. It looked very impactful.
“Didn’t Know You Are This Kind of Black Phantom!” Many comments similar to this also flew on the screen. In the players’ mind, Black Phantom was quiet and did not speak much, but this speech that he had given had turned this impression completely upside down. Many players felt more familiar with Han Xiao—they had not expected Black Phantom’s ideals to be this great.
Wild Boy was very excited after he finished watching.
This time, he saw Jade Green Sky announcing a message in the guild channel.
“Attention everyone, the guild will be collecting Graymetal Ruins’ location and information. The intelligence provider will be rewarded.”
…
One day earlier…
Han Xiao gathered the group of a thousand people who followed him to build the city and gave out the speech in the video. Bennett just wanted him to say something casually at the time, but he did not expect him to say this much. Bennett was as shocked as the players.
The workers around stopped what they were doing and gathered. The number of people became more and more. They all looked up at Han Xiao, who was standing on the tall platform.
Seeing the crowd turning excited, Han Xiao knew that it was extremely effective. This paragraph had been copied from Bennett’s speech in the future, and its intention was exactly to shock everyone. Back then, Bennett’s position in the hearts of the players had been decided because of his noble ideals. Now that Han Xiao had said it first, no matter what happened in the future, the players would be reminded of him when they brought up Bennett, which would make stronger impacts in the impression the players had of him, making himself more valuable.
He knew that players liked to see such things. A character with noble ideals was usually very popular, and Bennett did not need to care about the players’ impression of him, so Han Xiao grabbed the opportunity.
At the same time, Bennett would be touched as well. Doing this had many benefits.
Players all love the story that a character has as it shows unique sparkling points of their personality. Han Xiao nodded discreetly. He wanted the players to seek him out after the impression that he had created, and whether or not those were his real thoughts, no one would know if he did not say.
Han Xiao turned around and saw Bennett’s expression. It was filled impassioned; these words had really expressed his mind.
Of course they would since they originated from him.
Bennett was very touched. Han Xiao had voiced the deepest thoughts in his mind. He realized that he was beginning to like Han Xiao more and more.
It was like rain and poured on the desert in his heart, Bennett realized that he was not alone anymore; he had found someone that was walking down the same path as him.
It’s all for the continuation of the civilization—he understands me. Bennett gave Han Xiao a pleased look.
Speech is a very scary ability; it can encourage the hearts of the people.
Originally, many workers there went for the money, but now, they felt like their hearts were filled with something more, and they became much more motivated.
The directors were shocked as well. They did not think that the Black Phantom, who had killed countless people, had such ideals. Despite their own motives, they were immediately impressed.
…
The next day, the construction team of Sanctuary Three gathered. The enormous convoy crossed the desolate wilderness and disappeared over the horizon, leaving only dust behind.
The convey was equipped with a scouting helicopter that was flying at a low height. It was the ride for important personnel so that they could escape in the face of danger. However, Han Xiao decided to take the car. Huang Yu, on the other hand, took the helicopter without hesitation. He was not going to be sucking up to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao sat in the back seat. He felt the vibration of the off-road truck and browsed the information of the team.
A notification popped up on the interface at this time.
_____________________
Current Target: Protect the convoy until it arrives at Graymetal Ruins.
Current Population: 1,034
Upon arrival at the destination, 250,000 experience will be rewarded if the damage is below 20%. Mission grading will also be increased.
Current grading: E
_____________________
A sudden notification of the mission goal. This is a characteristic of long-term missions. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he realized that he has been moving his eyebrows too much recently. That was not good; he needed to be more serious.
[Sanctuary Three]’s mission grading changed in real time, and the grading could be seen to increase when a requirement was met. The mission had just started, and nothing had been done yet. Thus, it was at the lowest grade, E.
700 people in the team were workers and technicians. The rest of the 300 were soldiers and guards. Divided into teams of 20, the guards stationed around the exterior of the convoy.
Military power is not enough. I have to strengthen the team.
The power of one person was limited. However, he was a Mechanic with a lot of assets.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It required four to five days to travel from Sanctuary One to Graymetal Ruins across the wilderness, so the convoy could only camp in the wild.
At around dusk of the first day after departure, at Han Xiao’s orders, the convoy found a safe terrain in the wild and settled down. It was dangerous to travel after the sun set, and many beasts were active during the night.
The soldiers of Dark Net patrolled the surrounding areas in shifts. Han Xiao gathered the important people in the team for a meeting—Assistant Huang Yu, Head of Construction Coney Fury, and Guard Captain Liu Zhao.
The blueprints of the Graymetal Ruins Modification Plan were laid out on the table, and Coney Fury was speaking.
“The initial modifications of the entire city were estimated to be completed in three months, including weeding, getting rid of the beasts, cleaning of ruins, then completing the basic layout of the shelter, planting of the electricity network and water pipes, etc. But this is a plan based on 30,000 workers. We only have 1,000 in the first month. There’s nothing we can do, not even cleaning the ruins.” Coney Fury sighed.
Han Xiao nodded without giving approval or denial. He looked at Huang Yu and asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”
Huang Yu said perfunctorily, “No.”
Noticing the careless attitude of Huang Yu, Han Xiao roughly guessed what he was thinking. But Han Xiao didn’t care about it; it was not like he needed an assistant. He turned his head and said, “Manpower is not a problem—I plan to complete the blueprint construction within a month.”
Coney Fury was stunned. “That will need at least 100,000 workers. Even Sanctuary One doesn’t have that many workers.”
“I have my ways.” Han Xiao did not explain his plan in further detail.
Huang Yu stood by and watched. The amount of money needed to hire 100,000 workers was extremely large, and even with so much money, it was not certain they could hire that many workers. He did not understand where Han Xiao got his confidence from.
Liu Zhao suddenly pressed his headphones and said hastily, “Mr. Black Phantom, an airplane is closing in!”
“Let’s go out and take a look.”
Walking out of the camp, the guards looked at the sky on alert. In the dark night sky, a large airplane flashing signal lights was heading toward them—whether it was friend or foe was unknown.
“It’s ok.” Han Xiao smiled. “That’s the airdrop I called.”
The plane flew past above their heads and dropped a few huge resources boxes that were tied together. The parachute opened, and it landed not far from the camp. The symbol on the boxes belonged to the Fabian Company.
Han Xiao made use of his relationship network and had Fabian’s plane airdrop him a large number of mechanical parts. It definitely was not free, but Han Xiao had a lot of money. Such a small spend meant nothing to him.
Everyone was relieved upon hearing that it was a false alarm.
Huang Yu was secretly surprised. To be able to call an airdrop from the renowned munitions company Fabian, Han Xiao’s relationship network was broader than he thought.
These parts were worth millions of dollars. Han Xiao ordered people to load them onto the resources vehicles and started to build a large amount of machinery. He was very rich now, so he could build all sorts of combat machinery, and they could be used to protect the team as well.
The most famous combat style of Mechanics was the sea of machinery.
Han Xiao stayed in the car and worked for the next two days of the journey.
…
The convoy had arrived at the desert. The sun shone brightly in the sky, and the high temperature had turned the sand as hot as burning steel. Even light was distorted around the air not far from the ground.
The convoyed stopped under a Barbera tree. This type of tree was unique to the desert of Planet Aquamarine. It was also called ‘umbrella of life’. Its shade was like an island that insulated the heat, and its juices were plenty and sweet, which could be used to quench thirst immediately.
The people were very thirsty. The soldiers patrolled around, and everyone was covered in sweat.
Boom!
The desert far away suddenly turned into waves. A huge number of enormous beetles crawled out of the ground. Each of them over half a meter long, they had brown and shiny shells, six feet, and two claws. They moved toward the Barbera tree like a wave.
“Beast attack!”
The alarm was activated. Three hundred soldiers immediately stood in position holding their guns. When they noticed that the sea of beetles had surrounded them from every direction and there was nowhere to escape, their faces became horrified, and their hands started trembling.
The Desert Blood Shell Crab was a strong predator in the deserts that destroyed every life form wherever they passed by, and there were at least 10,000 of them here.
“Into the cars and drive open a path!” Huang Yu yelled hastily. He then rushed up the helicopter and hurried the pilot to take off immediately.
No one had the thought of fighting when they faced this many bugs. When they heard Huang Yu’s order and were just about to enter the cars to escape, Han Xiao walked out of the car and said, “Don’t panic. Everyone stand in position. Get ready to face the enemy.”
“The number of bugs is too huge,” Captain Liu Zhao said hastily. “Our defense can’t cover all directions. We will most likely suffer a huge loss if we fight.”
“Black Phantom, come to the helicopter quickly,” Huang Yu shouted.
Han Xiao waved his hands.
Huang Yu cursed in his head. Seeing that the sea of bugs was coming even closer, he told the pilot to take off immediately without caring about Han Xiao. The pilot was afraid as well; therefore, he followed the order and piloted the helicopter off the ground.
The troops on the ground did not dare disobey Han Xiao’s order. They stood their ground and watched nervously as the swarm of bugs rapidly approached.
At this moment, Han Xiao took out his laptop and pressed a few buttons.
Hum!
Twelve Combat Rangers drove out of the logistics vehicles as fast as normal cars. Everyone’s face was filled with shock as they looked at these rover robots rapidly spreading out into all directions like guards of iron. The cold metallic color reflected the light shining through the leaves like pieces of golden scales.
These rovers were the newest and improved generation 2.5. Han Xiao had leveled up the blueprint many times. The basic attributes of the machinery that he had built was much higher, and its quality was at blue as well.
The Generation 2.5 Rovers were all equipped with an auto fire control system, which improved its firepower and magazine continuation ability. They were around the same height as humans, and their mobility was much higher because of the triangular caterpillar tracks that they were equipped with, which could traverse much tougher terrain.
Han Xiao knew that it would not be peaceful during the journey when the mission notification showed up, so he had called for airdrop and built a lot of machinery over the past two days.
Han Xiao’s building speed had become much quicker, and the rover robot that would have taken him days to complete at LV 20 could now be completed in just tens of minutes.
When the building speed of a Mechanic exceeded a certain limit, they would be able to build on the spot in the battlefield. With enough materials, weapons could be built non-stop. Only high-level Mechanics could have this ability after learning [Instant Assembly]. This was also a very important factor in the rise of Mechanics in version 3.0.
“Unload all the round metal plates in the car and place them in every direction.”
The Dark Net soldiers completely followed whatever he said. They immediately did as they were told and placed the twenty round metal plates on the ground. Han Xiao activated the program, and the plates started to transform. Their base fixed into the ground, and the stacked modules assembled into gun barrels. The entire process only took four to five seconds.
These were Mini Folding Batteries. Han Xiao had also leveled up the blueprints, and they now had smart firepower control.
Seeing the thick, black, and long gun barrels, the soldiers felt safer.
When the swarm reached within 400 meters, the generation 2.5 Rovers and the mini batteries fired simultaneously. With the camp under the Barbera tree as the center, a storm of bullets bloomed toward every direction.
The sound of fire was in sync, and the rain of bullets spread all over the place!
Ta ta ta ta!
In an instant, green-colored gunk exploded within the swarm as steel and fire penetrated the huge beetles one after another. In the face of the killing machines built by mankind, the shells that the Desert Blood Shell Crabs were so proud of were as fragile as egg shells.
A trench had formed 400 meters away from the camp, filled with corpses of the bugs, stopping the swarm from moving closer. Even the desert was damped by their blood. After a round of fire, the swarm became at least a third smaller.
A few Rangers drove out of the camp. They were equipped with Sunworm flamethrowers. The cone of fire covered the swarm, and the sound of bugs being burnt alive soon reverberated in the convoy’s ears. The claws of the Desert Blood Shell Crab could not harm the platinum alloy armor of the Rangers at all.
With the fearsome firepower, it was a one-sided slaughter.
This was the brutal force of a mechanic!
Group combat was the advantage a Mechanic had. Esper and Pugilist might be very strong fighters, but their physical strength had its limits.
However, money was the limitation for a Mechanic. That machinery had cost millions of dollars, and even a max level player in version 1.0 could barely afford it. The ammunition cost was also extremely expensive as thousands of steel core armor piercing bullets were used every second.
Money had been a problem for Mechanics since the beginning. Building an army of machines was a very strong combat style of the Mechanic class, but it was also the most expensive one.
When the average level of the enemies become higher and they become stronger, the machinery army had to have higher standards and technology in them, which meant that their cost would increase as well.
Normal players could not master the army combat style very well. Even if they used all their money to build an army, they would not be able to withstand the cost of repairing the damage after combat. The army style was usually used as a last resort. However, Han Xiao was not bothered by the money problem since he had his ways of making a lot of money. He still did not want to go for the army combat style—he just wanted to build a simple guarding team that had enough firepower in times of need.
Liu Zhao held his assault rifle all the time and waited to fire when the swarm entered the range of 300 meters, but the swarm was completed stopped at 400 meters away by the rain of iron.
His hands were even tired from holding the rifle, yet he still did not see any need to fire.
This firepower is way too strong.
Liu Zhao looked at the batteries beside him that were firing bullets continuously, their bolts moved front and back automatically, the bullet shells poured onto the ground, some even hit his face.
With surprise, Liu Zhao realized he had nothing to do, Black Phantom’s machinery had dealt with all the enemies; the guards assigned by Dark Net had been of no use at all. There were completely not any need for them.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The battle only lasted for fifteen minutes. The waves of iron slaughtered the entire swarm, and white slurry covered the ground, giving off an extremely stinky odor as it was vaporized by the high temperature.
The team was completely unharmed. The people looked at Han Xiao, who was calmly smoking a cigarette, and felt very safe. They had been rather afraid when they left the sanctuary, as the wilderness of Planet Aquamarine was filled with danger, but with the way they looked at it now, there would not be any danger as long as Han Xiao was around.
Liu Zhao realized that the team of guards that he led had become the ones being guarded instead, and admiration toward Han Xiao blossomed in his heart. The strong would always be admired.
_____________________
Your machinery killed Desert Blood Shell Crab (LV 15). You Received 10 Experience.
_____________________
When one’s level was too much higher than the monster killed, the experience received would be largely reduced. One bug only gave 10 EXP, but there were at least 10,000 of them. Han Xiao looked at the interface—he had received more than 100,000 EXP.
The circling helicopter landed. Huang Yu had been watching from the helicopter earlier on, and he was overwhelmed when he saw the endless swarm falling like patches of wheat being cut down, the endless rain of bullets blooming like flowers, and the camp remaining completely unharmed.
Huang Yu had actually been planning to escape in the helicopter, and he had almost wanted to leave the others behind. Now that danger has been averted, his expression became quite awkward. It felt like the surrounding people all looked at him with disgust and unhappiness in their eyes.
The Mechanic class is actually this strong… Hao Tian contemplated as he held Bear Cub. He was a Pugilist, and now he was unavoidably worried about his future in the pro scene.
On the other hand, Frenzied Sword, who had been a godly Pugilist player in Han Xiao’s previous life, was even gladder that he had chosen the Mechanic class.
More material. Bun-hit-dog’s face was filled with happiness. He did not have to worry about finding contents for his videos as long as he followed behind Black Phantom.
The three players who had triggered the mission to protect the team received a rather good amount of experience without having to do anything. Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog were used to this uncommon occurrence, but it was the first time for Hao Tian.
Seeing the experience bar growing a rather large amount, Hao Tian had mixed feelings. The amount of earning that he had gotten from doing missions tirelessly was not even worth it compared to following Han Xiao and doing nothing.
No wonder so many people wanted to trigger Black Phantom’s hidden storyline—even a godly pro player like him almost wanted to do the same.
The danger of the wilderness came from beasts, robbers, and radiation, but with the iron war machines protecting them, the numerous beast attacks that they met along the way were all easily resolved. It was a scary journey indeed, but there was no real danger.
…
When they were just one day away from arriving in Graymetal Ruins, the convoy set up camp.
It was a night with clear skies, and if one looked up the skies, the entire river of stars would be reflected in one’s eyes. The technological environment of Planet Aquamarine was similar to Earth, but its nature was more beautiful.
In Star Zone 9 of the Garton Galaxy, the civilization density of the star zone was very low, but the planets were very concentrated. Many empty planets were caught by planets with higher density and started to orbit around them. Planet Aquamarine was one of the planets orbiting around a fixed star at a distance just nice to have the temperature suitable for human habitation. There are also a few natural satellites orbiting around Planet Aquamarine, which were ‘moons’ that reflects light from the fixed star to the planets at their dark side of self-rotation.
Before the old era, there were countries that had built a rocket ship to land on the natural satellites, but they were desolated.
The opportunity that made the Godoran Civilization contact Planet Aquamarine happened when one of Godora’s Interstellar Spectrometers captured the waves in space made by Planet Aquamarine’s primitive rocket ship.
Godora was a galactic civilization in the Garton Galaxy. The areas that they explored included many star zones of the Garton Galaxy, but they were more of a law enforcing organization, contacting civilizations with friendly motives.
Recently, Han Xiao had read a bit about the research that the nations in Planet Aquamarine had regarding astrology. The players could access this information through various sources as well, and it was incredibly detailed and real, which made the players feel a very strong sense of reality. With the perspective of an NPC, Han Xiao could see more information.
In the camps, as Han Xiao and Coney Fury were discussing the blueprint, a guard came in to report.
“Your Excellency, we captured a wanderer. He has been lingering near our camps.”
It was a teen wanderer with worn out clothing. He had a double barrel hunting gun, which had been confiscated by the guards. Upon seeing the camp that was filled with armed guards, horror showed on his face, and he started trembling.
Han Xiao had an idea and asked, “Is there a colony nearby?”
Liu Zhao looked at the map and said, “There are a few medium-size colonies.”
Han Xiao nodded and looked at the teenager with a pondering look. The teenager felt that the eyes of this man in black before him were so pressurizing that his legs started to soften. Before Han Xiao questioned, he explained in tremble and said, “I’m a wanderer from a nearby colony. I was out to hunt for food and coincidentally saw you guys passing by, so I wanted to take a closer look.”
Han Xiao touched his chin and contemplated for a while. Seeing this teenager looked undernourished and emaciated, he said, “Liu Zhao, get him some food.”
The teenager was stunned for a moment.
“Return to your colony and tell your people that my team will be building a city in the Graymetal Ruins. We will provide a large number of paid jobs. They’re also welcome to join us. Let your chief know my intentions. We hope they can move in and take residence.”
The heavy bag of food brought the teenager back to his senses. His face was filled with relief and surprise.
He was a hunter of the colony. With very little prey recently, the people in the colony had not eaten much food and had been starving—this food could give them several filling meals.
The teenager had been very scared when he was captured, but now that he had found that these people were not evil, he was much more relieved and started to consider Han Xiao’s suggestion.
Most of the wanderers did not have the luxury to enjoy full stomachs, so the prospect of work in exchange for food was indeed tempting.
After having someone send the teenager away, Han Xiao took out the map and said, “Graymetal Ruins is isolated. There’s no human habitation within thirty miles, but there are about more than a dozen colonies further away, mostly small ones, totaling at about two thousand to three thousand people. Liu Zhao, take some people and food along with you, and spread the news about us building a sanctuary.”
The original intention of a sanctuary was to protect wanderers in the wilderness. Thus, it was normal to attract wanderers to move in. Huang Yu thought that he had seen through Han Xiao’s plan and thought to himself, He actually wants to hire wanderers as workers, but it’s still too few.
Han Xiao wanted to complete the basic layout of the sanctuary blueprint in a month, which needed at least 100,000 people. There were way too few wanderers for that.
Huang Yu shook his head. He felt the one-month plan would very most likely fail. It would not damage the organization, but it definitely would damage Black Phantom’s prestige and face. Being unable to live up to his word, other high ranked officials’ impression of him would definitely worsen.
I will appeal to return to the headquarters after staying for a month anyway, Huang Yu thought. There were no opportunities to contribute or gain benefits, so he did not want to waste his time being an assistant in Sanctuary Three.
Concerned with that arrangement, Liu Zhao said, “But if we spread out the guards, the defensive power of the team won’t be enough.”
Han Xiao pointed toward the Generation 2.5 Rangers that patrolled the camp with their preprogrammed routes and gave a faint laugh.
“I’ll give you another chance to respond.”
“I ensure the completion of the mission.” Liu Zhao changed his words immediately and stood straight.
…
The endless plains of Karst were maroon and looked like coagulated blood. Han Xiao had returned once again; it was a familiar view.
Come to think about it, I haven’t been back to my base for quite a long time, Han Xiao thought. His base had been in standby mode as he did not really use it.
The outline of the Graymetal Ruins appeared in sight.
There had once been a broad road on the plains, but after years of no maintenance, it was now filled with weeds. The concrete had cracked open, and greens grew from within. Old newspapers flew slowly on its roads, and the long extinguished street lights were covered in vines.
It was a view filled with despair.
The entrance of the Graymetal Ruins was a broad abandoned road. The convoy moved forward along the road, and the only sound was the sound of the engine and the wheels pressing on the roads.
The huge amount of work needed to turn this abandoned city into a sanctuary had the people feeling greatly pressured.
_____________________
You have arrived at Graymetal Ruins.
Current Population: 1034
Damage: 0%
Target complete.
You have received 250,000 Experience.
Mission Grade has become D-.
_____________________
The main storyline mission that Han Xiao had received was [Construct Sanctuary Three]; it was a large mission that oversaw the entire process. Therefore, according to the tens of building types that a sanctuary required, it was divided into tens of construction requirements.
The current mission target changed.
_____________________
Current Target: Complete blueprint construction in three months
Current Time: Day 1
In three months, complete all the 13 construction requirements as stated below: [Expand/Collapse]
Rewards: 800,000 Experience, +1250 Dark Net Prestige, Increased Mission Grading
Extra Requirement: If construction is completed in advance, bonus rewards and grading will be awarded based on the number of days. Experience reward: +10% per day
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
These thirteen construction requirements were all basic tasks, including evicting the beasts, cleaning the ruins, and building the water and electricity network, residential areas, and walls. There were tens of requirements for [Sanctuary Three]—these were only part of it.
Construction of the blueprint was originally a three-month plan. The target is to complete the basic layout within that time. It took Sanctuary One a month to complete around half of the basic layout. Using them as a reference, three months seems plenty.
Han Xiao suddenly remembered something and thought, No, Bennett has tens of thousands of workers over there; I have only one thousand for the first month. There will not be enough time if the missions are done the regular way.
Suddenly, the noisy sound of human voices came from the front. The convoy stopped hastily—thousands of people had gathered at the entrance of the abandoned city.
“There’s a problem!”
The guards got out of the cars immediately and surrounded the team in the middle. The group of people had also noticed the convoy and started moving toward them.
The people of Dark Net immediately recognized their identity by their strange clothing.
Inhumans!
Nervousness filled their hearts. Everyone felt a lack of confidence when they faced the mysterious Inhumans. Inhumans were much more dangerous than beasts because they could come back to life! Just by depending on the machinery that Black Phantom had built might not protect everyone.
Huang Yu was shocked.
“So many Inhumans‽ Why are they gathered here? The organization sent people to the Graymetal Ruins to investigate the terrain not long ago, and there was no one here!”
In Han Xiao’s eyes, the concentrated and large number of IDs above these players’ heads made him dizzy. He then flipped the corner of the coat to the side and walked out of the car with a lot of style. He walked out of the crowd and stood at the front of the convoy with hands behind his back.
Standing in between the two parties, his standing posture was like a javelin that pointed straight at the sky. A gust of wind blew on his coat, and it waved in the air like a black flag. Just with this awesome and stylish appearance, all eyes were focused on him.
What happened next had the people of Dark Net stunned. The Inhumans stopped as soon as they saw Han Xiao.
“Black Phantom, we’re here to do missions,” said someone straight in front of him.
“Heard you are building a sanctuary. We are here to help,” said by someone who seemed to be role playing.
“I almost thought it was fake news after waiting for so long,” commented one relieved player.
With his hands behind his back, Han Xiao stayed in character and gave a faint nod. “I appreciate everyone’s help; it’s all to serve the people. Our convoy is going to enter the city. Please open a path. After we settle down, we will plan the construction targets of the city. There will be many job opportunities then.”
The players followed his order and opened a path in between.
The people of Dark Net opened their mouth very widely, their faces filled with surprise.
These Inhumans have come here just to help Black Phantom, since when did Black Phantom have so much influence among the Inhumans?
Huang Yu was stunned. Han Xiao had the confidence to complete the basic layout in a month because he could order the Inhumans?
To Planet Aquamarine, the appearance of the Inhumans was a very strange phenomenon. Everyone was wary about them, and those who came in contact with the Inhumans all did it with caution and a cold attitude. Therefore, Huang Yu could not believe what he had just seen.
How did Black Phantom do it? Why do the Inhumans respect him?
I have to report this to Mr. Bennett.
With the players joining in, the team multiplied in size, and they entered the Graymetal Ruins.
The convoy found a placed and stopped before Coney Fury asked hesitantly, “Your excellency, we need to first clean out a place for a temporary residence. It’s getting late, and it’s best to complete that before dawn. We don’t have much manpower, so we’ll have to start now.”
“You, ask for help from the Inhumans.”
“Me?” Coney Fury was a little scared.
“I’m here, what are you scared of?” Han Xiao patted his shoulder.
Coney Fury did not have anything else to say. Without a choice, he went out of the car, took out a horn, prepared what he wanted to say, and loudly declared, “I need some people to help me clear out a safe area nearby big enough for everyone to camp in temporarily. Since all of you are here to help, I would like to trouble you guys.”
These words triggered missions immediately; every player received it. They split out within seconds and started work right away.
The surroundings became a construction site in a flash—the cleaning of the area and eviction of beasts had started.
Coney Fury’s face was filled with surprise as he did not expect these Inhumans to give him so much face.
He turned around and looked at Han Xiao. He knew that it was not him whom the Inhumans gave face to but this mysterious boss of his.
…
With the help from the players, a safe area had been cleared out by evening. It was a stadium, naturally suited for camping, and the dangerous insects and beasts around had all been chased away by the players.
The people of Dark Net received permission from Han Xiao and placed the mini batteries around the stadium for guarding purposes, and it attracted many players’ curiosity.
The camps were protected by vehicles, which acted as barriers, and the players were resting in the remaining areas. The inside of the stadium was filled with people. Thousands of players conversed with each other—many of them knew each other, and some people even started a store. The despair in the air of this abandoned city had been taken over by liveliness.
A sound had appeared again in this ruins that has been silent for decades.
“Le—legend!”
Hao Tian heard someone calling him when Bear Cub was walking him. He looked back, and Jade Green Sky and a few core members of the Sky Territory Guild were all behind him, looking at him with excitement.
Hao Tian nodded. He looked at them and said, “Thanks for your hard work.”
“It’s what we should do.” Jade Green Sky was filled with excitement. The Sky Territory Guild was under the Long Sky club, and Hao Tian was a pillar of Long Sky, so they were colleagues and knew each other.
Club Guilds had to provide help to the pro players because they were the face of the club. Hao Tian’s position was even higher—he was also an idol to their guild members.
A very important reason that Jade Green Sky had brought people to the sanctuary without hesitation was because he knew that Hao Tian was with Black Phantom, and he hurried over to provide him with help.
Among the players who came to the sanctuary, Sky Territory was the only large guild—most of the others were casual players. Bun-hit-dog was instantly recognized. As the most popular video host at the moment, he had many fans, and they were very ‘passionate’.
“Dog author, stop running!”
“Reach out your head, I will show you something special!”
“Taste the anger of Africans!”
“Still not an update‽ I’m going to break your leg!”
A group of fans filled with hatred chased after Bun-hit-dog while yelling. The other players gave them a path and rubbernecked from the sides. There were even people who started selling snacks. There was a loud commotion, and phrases like “Kill him!” could be heard multiple times, together with laughter.
Bun-hit-dog did not forget to record even as he was running. He yelled at the camera lens, “This meeting has been going very well; the fans are very passionate.
“You know what they say, beating signifies closeness and scolding signifies love. I am indeed very pleased at heart.
“Come on, smile at the camera for your daddy.”
Bun-hit-dog turned the lenses to record the players who were chasing him, living up to the phrase ‘not knowing what death is’. This was a well-known culture among video hosts—how else would they be able to capture moments that normal players would not be able to witness if they were afraid of trouble?
“Eat my axe!”
Huuu—
An axe flew past his head rubbing against his scalp.
Bun-hit-dog retracted his head in fear then escaped in a flash without turning back. The players chasing him all became short of breath.
“What the hell, how does he run so fast? My stamina is almost finished.”
“He followed Black Phantom after all. His level is higher than any of ours.”
“Ah, damn European!”
The players outside the camps were joyous, but Frenzied Sword was facing a very important and serious decision.
He had successfully advanced his class and was torn between the three paths—Cannon Master, Mechanic, and Mechanical Pugilist.
The power of Mechanic that Han Xiao had displayed was scarily strong, but Frenzied Sword was more interested in Mechanical Pugilist personally. His intuition told him that the Mechanic path was not suitable for him.
Han Xiao had given him a suggestion before as well, saying that he had more potential in close ranged combat, which hinted that the Mechanical Pugilist path was more suitable for him.
This main account was the one that would join pro leagues, so if he made a wrong choice, the disadvantage would be way too vast when he created another account. Therefore, this decision was extremely important.
Frenzied Sword could not make a decision, so in the end, he decided to toss a coin…
They say that the moment the coin is tossed, the answer will appear in one’s heart.
As the players were not allowed to enter the convoy’s camp, the players formed a fair near the camp and waited for Black Phantom to come out and give missions.
A petite and delicate female player walked in the fair carrying a backpack that was bigger than herself. She looked left and right in curiosity.
Crossing through the fair, Maple Moon stopped outside the camp. She took a deep breath and held tightly onto the phone in her hand.
“Level 20 finally.”
A hint of nervousness and anticipated appeared on her lively, adorable face.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the center camp, Han Xiao looked at the blueprint on the table and wondered how to maximize the advantages of the players.
His mission reward limit had increased—his single mission reward limit was a little more than 60,000 experience, coming up short of a C-ranked mission with 80,000 experience. The daily limit was seven times the single mission limit, which meant that he could give out missions worth up to 420,000 experience daily. He realized that the easiest way to increase this limit was to build relationship points with organizations. Level and ranks would come naturally, and the legendary level could not be gained easily.
Any experience points given out as a mission reward would not be deducted from Han Xiao’s own experience points as long as it was within the stated limit.
For such a large mission like constructing a city, his own quota was insignificant. Thus, Han Xiao pondered carefully and decided on the way that he was going to distribute the missions. That was to divide the construction of Graymetal Ruins into many different departments to take charge, then assign one person to each department who would be responsible for the distribution of missions. That way, he did not have to use his own quota.
Constructing Sanctuary Three was a main storyline, and since he could give out missions to the players, logically, the other NPCs in the team should be able to do so as well.
This should resolve the problem of mission quotas. Although the other NPCs don’t have an interface, they definitely can distribute missions since they are part of the construction team.
The other NPCs would not be limited by his quota when publishing missions for him, and it would still contribute to his mission progress as the mission that he had received was an overall mission. Therefore, the final result of the city that the players helped to build would also be his final result. This difference in the mission was an advantage that Han Xiao had being the overall in charge of the sanctuary; it was the difference in their identities.
Han Xiao suddenly had a new idea—if he ever faced this type of large mission again, he could duplicate this and use his advantage as being an NPC to gain a higher relationship with organizations, thus becoming the distributor of missions and using the players’ power to achieve his goals.
By doing that, I only need to manage the people that are in charge of distributing missions and nothing else. Then, I will have a lot of free time to build machinery to try to meet the class advancement requirement of building five purple quality equipment, Han Xiao thought as he nodded to himself. He could do main storyline missions and also have time to make his own progress at the same time. It was perfect.
Furthermore, this was not an act to con the players. The players could also do missions and benefit from it. Them joining in with the city construction would build a sense of unity. All of the people that took part would have a sense of achievement when the sanctuary was completed, and they would feel honored with the thought— This city was built by us, the players.
It was a win-win!
Han Xiao had an ambitious idea.
I could maybe make this sanctuary into something like a main city for the players, and that would remarkably increase my influence. Everyone that comes to the sanctuary would see my name!
Having decided on the details, he summoned the cadres of the construction team and guard team for a meeting.
Han Xiao looked around and said, “Where’s Liu Zhao? Why isn’t he attending this meeting?”
The people could not react for some time. Then someone carefully said, “You sent him out to approach the wanderers.”
“Nonsense, you think I’d forget that?”
Han Xiao gave a stare. Before anyone could react to it, he coughed and said in all seriousness, “It’s an enormous construction project to start building a sanctuary from nothing. I have divided the blueprint into thirteen departments. This is the information for the construction, exploration, and so on. Every department will have a head who will be in charge. My target is to complete the blueprint construction as soon as possible, best in a month.”
“We don’t have that much manpower, even if we include all the Inhumans outside,” someone said.
“Don’t worry about that. There will be more people sooner or later,” Han Xiao said. He knocked the table with his fingers and asked once more, “All clear?”
Everyone had no choice but to nod. One month was way too much of a rush, but since it was an order from a higher-up, they had to do their best, otherwise they would be in trouble. Although Han Xiao was considered to be rather easy going, no one had forgotten the fact that he was one of the strongest in the organization, a legend who had killed countless people and had the top spot in the current killer leaderboard.
Han Xiao then names the heads of departments. Huang Yu was not mentioned.
Huang Yu was happy that he had nothing to do. Although thousands of Inhumans had come to help, it was still far from being enough. It was impossible to complete the basic layout in a month, so Sanctuary Three would still end up doing it the regular way and take months to complete its construction. By then Sanctuary One would have long been completed. As an assistant, he really did not have many benefits, so he did not even plan to help.
When Huang Yu informed Bennett of how the Inhumans came to help Han Xiao, which Bennett was very calm about and did not have any problems with. It was clear that Bennet had a very close relationship with Black Phantom and trusted him a lot. From that, Huang Yu also had a rough understanding of why Bennett assigned him to be Black Phantom’s assistant—it was because Bennett wanted a capable assistant to help a friend of his.
Sighing, he lamented, It’s all because I’m too capable.
The meeting was coming to an end. When Han Xiao had finished clearing up all the responsibilities of the various departments, his face then turned very serious, and he said in a low voice, “I’ve said all the things I needed to. Now, there’s this extremely urgent mission that must be done first.”
Seeing the seriousness of Han Xiao’s face, everyone became nervous as well.
Han Xiao looked around the table and said seriously, “When you write the name of the sanctuary, remember to include my name.”
The tightened expression on everyone’s face instantly collapsed.
…
The heads of the various departments left the camp and organized their men orderly, following Han Xiao’s instructions. The long-awaited players immediately rushed over and triggered different city construction missions based on their own likings.
The Graymetal Ruins was divided into five distinct areas—North, South, East, West, and Central. The missions that were given to the players were also divided according to the areas. Upon receiving the missions, the players immediately formed teams among themselves and started doing mission together. The night was even more lively than the day.
The first and most important task was to expel the beasts and clean the ruins, only then could the construction commence. Teams of players spread out from the stadium into the various areas of the Graymetal Ruins.
The sound of gunshots could be heard very often—there was quite a number of beasts that lived in the Graymetal Ruins, so the players had plenty of opportunities for combat.
Those construction missions could be repeated, and the rewards were quite handsome. Also, the interface informed the players that they were taking part in the construction of Sanctuary Three, and there would be a large amount of bonus experience when it was completed, which made them even more motivated.
Black Phantom Sanctuary Three—the name of this city had the words ‘Black Phantom’, so the players’ impression of Han Xiao became even deeper.
Having one’s name in the sanctuary sounded very honorable.
By the night of the first day, the players had already cleared out a very large area. Their efficiency had the people of Dark Net completely stunned. This could match up to the amount of work from ten thousand workers!
The players were all superhumans, which enhanced their working ability, and they had guidance from the interface, which gave them very clear and straightforward goals. Every action they made was to complete that goal.
When the players and the Dark Net construction team was busy with the construction, Han Xiao received a call from Maple Moon. He remembered that he had given her a mission to find him when she reached LV 20, so he brought her into the camp.
After a long time apart, Maple Moon looked left and right curiously. Han Xiao also called the other three players—he was going to give these four some extra missions.
The four spare tires had finally met. With Hao Xiao’s ability at the moment, it was more than enough to cultivate four players—Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian, both god players in his previous life, now a Mechanical Pugilist and a Pugilist; Maple Moon, one of the first Mechanics in his previous life who had risen to the pro scene; Bun-hit-dog, a well-known video host.
These four people all had their own uniqueness, and they could assist Han Xiao in different ways. They stood in front of Han Xiao and looked at each other.
As the only female player, Maple Moon received special treatment. The other three nodded toward her as an act of showing friendliness.
“Ah, so cute!” Maple Moon stared at Hao Tian with sparks in her eyes. Her expression looked so thirsty it was like she was going to eat Hao Tian alive.
Beads of sweat rolled down Hao Tian’s forehead. He stood straight and still as he watched Maple Moon dashing toward his arms… more specifically, Bear Cub, which he was holding. She rubbed and stroked Bear Cub and would not let go.
Bear Cub was very confused. It shrank into Hao Tian’s arms and gave Maple Moon’s fingers a few light bites.
“Ah, this is way too cute.” Stars appeared in Maple Moon’s eyes. She looked up and pleaded with Hao Tiao, “God Hao, can you let me hug it?”
“Be clear next time.” Hao Tian’s expression was stiff. He immediately passed Bear Cub to Maple Moon and took two steps backward in relief.
Bun-hit-dog came over, too. He reached out his fingers and teased Bear Cub. Bear Cub was cute and stupid, so its reaction was always a second slower. Its paws kept slapping away the hand that rubbed his butt. Frenzied Sword stood on the side and looked straight at Han Xiao all the time, looking like he was always awaiting an order.
“Enough, enough, stop playing with my bear.” Han Xiao coughed to stop them and said, “I’m building a sanctuary. You guys go help too.”
As he was speaking, he designed extra missions for the four people, which gave them bonus rewards if they complete a certain number of missions from the various head of departments.
Other players did not have this kind of special treatment—Han Xiao only did this because these four were his people.
Naturally, the four did not have any objections. They accepted the mission and walked out immediately. However, Maple Moon stayed. She cautiously asked, “Can I learn abilities?”
Han Xiao nodded and opened up the interface for her. He could teach abilities anytime to these four players. Other than the abilities at the bottom of his chest, the others could all be used to earn him experience.
Maple Moon had also chosen to become a Mechanic, so he could cultivate her like an apprentice. Maple Moon was a casual player who preferred real-life simulation type of gameplay. It was very smart a choice to train her into an assistant. Han Xiao was not stingy about it anyway, plus he quite liked Maple Moon.
In his previous life, Han Xiao had started playing during version 1.0 as a completely new player. He had also chosen the Mechanic class and had experienced losing streaks during PVP[1. PVP stands for player vs player.). There was a time when he had lost hope in the Mechanic class despite how much he liked the class, and he had almost even changed his account. Then, later on, during the pro competition in version 3.0, Maple Moon became a completely unexpected black horse in her first competition, which signaled the rise of Mechanic class and gave a lot of encouragement to Han Xiao. He had even been a fan of Maple Moon for some time when he was young.
Later, when he got more and more skilled, he became one of the masters that represented the Mechanic class. Although he did not become a pro player, legends of the Great Mechanic Han went around. There were always discussions on the forum regarding what a non-pro master player could achieve in a pro league if they had gone, and the Great Mechanic Han had been a constant hot topic.
Great Technician Han grew stronger with time, but Maple Moon was like a comet, leaving an unforgettable mark in the milestones of gaming history then soaring through the sky and disappearing in a flash, only shining during the third and fourth versions of the game. Maple Moon was a casual player after all, so her skills in PK grew at a very slow pace—not everyone had so much interest in improving in a game like the Great Technician Han.
In the later versions, Maple Moon disappeared from the pro scene. It was said that she had discontinued the contract with her club, so her light only lived in the memories of the old players.
The Maple Moon in front of him was pretty and cute, and Han Xiao could not associate her with the person in his memories who had caused a storm in the pro league. Looking at Maple Moon, who was torn between which skills to learn, Han Xiao had complicated feelings.
What will happen this time?
With him changing the storyline, would Maple Moon’s future still be the same as it was in his previous life?
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The sanctuary construction was enormous, it has always been difficult to start from nothing, but Coney Fury was quite good in what he did, the plan was detailed, the construction was orderly, and the division of work between departments was clear.
The Sanctuary main storyline had created a storm in the forums, it was the first large main storyline mission since the expedition war was still in preparation, the attention of the players was immediately attracted to it, and with the thousands of players that were already part of it, it was proved to be a reliable piece of information.
Since this was a large main storyline mission, the number of players participating would never be too high, since the more players there was, the faster it would be completed.
The Sanctuary Three became lively all of a sudden, the players called their friends and headed towards Sanctuary Three in groups, it became a huge festival, the number of players in Sanctuary increased like a snowball.
There were hundred thousands of players in Planet Aquamarine at the moment, and more than a hundred thousand just in the Southern Continent. After only two days, more than 20,000 players came to Sanctuary Three from various places, the attractiveness of Han Xiao and the main storyline missions had exploded the amount of passion the players had.
The 1000 Dark Net people that were present since the start were all completely stunned, inhumans came to help continuously, they were all called by Han Xiao, it was like a dream.
Terrifyingly influential!
The work efficiency of one inhuman could match up to many workers since they don’t sleep, these more than 20,000 inhumans could almost match up the manpower of 70,000 to 80,000 workers, and even more inhumans were coming.
Completing the basic layout of the sanctuary in one month didn’t seem impossible anymore!
When the entire construction team realized this, they all became extremely motived and gave all of their effort in the construction.
If Sanctuary Three could be completed even before Sanctuary One, it would be a huge contribution that would shock the entire organization!
In only three days, the camp had a complete makeover, rough houses were built, all the people of Dark Net had a roof above their head.
Huang Yu loitered outside Han Xiao’s house for quite a long time, then finally made a decision and knocked on the door.
“Squeak.”
The door opened, Han Xiao appeared in sight wearing a Mechanic working suit, the protective goggles were still on his face.
“Yes?” Han Xiao said coldly.
Huang Yu suddenly felt very unconfident when he heard that, he smiled awkwardly and said, “your excellency, I…”
Before he could finish, Han Xiao turned around and walked back into the house, “talk inside,” he said.
Huang Yu entered hastily, seeing Han Xiao pointed with his fingers, he found a place and sat down with his butt only occupying a small fraction at the front of the seat, with a fawning expression, he said, “your excellency, I wish to help you take care of some matters, I’m your assistant after all…”
As players became more and more, Huang Yu shockingly realized the one month plan really had a chance to succeed, and once it does, Sanctuary Three would be the first completed sample, this contribution would be extremely huge, and even as an assistant, he could be written in the Dark Net’s book of merit.
Huang Yu couldn’t sit still anymore, he would regret his entire life if he let this credit slip pass, he felt that he’s already offended Han Xiao because of his perfunctory attitude earlier since Han Xiao didn’t assign any mission for him, if Han Xiao rants even a few words to Bennett about him, this credit would have completely nothing to do him any more. He was originally happy that he had nothing to do, but now he was in total panic and couldn’t wait to join the construction, which was why he came to Han Xiao’s doors and fawned over Han Xiao, wanting to make up for his disrespect back then.
Han Xiao left Huang Yu and didn’t bother about him, seeing that Huang Yu was very nervous and fidgety, he finally said in a slow tone, “didn’t you not want to do anything, I understand my and gave you a holiday, are you not satisfied with it?”
“your—your excellency, I’m your assistant, I could contribute something as well.” Huang Yu wiped his sweat and said sincerely.
Han Xiao folded his arms and looked at Huang Yu meaningfully, but didn’t say anything. Seeing this, Huang Yu’s heart kept sinking, he felt that this credit would probably have nothing to do with him anymore.
Unexpectedly, Han Xiao turned around, took a stack of documents and threw it to him then said, “these are the construction progress of the sanctuary, go through and arrange them, report to me if there’s anything.”
Huang Yu held the documents and immediately felt more energetic, he stood up hastily and said, “I will ensure these are well taken care of.”
“Go,” Han Xiao waved his hands and went back to work.
Huang Yu walked out of the house filled with excitement, he breathed a sigh of relief, Black Phantom definitely knew the potential of Sanctuary Three, but he didn’t hold any grudges and gave him a chance to join in and share the credit, for this he was very thankful to Black Phantom.
Compared to his perfunctory attitude earlier, Huang Yu felt ashamed, Han Xiao was now fully respected by him.
…
Han Xiao thought of it clearly, there was no need to have a bad relationship with his assistant, what was between them was hardly even a disagreement, seeing that Huang Yu had put down his pride, Han Xiao didn’t want to ruin his future on purpose, and he did indeed need an assistant to take care of the construction matters of the sanctuary, these were complicated and cumbersome, which he wasn’t fond of.
Now he truly had nothing to do and could do his own stuff all day long.
Only three days had passed since the construction started, its progress was already like a horse out of its leash, completely unstoppable. The energy of the players had far exceeded The Great Technician Han’s expectations, they were working even harder than migrant workers that they could all be considered as labor role models.
In Han Xiao’s previous life, the early stages of the game had already ended when the players came in touch with the sanctuary main storyline and Dark Net approached and hired players, back then many sanctuaries were being built at the same time, the players had choices so their numbers were dispersed.
And for now, the players also noticed Han Xiao was in Sanctuary Three, which means there have to be other sanctuaries that need to be constructed, but the information regarding Sanctuary One and Sanctuary Two was way too vague, as there were very few information sources. On the contrary, Sanctuary Three had the well known familiar face “Black Phantom”, it was an easy choice.
The majority of people followed with the trends, as the players in Sanctuary Three became more and more, other players were attracted too, the number of people grew like a snowball. The future of the “players’ main city” plan Han Xiao had was looking really great.
Sanctuary Three was filled with all sorts of yelling, the players created fairs and areas one after another, some were for selling items, some fore friendly PKs, the lively look did indeed feel like a “main city”.
Even the players belonging to the Six Nations had left the expedition gathering call and came to build the city.
The expedition mission had a level requirement and had yet to start, some players chose the more relaxed sanctuary missions.
Han Xiao had a sense of achievement that felt like people came from everywhere to respond to his summon!
“Seems like my image building plan is going very successfully.” Han Xiao was satisfied with the players’ response, at the same time paying attention to the respond of the forums and Dark Net.
Sanctuary Three didn’t only make an impact within the players, it was also a shocking view in the eyes of the organizations of Planet Aquamarine.
The problem of inhuman has always been focused highly on, the Six Nations were very confused when they investigated the situation after noticing a large number of inhuman gathering in the Southern Continent.
Why is Black Phantom so influential amongst inhumans? Why can he command the inhumans? What is the relationship between them?
The organizations raised their alert, the danger level of Black Phantom increased another level.
Dark Net was the first to receive this intelligence, even Bennett was stunned, thinking back of when Han Xiao said he wanted to exceed the progress of Sanctuary One in a month, he realized it was actually not a joke.
Seeing its current progress speed, that could really be done.
Bennett was not shocked but surprised, as long as sanctuary could be built successfully, it didn’t matter which one was first, it would all be a contribution. He only entrusted those who he had trust in, so he didn’t ask Han Xiao anything about how he got help from the inhumans.
The directors of Dark Net, on the other hand, felt chills up their spines, having a colleague like this, they didn’t know whether it was fortune or disaster.
…
Sanctuary Three, West, Clock Tower Area.
The signature building of this area is an enormous clock tower covered in vines, it had now become a base for the players, nearby was a large square, a dried river with a broken bridge that separated the East and the South, and a little bit further was an area filled with factory buildings, this area was originally a mix of residential area and factories.
A factory outline had already been built around the clock tower, inside was large amounts of construction materials and electricity generators, the terrain here was unobstructed which was suitable for a power station that would provide energy for the sanctuary.
There were hundreds of players in this area cleaning the ruins and evicting the beasts.
A team with five players was walking in the drainage pipes of the river, it was pitch black, the only light was from the flashlight.
“It’s quite smelly here,” a player held his nose and said.
“They said the electricity network will be planted here, so they needed people to scout the area to see if there’s any danger,” another guy said.
“No wonder no one wants to do this mission, it’s too dirty…” this guy seemed like he had mysophobia, he was walking very carefully.
Even after decades, this drainage pipe was still damp, the floor was very sticky, almost like rotten mud.
The team of players took a few more steps forward, suddenly an inhale that sounded like a wind tunnel appeared from deep within the dark.
Huuu——
“Something’s wrong!”
The player was shocked, just as they were about to move, they realized they were unable to, a notification showed on their interfaces.
[You are affected by the intimidation aura of a high-level beast and entered “Fear” state!]
“What is this?” The expression on their faces changed.
“Boom!”
The ground shook vigorously, a black shadow that filled the entire tunnel dashed towards them in an extremely high speed.
With a loud “bang”, the team of players flew away like they were hit by a train, they bashed against the wall and died instantly. They were not the first batch of players, but they were level 15 and yet they died with just one hit, which means the damage was at least 200 to 300!
There was more than one shadow, a string of shadows of the same size followed behind, not making any stop and dashed out of the tunnel straight away and were exposed under the sun. Like furious tanks, they bolted up the ground and headed towards the most conspicuous building, the clock tower.
The players resting in the clock tower were met with a sudden situation, they all stood up and tried to stop the shadows but anyone who did it ended up flying away and dying.
Unstoppable!
A large number of shadows scraped through the players and destroyed the unfinished power generator, it exploded with a lout “boom” and fire broke out. These shadows didn’t stop and plunged into the clock tower.
The ground shook!
A large amount of dust burst out of the clock tower, with a loud squeak sounding like the last scream of a dying person who had lost all hopes, it collapsed.
The movements here shocked the entire city!
Loud and fearsome roar also came out of the mouth of these black shadows, quaking the entire sky!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
An hour later, the fire in the clock tower area was finally extinguished. There were burn marks everywhere, the unfinished power generator had been completely destroyed, and the collapsed clock tower had created an area of ruins. This place had become a mess, adding to the burden of cleaning missions.
The area nearby was fenced off. Huang Yu took charge of the scene that was in a complete mess. Fortunately, the players did their best to clear the ruins, so the situation was slightly under control.
Thousands of players gathered afar and looked at the broken scene. These black shadows had stomped on the brick floor and left a string of cracks with their footprints. The footprints had three claws that were long and thin. The name of the creature was unknown.
At the time, those black shadows had disappeared and returned to the river tunnel, which was clearly their nest, and no one dared to mess with these unknown monsters.
“What kind of beasts could create this level of damage?”
“The monsters that we met these few days were LV 20 something at most. I thought there are no strong monsters, so this is where they’re hiding in.”
“I heard from the experienced people that the results of their scan were all question marks, and the danger level was ‘Extremely Lethal’.”
“Wow, that should mean it’s at least LV 40.”
“Let’s wait and see. Maybe there will be missions for us in a while.”
Huang Yu finished arranging the jobs, and he activated the communication device. “Your excellency, the situation is temporarily under control.”
“How’s the damage?” Han Xiao asked calmly.
“Not good. The power station that we were building has been completely destroyed, together with the construction materials and engineering machines inside.”
Han Xiao had expected this to happen. Since the sanctuary was a main storyline, there would very likely be twists and turns, and it really did come without any warning. He had not expected the Graymetal Ruins to have powerful monsters in it. The loss of construction materials and engineering machines was not the most important problem, but the construction period would be largely slowed down if there was no solution to these beasts.
“What is the species of these beasts?”
“It’s still under investigation, but they are hiding in the drainage pipes that we have no knowledge about, so it is very dangerous.”
“Wait for me to go over.”
Ten minutes later, Han Xiao arrived at the scene. The people came to him and reported the situation. Han Xiao listened for a while and waved his hands to tell them to quiet down, then walked to the footprints and observed them in detail.
“Able to crack open the brick floor with their feet, which means the leg power of these beasts is very high, and they are monstrously heavy. Likes to live in damp and dark places, lives in a herd, aggressive…” Han Xiao took out his laptop. He searched through the Planet Aquamarine beast database and found many matching species.
After some thought, Han Xiao lifted up his coat, and about seven spider detectors slid down his legs and landed on the floor. They slowly crawled into the tunnel and started surveying its internal structure. The laptop was showing the night vision and infrared vision of the detectors.
While waiting, Han Xiao asked casually, “Are there any other powerful beasts nearby?”
“No,” Huang Yu replied immediately, “this is the only place. The clearing tasks at the other areas have all been completed.”
The shocking incident that had taken place here did not slow down the other construction projects. The construction of the walls, residences, garages, power stations, internal life support facilities, greenhouse farms, and so on were all progressing well. Han Xiao was the only one that could do this because he had tens of thousands of players to help him, unlike Sanctuary Two, where they were still exploring the city, progressing at a much lower speed than him.
The image of the tunnels was relayed by the spider detectors. The walls were covered in a strange mucus in the deep area of the river tunnel. It was sticky and looked disgusting, and it was dripping continuously.
One spider was covered in the dripping mucus. Its machine legs twitched, and it shut down completely, like being covered in amber.
As the spiders went deeper, an even more shocking scene came into sight. The beasts had dug countless split paths at the end of the river tunnel. Under Han Xiao’s control, the spiders entered the different paths, and as more images got sent back from the spiders, the people became more and more shocked.
Under the surface of Graymetal Ruins, there was an enormous sized underground nest! It covered more than half the West Area!
These beasts had been living in this abandoned city for many years!
“Holy…” Han Xiao felt a slight chill up his spine.
The hidden beasts’ outline was shown under the infrared vision. Han Xiao hastily opened the database, and this time, he was finally able to narrow down the target.
“Scientific name, Nygaro Shadow Viper Beast, also known as Shadow Stalker Viper. It is oviparous, born with six feet and three claws, and covered in chitin exoskeleton. Adults can grow up to four meters long. Usual forms of attack are through its claws, tail, and teeth, and it is able to secrete a type of corrosive slime from its mouth and anus, which is used to dig its nest. It likes dark, warm, and damp places, usually underground near volcanoes…”
Other than not having a bug that jumped onto people’s faces, this thing looked really alike to aliens 1 !
After studying the database entry, he realized that the vital signs of these Shadow Stalker Vipers were at around LV 40, which meant that every one of them was a mini BOSS to the players at the moment.
There were roughly more than a thousand Shadow Stalker Vipers in the nest, so this was a huge hidden danger to the sanctuary. If it is not resolved, accidents like today would continue to happen and slow down the construction of the West City Area.
Han Xiao suddenly noticed something abnormal.
Despite the fact that Shadow Stalker Vipers like hot environments, they are still attracted to the underground of the flatland, which should be cool and damp. That is really weird. Could it be that… there is abandoned reactors or high energy waste underground?
He contemplated and decided it was best to have the players detect the radiation strength inside.
If Han Xiao had guessed correctly, there should be a wild BOSS level Beast King in a herd of Shadow Stalker Vipers, and he was the only one that could deal with that thing.
The complicated nest was the Shadow Stalker Vipers’ territory. Han Xiao didn’t want to deal with an entire herd himself as he would suffer tremendous damage even with his mechanical guards.
The players would be able to kill a normal Shadow Stalker Vipers by overwhelming them with numbers, and since so many players were present, he might as well make full use of them.
Come to think of it, the corpses and eggs of Shadow Stalker Vipers are both used in manufacturing drugs. Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled, and a plan formed in his mind.
Huang Yu was actively giving suggestions on the side and said, “I think we could use a large number of explosives in the empty spaces underground to create a landfall and destroy the Shadow Stalker Vipers’ nest. Although the ground of the West City Area will also sink because of that, it shouldn’t be a problem because this is an abandoned city, and it can also be used for modifications…”
“Good idea.” Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He always liked to maximize the benefits to the best of his ability. All the Shadow Stalker Vipers would go to waste if he simply blew everything up, but Huang Yu reminded him that Shadow Stalker Viper would turn extremely aggressive if they were disturbed and by doing so would lure them out of their nest. Han Xiao could then plant traps in advance so that he could deal a large amount of damage once they were lured out.
Han Xiao was someone who was action-oriented. He immediately gathered all the patrolling Generation 2.5 Rangers around the river tunnel before ordering the people of Dark Net to move the mini batteries over and lay out a battle frontier that aimed at the river tunnel.
“Throw in a flashbang.” Han Xiao gave a mission to Frenzied Sword. Frenzied Sword dashed in immediately without saying a word.
Seconds and minutes passed by. Everyone waited, completely focused. It was quiet. Players watching from further away occasionally chatted among themselves while staring at the scene.
Fearsome growls broke the peace, and with a short scream of pain, the ground started quivering. The sound from the tunnel got closer and closer; something was coming out.
Booooom!
A huge number of Shadow Stalker Vipers galloped out of the tunnel, they were covered in black carapace and had hideous bone spurs. There were three pairs of tiny, bloody red eyes hidden between their exoskeleton that was filled with fury and wrath. At least a hundred Shadow Stalker Vipers showed up. They noticed the group of humans gathered far away instantly and stampeded over with a loud growl.
Tu tu tu tu!
The next second, they were faced by a thunderstorm of bullets and cannons that overturned these Shadow Stalker Viper and stopped them from charging any further. The steel core bullets penetrated and tore open their chitin carapace. Thick and sticky bodily fluids splashed all across the place as growls turned into wails. They struggled to stand up but were beaten by the hail of bullets pressing them again the floor and shattering them into pieces.
The flashing gunfire reflected onto Han Xiao’s face. He lit up a cigarette and watched as more than a hundred Shadow Stalker Vipers broke into pieces.
Not long after, the magazine was cleared, and bullet shells covered the ground.
The smell of smoke pervaded the air, and the scene turned silent. The corpses of Shadow Stalker Vipers were all over the ground, shattered into pieces.
The faces of many players who were watching turned pale. They were disgusted by this image of monster parts scattered all over the floor.
“Collect the corpses and keep them in the frozen storage,” Han Xiao ordered.
Everyone cleaned the battlefield quickly. Han Xiao gave the flashbang mission to Hao Tian this time, but the Shadow Stalker Vipers did not fall for it again. They killed Hao Tian and stayed in the nest, refusing to come out no matter what.
The mechanical guards became temporarily useless because of that as this tactic worked best in open areas—they would one by one be torn into metal waste if they entered the narrow nest. But tricking the enemy once was good enough.
The players had been watching for quite long, so it was time to give them something to do.
“I need some people to clean this nest, within three days,” Han Xiao yelled. He then set the mission quickly and gave it out.
“Prize-Pool Mission: Clean the Nest!”
Many days had passed since Han Xiao had last issued a prize-pool mission, and he realized that prize-pool missions were the easiest way to draw out the players’ enthusiasm, and as he expected, the rubbernecking players immediately dashed toward him to accept the mission.
The prize-pool accumulated more than 1,000,000 EXP very quickly, and it was still growing. The mission requirements were to hunt down Shadow Stalker Vipers and bring back their eggs—these two tasks would give them contribution points, and the ten teams with the highest contribution points would be rewarded.
The players were all excited and ready. They swarmed into the nest to kill Shadow Stalker Vipers, making up for their difference in strength with numbers.
Han Xiao turned and said to his four spare tires, “Take this device and detect the radiation strength of the nest. At the same time, be wary of any strong Shadow Stalker Vipers—that will be the Beast King. Notify me immediately if so. Also, if there are any other discoveries, let me know as well.”
The four people nodded and entered the nest together.
Looking at the passionate players, Han Xiao pondered.
Shadow Stalker Vipers are too strong for the players at the moment, but in order to reach higher positions in the prize-pool mission, they will definitely have more demand for better weapons. There will definitely be someone who is interested in my group of mechanical guards after seeing them.
Han Xiao had more than enough spare parts to build and sell weapons to earn him another fortune.
This again showcased his innovative business philosophy. If customers don’t have a demand, just create one!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao would never make a losing deal. The price that he asked for was very high, and most players would not be able to afford his equipment. He soon thought of launching rental services for his weapons to gain a profit through low margins but high sales.
However, Han Xiao rejected this idea immediately after.
If the players damage the weapon, I will make a loss, and there might even be some players that don’t return my equipment. Before ensuring that the weapon can be retrieved in perfect condition, rental service is not a good idea, Han Xiao thought.
The concentrated sound of gunfire came from the nest under the West City Area, together with explosions. The ground trembled lightly, shaking up the sand and dust on it.
While the players hunted the Shadow Stalker Vipers, the people of Dark Net were not doing nothing. They drew out the map of the underground nest from the images of the detectors and divided the nest into areas on the ground.
“Your Excellency, the habits of the Shadow Stalker Vipers are alike to ants. Their nest is very labyrinthine and complicated; it can be roughly divided into two areas—the core area and the activity area. The activity area makes up to 95% of the entire nest, and we are still looking for the core area,” Huang Yu reported.
Han Xiao nodded. If his guess was correct, the Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King should be in the core area.
The Beast King should be between the level of 50 to 60 and have a BOSS panel. This difference in strength could not be filled no matter how outnumbered it was by the players at the moment. Han Xiao would have to do it himself, which he planned to do as soon as they found the core area.
The nest was the Shadow Stalker Vipers’ territory. On the first day, the players split up and marched in at a very slow pace. Most of the players were completely thrashed. After all, it was the first time that these new players had faced a monster with such a high level. Thus, their weak spirit and mind were beaten.
Han Xiao did not focus on the West City Area all the time. This was just a part of the sanctuary construction, and as a responsibility of the overseer, he patrolled the other areas’ construction progress and went back to building machinery.
The class advancement requirement was five purple quality equipment. He could already stably build Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades, Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm, and Mini Maneuvering Equipment with dark blue quality. One time of over performance was all he needed to achieve purple quality for these pieces of equipment.
The failed products—those that did not reach purple quality—filled almost half of the entire room.
Only Han Xiao, who had so many assets, could afford such expenses.
…
Some players finally came to visit during the evening.
Jade Green Sky brought a group of guild members to visit. They expressed their intention of wanting to buy equipment.
A large number of players resided in the sanctuary at the moment. Players could be seen all over the place requesting to team up and do missions. Many Mechanics opened up stalls for repairing, building, and enhancing services, and even Maple Moon would sometime open a stall to pass the time. The sanctuary did have the feeling of a main city indeed.
These Mechanics were able to gain the blueprints of various low-tier machinery through Knowledge Fusion, each having its own uniqueness, and firearms were the most common type.
The Mechanics who opened stalls demanded very low prices, so many not-so-rich players were very willing to buy from them. However, Han Xiao did not bother to do such things as it was a waste of time for him. The market that he was aiming for was high-end as his product quality was far beyond that of the players, and he had a lot of blueprints that they did not have.
He was irreplaceable—he had no competition.
“You want to buy equipment?” Han Xiao put down the parts in his hands.
Jade Green Sky nodded hastily.
Sky Territory had accepted the prize-pool mission, and they had a chance to go for a higher position, but other large guilds had arrived at the sanctuary a few days ago, and they were all strong competitors. Thus, Jade Green Sky wanted to buy Black Phantom’s equipment to stay ahead.
Jade Green Sky had bought a Light Mechanical Arm when the public launch had only just begun, and it was his main weapon even now, so he was very confident in Han Xiao’s products.
The Great Mechanic Han had an outrageous amount of 230,000,000 experience in his interface at the moment, so he could afford to spend some of that experience and gamble out some new blueprints, which made his inventory full of various types of equipment. To match the ever-increasing level of players, he had put in some new machinery.
After some consideration, he also added Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm and Mini Maneuvering Equipment into to his store. He had a lot of blue-quality products for these two types of machinery, which he had no use for, so this was a chance for him to get rid of them and gain some profit at the same time.
However, he did not sell Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades. This was almost god-tier equipment for the players in the early stage, so Han Xiao did not want to sell it to players easily.
The people of Sky Territory took a deep breath when they opened up the store. The huge variation of products had their hearts beating faster, and everyone’s eyes twinkled brightly.
“God, even the lowest quality is green. There is even some blue quality equipment. I have never even seen blue equipment before!”
“All of them are so tempting!”
Jade Green Sky stared at the Heavy Mechanical Arm with excitement. This thing was stronger than the Light Mechanical Arm; it could largely increase his strength.
He looked at the price—120,000!
“So expensive!” Jade Green Sky’s face twitched. Although the guild was rich, 120,000 was still a significant amount; it was the price of dozens of firearms and many boxes of gunpowder.
After some hesitation, Jade Green Sky decided to buy it. He believed that it had more worth than anything else he could buy with that money!
Large guilds were rich. They purchased many pieces of equipment that totaled to 300,000 dollars, and they were given to Core Group One for the prize-pool mission.
Han Xiao earned a fortune and offloaded some machinery that was useless to him at the same time—a very profitable deal.
He had set security measures within the machinery that he sold. The Mechanic players at the moment would only be able to pass through these measures only in their dreams, so it was impossible for the blueprint to be leaked. Therefore, Han Xiao was very confident when he sold them.
Having sole possession of the technology meant a monopoly—it was the most profitable business as there would not be another place where these products could be bought.
Du du!
Frenzied Sword and the other three returned right after Jade Green Sky left, bringing along new discoveries.
“We have detected a very high radiation strength, almost reaching the maximum on the measuring device,” Maple Moon said and passed the device back to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was a little shocked. With such high radiation, creatures that lived near it would very likely go through mutations. Whether the mutation enhanced one’s strength or the other way around depended on the species and habits of the creature. Stronger creatures that had a higher resistance would more likely have enhancing mutations.
Which means there might be elite mutated variants in this Shadow Stalker Viper herd, Han Xiao thought.
“We have also discovered the source of the mutation—it’s these things,” Frenzied Sword said as he took out a bag of blue crystals and laid them out on the table. The crystals were filled with mist and cracks—they looked very turbid. The blue crystals reflected a mist-like aura from the light. They looked magnificent and almost magical.
_____________________
Unknown Crystal: A crystal formed by unknown reasons. It is highly radioactive.
_____________________
The measurement on the device increased noticeably as it was moved closer to the crystal.
Han Xiao wore a pair of gloves. He held up a finger-sized crystal and looked at it carefully. “Where did you find this?”
“On the walls deep inside the nest.” Hao Tian gave a very simple answer.
Frenzied Sword added, “These crystals were embedded in the wall. We wouldn’t have found it either if the slime on it wasn’t scraped off during the battle. Furthermore, these crystals became more concentrated as we went deeper into the nest as did the monsters. We were unable to go even deeper, so we came back early.”
Han Xiao could feel the warmth from the crystal itself even with gloves, which solved one of his questions. These crystals provided the heat energy that made the Shadow Stalker Vipers build their nest here.
Han Xiao waved at Frenzied Sword.
Without a hint of hesitation, Frenzied Sword walked toward Han Xiao, who suddenly did something shocking. He grabbed Frenzied Sword’s mouth and stuffed the crystal into it. Then he blocked his mouth, not letting him spit it out.
“Swallow it.”
“Wuuuuuu—” Frenzied Sword’s face was filled with shock. He struggled all he could, but Han Xiao’s hands did not budge even an inch. Then, the crystal went down his throat. The three people watching from the side were stunned.
“Any reactions?” Han Xiao stared at him.
Frenzied Sword let out a sigh like he accepted his fate. He touched his chest and looked at his interface.
_____________________
You have swallowed a type of high radiation strength crystal (Unpurified).
Race Detected: Human
Endurance is less than 50.
No related ability gained.
You have entered the ‘Radiation Damage’ state!
_____________________
Radiation Damage: -33% Maximum Health, -33% Maximum Stamina, -50% across all attributes
Duration: 2 hours
Related medication can be used to recover in advance.
_____________________
Frenzied Sword described the status. Undying players were the best choice to test drugs. Han Xiao gave a large amount of experience to Frenzied Sword as a reward and said while nodding, “Well done.”
Frenzied Sword felt much better when he saw the experience. He looked at the rest of the crystals on the table and pondered, Will there be more experience if I eat all of them? It actually tastes like sweets.
Han Xiao knew what Frenzied Sword was thinking from the expression on his face. He awkwardly collected all of the crystals, denying Frenzied Sword’s thoughts.
From the experiment, the rough uses of the crystals could be seen—purifying this type of radiation crystals would create crystal-formed energy, which was a form of clean energy.
Han Xiao had a thought. There were a lot of such crystals in the nest. He could use [Basic Extraction] to purify them and turn them into energy storage, and these energy crystals could even be used on all kinds of machinery if he made an energy transformation device. It was a valuable discovery.
Crystal energy was most commonly used in magic civilizations, it would also appear sometimes in technological civilizations. In a more fashionable way, such clean energy crystals could also be called ‘Non-Elemental Crystal’ or ‘Magic Crystal’. Mages would use magic techniques to harvest energy from these crystals to become their own energy or to power magic, so there were many uses for it.
The concentration level of the crystals should lead to the core of the nest, Han Xiao thought and called Huang Yu over immediately.
After describing this discovery, Huang Yu instantly marked an area on the nest map that they had drawn.
“There’s a ninety percent chance that this is the core area.” Huang Yu pointed at the map confidently.
“Very good.” Han Xiao nodded.
Time to act!
…
At midnight, players continued to fight in the nest as they did not need to sleep.
The prize-pool mission motivated the players. Although there was no direct mission, they still received quite a lot of experience from killing the Shadow Stalker Vipers, which were a much higher level than them.
Sky Territory was at the top of the rank!
“Quickly, T3 (third tank) pull the monster. T1 (main tank) and T2 (secondary tank), come back here now!”
“Pugilists attack at close range quickly!”
“Come on Espers, last longer! Go to the side to recover if you’re out of energy!”
“Mechanics don’t go too close, stand further away to deal damage!”
“Those carrying eggs leave quickly, don’t get hit by the fallout!”
The people of Sky Territory were surrounding a Shadow Stalker Viper and took it like a BOSS. Jade Green Sky was commanding and yelling, and they were having a very exciting time. The cooperation of Core Team One was very in sync.
The slime in the nest would lower the players’ speed, but although the nest favored the Shadow Stalker Vipers, it still was a fish in a net when facing the core team of Sky Territory, which was extremely experienced in fighting BOSSES. The Shadow Stalker Viper could not break out of the net no matter how it tried, and its health was decreasing at a steady rate.
“Killing Line 1 ! Everyone, deal damage now!”
All kinds of attacks downed on Shadow Stalker Viper. Its carapace started cracking, and slime splashed all over.
Jade Green Sky charged forward. He wore a Heavy Mechanical Arm much thicker than his hands on his right arm and activated the active ability of the Heavy Mechanical Arm.
The motors made a loud noise. Heated steam shot out of its ventilation pipes, and the iron fist hit straight at Shadow Stalker Viper’s head. At the same time, Jade Green Sky shouted out loud with passion!
“Haaa! Iron Fist Burst!”
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The iron fist punched the chitin carapace. The skull of the Shadow Stalker Viper shattered, and its health reached zero. It screamed in agony and fell to the ground, dead. The air in its lungs came out of its mouth and nose, and its swollen body slowly deflated.
Jade Green Sky took a deep breath and looked at the damage ranking—he was unexpectedly first once again. The damage of the Heavy Mechanical Arm would not be exceeded easily by the players at the moment.
The Heavy Mechanical Arm also had very high armor stats—it can even be used to withstand damage from the monster. Several times, they had been in danger of being wiped out, and it was Jade Green Sky who had saved the situation. While the other players got wiped out once in a while, they had not died once. Thus, their contribution points increased steadily, and they reached rank one.
Buying this weapon was more than worth it!
Black Phantom’s products were expensive, but they were worth every penny. It was really a great deal—Jade Green Sky was very contented.
Vice Team Captain jokingly complained, “How old are you already Captain? Are you not ashamed when you yell out the name of the ability?”
“I like to do that. None of your business. Plus, why bother to play Pugilist if you’re not going to yell out your ability names?” Jade Green Sky replied.
The carcass and eggs of Shadow Stalker Vipers were both contribution points. The team members started to clean up the battlefield.
Wuuu—
Suddenly, the sound of a piercing wind echoed from further down in the tunnel. Something was approaching at very high speed!
A shadow passed by them in an instant and created a strong gust of wind that almost made everyone in Sky Territory lose their balance. It was so fast that they could not even capture it with their eyes—no one could see what had passed them.
“What was that?”
“It disappeared in a flash!”
Jade Green Sky looked in the direction where the shadow disappeared and said with surprise, “That’s probably toward the deeper part of the nest!”
Everyone exchanged looks of surprise.
“Let’s follow and take a look.”
The speed reducing slime was everywhere in the nest. They chased for a while, but that shadow was long gone. The players of Sky Territory felt a little beaten.
“Stop chasing, we can’t catch up.”
“Wait… what’s that?” Someone noticed something abnormal.
The flashlight shone over, and a pungent smell entered their nose as they saw the carcasses of Shadow Stalker Vipers all over the tunnel and extending all the way into the darkness. It was a shocking view.
The carapace that players tried so hard to penetrate looked as fragile as eggshells. The carcasses were still fresh, which meant the shadow had gotten rid of all the beasts obstructing his way within the short period of their chase. The LV 40 beast herd did not stop him for even a second.
Everyone instinctively thought of Han Xiao.
“It was Black Phantom that just passed by, right?”
“The monsters we took so long to beat were killed by him within seconds. He’s definitely at max level.”
When the players scanned Han Xiao, the information they got was always all question marks except the danger level being [Extremely Lethal]. People had tried guessing his level, and now that they had something to compare with, they had a more accurate deduction. Black Phantom was definitely one of the strongest in Planet Aquamarine.
Jade Green Sky suddenly became happy. “He opened up a path for us. We can follow along.”
…
Han Xiao, who was covered in his black combat mechanical suit, dashed through the nest following the route from the tactical screen.
Slosh…
Two Shadow Stalker Viper pounced out of the darkness, where the human eyes could not reach. However, the mechanical suit radar had detected the vital signs and heat energy long ago. Without dodging, Han Xiao activated Enhanced Mode, and the biological muscles under the armor swelled up. Power surged from his fists and smashed straight at the Shadow Stalker Vipers!
Devastating strength difference!
Shattered carapaces, splashing slime, and screams of pain.
Claws hit on the mechanical suit and only left a string of sparks. Han Xiao passed the two beasts without pause and sent out several punches within an instant, killing these two beasts immediately. With the LV 55 attributes, Viper’s advanced performance, and the difference in level, Han Xiao could kill those Shadow Stalker Vipers within a second easily.
He did not stop.
Wiping off the slime on the wall, the radiation crystals were becoming more concentrated.
“The core area should not be far away—monsters are appearing at a higher rate,” Han Xiao muttered as he casually killed a Shadow Stalker Viper. He looked at the map on the screen and confirmed that he was on the right route.
The screen showed that the temperature on the outside was increasing. The crystals contained heat, so the higher the temperature, the more likely it was that the Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King would be living nearby.
The high temperature from the crystals had turned the infrared and night vision images completely red. Han Xiao changed it back to normal vision, and it darkened immediately. However, a few seconds later, it was bright again. This was because of the [Night Stalker] class talent [Bat Habit], which provided vision in darkness and bonuses when fighting in the dark.
Passing through a cave, the space suddenly became much larger. A thick, pungent smell filled the place, and slime on the ground was thick and dense. This was an underground cave that looked like a honeycomb. The walls were embedded with large, dark-blue radiation crystals, surrounded by more than a dozen entrances of a tunnel that lead to many places. This was the center of the nest.
Dense red eyes blinked in the dark. Dozens of Shadow Stalker Vipers lay low on the floor and bared their teeth, demonstrating their authority over the unwanted guest. There were also a few more frightful looking elites in the herd.
The Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King was the most conspicuous one surrounded by the herd; it was three times larger than the others. It looked down on Han Xiao with condescension as the slime in its mouth dripped down onto the ground, corroding the floor and emitting a pungent odor.
It’s so big. It has to be the Beast King, Han Xiao thought.
The Shadow Stalker Vipers pounced toward Han Xiao fearlessly. The Electromagnetic Hover-boots allowed Han Xiao to ignore the slimy terrain and move freely. He dodged the attack and took out the Ghost sniper rifle from his back, using it as an assault rifle. Blue flashes appeared on the muzzle as ‘Needle’ magnetic bullets were being shot out rapidly.
He changed targets continuously—doing so was to keep triggering [Lethal Shot], which did not trigger on the same target within five minutes. This talent was more useful during group combat, and the right way to use it is to keep changing targets and maximizing the damage output.
Flesh exploded one after another—the Needle bullets penetrated the carapaces easily and slaughtered the herd at a very fast rate. An elite monster snuck behind Han Xiao and pounced toward Han Xiao, thinking that he would not notice. However, Han Xiao turned around and slammed his leg on the skull of this Shadow Stalker Viper like he had eyes behind his back. Its skull was flattened.
The herd charged toward Han Xiao one after another in waves, but Han Xiao was like a reef—he did not budge at all. The herd became less and less dense as they fell one by one around Han Xiao.
“Roar!” The Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King growled. The soundwaves echoed in the nest, summoning their own kind.
The players in other areas realized that the Shadow Stalker Vipers that were fighting them stopped simultaneously and dashed toward the center of the nest without looking back.
The tunnel rustled, and the ground shook. A large number of beasts were approaching. The longer the battle lasted, the more difficult it would be. Han Xiao’s eyes focused. He activated [Overload], [Flaming Will], and [Lethal Critical Hits] at the same time and fired at the Beast King lingering at the edge of the battlefield.
Buzz!
The firing sound of the Ghost sniper rifle was a buzz made by its electrical circuits.
A flash of dark blue appeared and disappeared the next second, penetrating the carapace of the Beast King and exploding its empty cavities.
This shot also triggered the True Damage from [Lethal Shot]!
– 2853!
An astonishing damage number appeared. The health bar of the Beast King dropped a huge portion instantly, and it growled and rolled on the floor in agony. Han Xiao saw the attributes of the Beast King from the interface.
LV 53 BOSS, very high Dexterity and Endurance… but only 9,000 Health‽ Han Xiao was surprised. His shot just now had taken almost a third of its health—this health amount didn’t match up to its BOSS status.
Is it one of those Dexterity-type Beast Kings that are more focused on attacking? But it doesn’t look like it with such a huge size.
The Beast King rolled over, but unexpectedly, it did not pounce over immediately. Instead, it ran to a corner of the cave and took many large bites into something stiff. Han Xiao looked over through the gaps in the herd and was shocked when he saw it clearly—the Beast King was eating barrels of high energy waste marked with radiation symbols.
Beasts consuming wastes in long term would very likely induce mutation, or they would gain a special ability—he realized that the Beast King’s health was recovering at a remarkable speed, gaining back 1,000 HP within seconds. Clearly, consuming waste materials quickly recovered its health.
Then it occurred to Han Xiao that this Beast King was the type that stalled people to their death. This environment had put him at a very bad disadvantage. He took a deep breath and adjusted himself to his peak performance, before jumping up high into the air and flying over the herd in an arc, slamming on the back of the Beast King with a huge amount of energy. Upon impact, they both rolled over.
Before standing up, Han Xiao bent his fingers, and blades shot out. He stabbed them into the Beast King’s carapace, and at the same time, he activated the Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves and burnt through the carapace.
Suddenly, the wind whistled. His back was hit by the Beast King’s tail, and he almost flew out. He could feel the enormous power even through the mechanical suit, and the durability dropped a little.
Han Xiao was fully focused. The light from the Bonfire Reaction Furnace behind his back brightened, and with force from both his hands and legs, he pushed the Beast King to knock the wall.
The ground shook!
Pebbles fell down like rain!
The man and the beast collapsed the wall and fell onto the tunnel on the other side. The Beast King growled, wanting to recover health in its nest, but Han Xiao grabbed onto it tightly and pulled it outward. Energy flew into the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades on the back of his hand. The blades hovered in the air, slashing open the carapace of the Beast King rapidly, showing its dark purple flesh.
It was like two beasts of the same size were clashing—they destroyed walls continuously, and the entire nest started to shake as if it was going to collapse.
The players were shocked and soon started to escape.
“Run, we are going to be buried alive!”
“What is this, demolition?”
Jade Green Sky also followed the crowd and ran for a while. Then he suddenly realized something. “Wait a minute, since we can revive, this is the best chance to kill already wounded monsters and gain contribution points!”
Just as he finished the sentence, the wall on his side exploded. Han Xiao pushed the Beast King in his direction. Jade Green Sky was in their way, and he was immediately squished.
The vice-captain of Team One held his head and yelled in shock, “Ah, you died so tragically captain!”
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The slashing slime could not corrode the mechanical suit. Shadow Stalker Viper’s carapace cracked all over its body, covered in blood and slime. Pressed on the floor by Han Xiao, its health decreased steadily.
The herd charged toward them one after another like they had lost their minds. Han Xiao used the Beast King’s body as protection and dodged most of the attacks with his agility. The vision on the tactical display screen was jumping all over the place. Normal people would have a headache by looking at it for just a few seconds, but Han Xiao was completely used to it and was not affected at all.
Every punch, every kick, was sent out with incredible power that the surrounding terrain looked like it had been destroyed by a tornado.
With his basic combat skills all being at max level and the performance enhancement from Viper, Han Xiao’s close-range combat ability was way above average, the Beast King’s health very soon arrived at the killing line, as it was unable to eat waste materials and regenerate. Han Xiao’s energy flew into Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and formed a high speed spinning pointy cone around his arm like a drill, piercing right into the Beast King’s head.
Ignoring the wail, Han Xiao grabbed onto the wound to not get dropped by the struggling Beast King, he then turned on the Sunworm and sprayed at the bloody brain of the Beast King. A smell of burnt meat spread in the air, the Beast King’s body suddenly became stiff, like a fish out of water, giving his last struggle before death.
_____________________
You have killed Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King (LV 53). You have received 132,000 Experience.
_____________________
As soon as the Beast King died, the surrounding Shadow Stalker Vipers growled in agony and pounced toward Han Xiao dauntlessly, wanting to shatter this enemy that was harder than iron, submerging Han Xiao instantly.
But the next moment, a strong repel force pushed all of the Shadow Stalker Viper away at a speed even quicker than when they attacked. They hit against the wall of the nest as the Field Repulsive Machine on Viper’s arms made a buzzing sound.
Boom!
This repulsion force caused a chain reaction, and the nest started crumbling down piece by piece. The ground was shaking so rapidly that it was like an earthquake.
Han Xiao did not want to be buried alive, so he concentrated all the power in his legs and jumped up. The floor cracked open from the strength of his jump, and he flew up in the air. He then turned on the Mini Maneuvering Equipment to give him further boost in speed. With the combined forces of the jump and the Mini Maneuvering Equipment, he rocketed up and burst through the mud above his head.
The next second, the ground exploded, and a black figure bolted out of the ground. The vision became obstructed, and the night sky came into sight.
The West City Area collapsed. Cracks opened from the sunk ground, and dust splashed out from within. Some players got buried and died; some players escaped and watched the scene, stunned.
“The entire city collapsed because of the fight. Such strong destruction power!”
“Isn’t that Black Phantom? Did he do it‽”
“He’s got to be a max level BOSS with such strength!”
“All the Shadow Stalker Vipers are buried alive. Does that mean our mission is completed? There’s no notification though.”
The players were shocked and confused. They looked at Han Xiao at the side who was wearing the mechanical suit with fire in their eyes. They had seen the video of the mechanical suit in action on the forums, and now they had finally witnessed that themselves. It was even more impressive than in the videos.
Jade Green Sky trotted over after he revived and was shocked by the completely different scene than before. He hastily asked about the situation, then contemplated and said, “The mission is not completed yet. There are chances to make use of the situation.”
At the same time, signs of life appeared within the ruins, Shadow Stalker Vipers that were still alive crawled out with struggle. Only a small half of the nest had collapsed, but all the tunnels were blocked, so all the beasts had nowhere to escape.
Seeing this, the players dashed over in a hurry to get the last hit.
Han Xiao was only responsible for dealing with the Beast King—the other small monsters were to be dealt with by the players. The sound of cracking came out of his neck as he twisted it to relieve his tight nerves.
Huang Yu brought some people over and waited on the side.
“When the Inhumans are done the cleaning, you guys go dig through the ruins. Bring the radiation crystals and the carcasses into the warehouses, especially the Beast King’s—that’s rare material. Although I broke quite many parts of it, it should still be of some use,” Han Xiao said casually.
Huang Yu took a look at the sunk ground, gulped, and nodded hastily.
Half an hour had yet to even pass since Black Phantom came, and he had already settled the problem. Even though the West City Area had almost been destroyed, this astonishing efficiency left Huang Yu in complete awe.
After returning to his room, Han Xiao took off Viper and repaired its damage.
…
At around midnight, Huang Yu finally came with the information that the cleaning of the ruins was completed.
“We have stored 846 Shadow Stalker Viper carcasses. 27 of them are mutated, and one is the Beast King. More than 300 undamaged eggs have all been stored in the frozen warehouse. Also, we have collected about two tons of radiation crystals—the 300 pounds that were collected near the center of the nest seem to have a higher concentration.
“By the way, Coney Fury has discovered the source of the crystals. These Shadow Stalker Vipers have been consuming high energy waste as their food source. The slime secreted in their bodies has gone through special reactions, which caused them to harden and thus become crystals.”
Han Xiao was stunned for a second. “So… these radiation crystals are actually Shadow Stalker Vipers’ feces?
“You could say that.”
Han Xiao scratched his head and thought of Frenzied Sword.
Never mind. The truth is too cruel for me to tell him. I don’t think he can take it.
…
As the nest was finally cleaned finish, the players felt relieved, they looked at their interface with anticipation.
_____________________
[Clean the Nest] has been completed.
Current Prize-Pool Experience: 1,340,000
_____________________
Damage ranking:
First: Jade Green Sky (Team)
Second: Red Carp (Team)
Third: No Sleep During the Day (Team)
…
_____________________
The players on the leaderboard were delighted. Although it was unfortunate for those who did not make it, they did not make a lose anyway as the experience from killing the Shadow Stalker Viper was more than enough to cover the experience spent to take part.
“We’re first!” Jade Green Sky and the people of the Sky Territory Core Team One were filled with joy. The players beside them looked over with envy, focusing their eyes on Jade Green Sky’s Heavy Mechanical Arm.
“Sky Territory really is steady.”
“What equipment is their guild leader wearing? Looks really powerful.”
“I have a friend in their team. He said that equipment is a god-tier weapon for Pugilists. It can both tank and deal damage, but it is very expensive, and only Black Phantom sells it.”
Seeing the effect of the Heavy Mechanical Arm, many players started to desire it. Desire would create demand, and demand meant potential customers.
The ruins needed reconstruction. The head of West City Area gave out more missions, and the players rested for a while before starting to help once again.
…
The next day, Han Xiao woke up to the construction noise surrounding him in all directions, and he rubbed his temples helplessly. It was indeed much quicker to have the players help to build the city, but there was one tiny flaw of that, the players didn’t sleep or rest and worked throughout the day—this non-stop noise pollution almost made him mentally fatigued.
The secret base, however, had very good noise reduction measures, and it was in a rural area where no one had done any construction. Han Xiao had gone there secretly a few times and brought some supplies over for storage. He had also enhanced the security measures.
On the surface, Han Xiao did not work in the base.
Han Xiao came to the boisterous workshop then walked to his VIP room, which he had entered many times. Inside were many neatly arranged boxes emitting a magnificent, beautiful, but strange aura.
However, knowing that these are the feces of monsters, Han Xiao could not appreciate their beauty no matter how magnificent they were. He made sure his gloves were on tightly.
Radiation Crystal—can be turned into energy block after purification, non-elemental pure energy. Although it says these are of high concentration, these should be of the low tier in the standard of the universe. The conversion rate is roughly 100:1, so two tons of it should probably be able to produce 45 pounds of energy blocks. These can be used as emergency energy storage; it is a surprising but welcome income.
There were many types of energy—magnetic, electrical, nuclear, light, planet, antimatter, dark, psionic, and many more. If these were psionic energy blocks, they would be as valuable as the entire Planet Aquamarine. However, only very advanced civilizations could acquire, convert, and make use of psionic energy; low-class civilizations would not be able to use it even if they were able to acquire psionic blocks. Those civilizations that had discovered psionic energy too early had all destroyed themselves. To research and experiment on psionic energy without the required technology was suicide—thus, their entire planet was vaporized.
There were also 300 pounds of dark-blue crystals with higher concentration. Han Xiao guessed that it was the feces of the Beast King. The Beast King owned the most amount of high energy waste, so it produced crystals with the highest concentration compared to the others. It could barely be considered middle-tier concentration. The purification rate would be much higher, and they should be able to produce 10 pounds of energy blocks with higher Ona.
300 pounds… this guy really can take sh*ts. Han Xiao shook his head.
Han Xiao’s [Basic Extraction] was at max level. The knowledge from the energy brunch could be infused into the Energy Block Extraction Device, which was a rather precise device. Han Xiao contemplated for a while and remembered the knowledge combination. He had plenty of experience points, so he successfully gambled out the blueprint after a few infusions and started to build the device.
It was completed after two hours.
_____________________
Basic Energy Block Extraction Device: Extracts energy blocks out of minerals or crystals containing radiation or energy. Ordinary conversion rate, a rather slow conversion speed.
_____________________
This thing was very steampunk. The input port was in a funnel shape and could automatically take in original materials. Energy Block Extraction Devices were most common in crystal civilizations where magic and technology were both present, and energy blocks were the main energy resource. The headquarter of Japan, Planet Lonnie, was one of such civilizations. It was a unique kind of civilization, but anything was possible in the wide universe.
Han Xiao arranged the crystals nicely and activated the auto drop. The extraction process was fully automated.
It should take about half a day to extract everything. I shall just wait. Han Xiao patted his hands. All that was left were the carcasses and eggs in the frozen warehouses. These could be used to make drugs, but he was not a Pharmacist.
Louis Research Institution was in the Western Continent—it was too far, and the transportation cost would be too high. Also, the time it would consume during transportation would cause the materials to lose their freshness.
Han Xiao pondered for a while and decided to hire a Pharmacist.
Suddenly, he had a flash of insight, and a name buried deep in his memories appeared in his mind.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A secret meeting was being held in the headquarters of Division 13, and many important members of the Hesla military intelligence department were present—Gu Hui had welcomed them himself.
The expedition was drawing near, so the Six Nations contacted each other frequently to discuss and adjust some final details.
In the meeting room, both parties were calmly discussing the expedition.
Buzz!
The entire place turned silent upon the sound of phone vibration. Everyone looked over with dissatisfaction in their eyes.
This is a very serious occasion. Who’s so disrespectful?
Seeing that the sound came from the deputy director-general of the Division 13, Gu Hui, their expressions became complicated. The expressions on Hesla people’s faces looked like they were saying— Is this your leader? So unprofessional.
Gu Hui frowned. He had many phones, and most of them were turned off during meetings except for the one for emergency matters. Only very important calls would go to this phone.
However, once he took out the phone and saw the number, his pupils constricted. “Pause the meeting. I have to take this call.”
Without paying attention to the reactions of the others, Gu Hui left with his phone hurriedly after he finished the sentence.
The people of Hesla were shocked. Whose call could make the deputy director-general of the Division 13 leave an important meeting in front of everyone?
Who was so important? Was it the superiors at the highest ranking? Then why did they not call the internal line?
Coming to the quiet and isolated room next door, Gu Hui picked up the phone and said in a serious tone, “How come you’re calling?
“Surprised?” Han Xiao’s mocking voice came out of the phone.
Han Xiao used the number and identity of ‘Zero’ to call Gu Hui. Since the intelligence he provided last time, he had become a very important focus target of Stardragon.
Ever since the battle in Dark Crow Valley, Han Xiao had disappeared without a trace. Even Stardragon’s intelligence organizations could not find him. In the face of such a valuable communication opportunity, Gu Hui could not give it up no matter what, even if it meant he had to leave the important meeting.
“What do you want this time?” Through precious contact with Han Xiao, Gu Hui had a rough idea of his personality. Han Xiao was goal-orientated and would not call for nothing. Thus, he went straight to the point.
“I want a person.”
“Who?”
“She’s called… wait, let me go through the wanted list. Her code is Emerald Grass; she’s a pharmacist.”
Gu Hui was stunned for a moment. He told his secretary to check on this person, and very soon, the results came back.
Emerald Grass—her superhuman ability was controlling plants, and she was a top-notch Pharmacist. Once, she had spread an infectious lethal disease with a drug that was not experimented on and caused a large number of deaths, which lead to her wanted status. She had been captured a few years ago and was currently tightly imprisoned on Bell of Death Island.
Bell of Death Island was a prison of the Six Nations for the highly-dangerous criminals. It was an isolated island in the sea with mysterious coordinates and tight security.
“What do you want her for?” Gu Hui questioned.
“Something.” Han Xiao gave a vague answer.
Gu Hui contemplated and said, “Even I can’t bail people out of Bell of Death Island casually. It’s against the rules.”
This was a roundabout rejection.
Han Xiao laughed. He suddenly changed the subject and said, “I heard the expedition is going to start very soon. Tsk tsk, Six Nations coming together for a battle, attacking the land of Andrea from more than a dozen directions, with planes, aircraft carriers, and all sorts. Tell me, will the Germinal Organization accept their fate without resistance?”
Gu Hui’s hand tightened on the phone.
“What intelligence do you have?”
“Plenty. Base locations, military power, missile layout, and the Germinal Organization’s various Inhuman plans,” Han Xiao said in a very tempting tone.
Gu Hui was angry, but he had to fall for the trap. “Emerald Grass is yours.”
“Done.” Han Xiao agreed without hesitation. He had already planned on giving every piece of intelligence he had on the Germinal Organization before the war to give more advantages to the Six Nations anyway, and now, he could even use that to exchange for a very important person.
In version 2.0 of his previous life, Emerald Grass had been a very important character in Planet Aquamarine. As a top-notch Pharmacist, she researched on the mutation virus, created drugs that suppressed the virus effectively, and made a very strong impact.
In his previous life, Bell of Death Island had been a mysterious place. No player could find its coordinates, but they did have some information on it in version 2.0—the mutation virus had spread to Bell of Death Island, causing a very dangerous change, but the criminals imprisoned by the Six Nations in the Bell of Death Island resolved the disaster. They had fought their way out of the island and escaped. Emerald Grass had also escaped during this.
As the saying goes, there are always crouching tigers and hidden dragons.
The prisoners poured into the outside world and became new characters of version 2.0 like dragons flying over a river, causing a storm in the world on top of the disaster.
“The intelligence will be sent to you. I will decide the location to retrieve Emerald Grass,” Han Xiao said then hung up the call.
Gu Hui’s expression changed several times—only Han Xiao dared to hang up on him casually, and he could not do anything about it.
A prisoner in exchange for key intelligence, this deal was a definite win.
Furthermore, Gu Hui realized another benefit.
“He has been lost for so long. This meetup is a chance to follow up on his whereabouts!”
Han Xiao still had a position in the field agent files. Whether he went where, did what, or if he joined any organizations during his disappearance, this was all unknown to Stardragon despite their interest. It was just the right chance to investigate.
…
In the workshop in Sanctuary Three, Han Xiao waited thirty seconds after hanging up the call, only then did he send the first set of intelligence to Division 13 and held onto the rest temporarily. He knew full well that he should not give out all the intelligence at once.
If I can get Emerald Grass this time, not only can she help to research on drugs, I can even make Sanctuary Three be the first place that suppresses the mutation virus in version 2.0. The Sanctuary has my name in it. The safer it is, the more influential I become.
However, Stardragon will know they exchanged Emerald Grass with me. They won’t give up this investigation chance, and if they find out that Emerald Grass works here, they might guess I’m Black Phantom, and my identity will be exposed.
While evaluating the risks and benefits, Han Xiao suddenly realized something. He had kept his identity hidden at the start because he had been too weak, but now, with Dark Net backing him up and his strength being at the top of the planet, there was no need to hide from the enemy anymore. At the same time, the Germinal Organization was facing its destruction and could not even take care of themselves. Hiding his identity did not matter anymore.
He suddenly felt delighted.
Without him noticing it, his arch enemy was not gigantic in his eyes anymore. He had grown to be able to face the strongest organization on the planet.
From another perspective, exposing his identity could combine the influence of Zero and Black Phantom and cause a chemical reaction, and he was eighty percent sure that he would get legendary points. The players’ impression of him would also increase to another level.
With the things he had done, the players might even mistake him to be the main character of Planet Aquamarine instead of Bennett.
I should take things steadily instead. I will think about my identity after the war starts.
Although Han Xiao saw some benefits, he still decided to act on what would happen.
The Energy Block Extraction Device was still operating, so Han Xiao locked the door and left, surveying the construction progress of the various areas with his hands behind his back.
As he passed by the wall construction area, he suddenly heard a commotion. He stopped in place then walked over.
The engineering team surrounded a large crane helplessly. Seeing that Han Xiao approached, they greeted with respect.
“What’s happening?” Han Xiao asked.
“The crane malfunctioned and cannot be turned on. We can’t find the cause,” someone said helplessly.
Han Xiao heard this and thought, Wasn’t fixing vehicles what I started with?
He rolled up his sleeves and said with excitement, “Bring the tools over.”
The engineering team only remembered now that their boss was a Mechanic. They hastily brought the parts and the tools over. Han Xiao climbed up the crane to check for the malfunction, and he found it not long after. He took out the tools and started fixing. His hands moved around so incredibly fast that they even created shadows behind them.
The players on the side doing construction work were shocked upon seeing this.
This hand speed matched the power of being single for at least fifty years!
“Turns out single people have an advantage in the Mechanic class,” a player yelled. “I’m the man who will become the Mechanic King 1 !”
“Sad but true.”
As he repaired, the Great Mechanic Han was in the zone, so he also gave it some enhancements.
He tightened the last screw.
Done!
Han Xiao clapped his hands and told the engineering team to turn it on. The enhanced crane was like it was on steroids and moved so quick that the engineering could not even catch up to its speed. They dodged hastily and jumped around.
At this time, the players welding rebars on the wall suddenly looked at the wilderness and shouted, “There are some people here!”
Han Xiao quickly climbed the scaffolding of the wall to a higher place and looked out.
A group of people wearing ragged clothes appeared in the wilderness, walking slowly toward the sanctuary.
The wanderers had arrived.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A few days ago, the guards that Han Xiao had sent out came into contact with the wanderers in the colonies tens of miles away. They explained the purpose of the sanctuary and invited the wanderers to take residence or work.
Using foods and smiles, some wanderers that did not have a pleasant life agreed to move.
From far away, the hundreds of wanderers could already see the tall wall that was still being built with the words ‘Black Phantom Sanctuary Three’ written on it with red paint. They found the situation unbelievable.
“Didn’t they say that they just arrived in Graymetal Ruins a few days ago? This doesn’t look like the construction has just started…” a middle-aged man said hesitantly. The others were wondering the same thing.
They had originally thought that the sanctuary was just being built, and the conditions would be harsh. In their imaginations, it would not even be as good looking as the tiny lousy houses in their colony. They were all ready to face a hard time, but reality gave them a huge surprise.
“Did they spend all the time building the wall?” Some people were still in doubt.
As they entered the sanctuary following the main road, this doubt was cleared in no time. There was too much for them to take in.
Looking at the tall wall, neat buildings, and paved roads, every one of them could not believe that this was the construction progress of just ten days.
It took days for them to even build a lousy wooden house!
The guards lead the dizzy wanderers to their residence, which was neither a camp nor wooden houses but brand-new bunkers. There were many rooms, and electricity and water were available. There were ingredients in the kitchen, and they could cook themselves.
They were completely overwhelmed by this huge pleasant surprise.
How is this even called a sanctuary? Might as well call it a resort home!
…
“Your Excellency, we have brought back 427 wanderers. There are fifteen colonies tens of miles away with a total of about 3,500 people. Other teams are still in the middle of their discussion, and there’s currently about 300 that rejected us clearly.”
Only a bit more than 400. That’s not much.
The purpose of the sanctuary was to protect humans, with the biggest goal of taking in wanderers. It would be a joke if there was nobody staying in it after its construction was completed.
There were few wanderers in the Karst, and wanderers from further away might not be willing to travel such a distance. In order to have people move over and take residence, Han Xiao felt like it required Bennett’s macro-control, which was able to bulk migrate the wanderers who were willing to stay in a sanctuary from other areas. However, that should be the arrangement after the plan matured; now was only the early stages of the construction.
Han Xiao waved his hands and dismissed Liu Zhao. He then walked back to the workshop and contemplated the situation. One of the requirements of his [Sanctuary Three] main storyline mission was to reach 40,000 residents, excluding players. This was one of the requirements that had the richest reward, and it had very clear benefits to raising the mission’s overall grading.
Walking on the streets and seeing the lively scene of the players, Han Xiao knew that in order to achieve the ‘Player Main City’ plan, there had the be NPCs staying—important characters would be best. These were all mission resources, and only then would the players be attracted to gather there.
The number of residents was a requirement of the sanctuary as well, which interlocked with his plan.
This is a long-term task, Han Xiao thought.
There were players that came to talk with him once in a while, wanting to buy equipment. Han Xiao did not refuse and got rid of the useless equipment in his storage while earning some money at the same time.
…
Back at the workshop, the Extraction Device was still operating, and Han Xiao was in a very good mood. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he took out the parts and started building Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades. He was trying to go for the purple quality, and this time, he felt more proficient than all the times before.
It might succeed this time!
The noise of the Extraction Device echoed in the workshop, but Han Xiao was not affected by any external factors, immersed in building. When the Extraction Device stopped, he also finished at the same time.
_____________________
You have Built Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades (Purple).
Class Advancement Requirement: Build 5 Purple Equipment above LV 60.
Progress: 1 / 5
_____________________
Han Xiao exhaled, feeling much more relieved.
The first time was always the hardest, much the same as forgiveness. After the first time, there would always be the second and third, and sooner or later, one would become used to it.
I should be able to advance my class in this month, Han Xiao estimated.
Without looking at the interface, Han Xiao was already very familiar with the attributes of purple equipment. Starting from blue, quality would gradually make a bigger difference in the attributes of an equipment. The basic attributes of a purple equipment would be 20% to 30% higher than a blue equipment. The damage of the purple compounded magnetic chain split blades was a lot higher than the blue ones, and the attribute difference would be even greater if it had even better quality.
After replacing the purple equipment with the blue one that he had equipped, Han Xiao went to take a look at the result of the Extraction Device.
Two tons of crystals became a small pile of rhombus-shaped, light-blue crystals, each crystal being about half a palm in size. The original ore had been filled with cracks and messy lines, but the product after extraction was clear and transparent. Light passed through the crystal unobstructed and refracted within, like there was a mini sun in the crystal.
_____________________
Low-Class Energy Crystal: Contains non-elemental pure energy that can be converted and extracted.
_____________________
Energy crystals were most commonly used in magic civilizations and crystal civilizations. It was also the source of food for some creatures.
Han Xiao nodded. He had yet to think of another way to make use of the energy crystal other than to use it as an energy source. The Mage class had more ways to use the energy crystal.
I shall store it for now. There are Shadow Stalker Viper’s eggs in the warehouses that can be cultivated. Manually feeding them waste materials should create another way to make energy blocks, Han Xiao thought. Cultivating beast eggs required a professional, and Emerald Grass was just right for the task.
…
Stars filled the sky.
On the Stardragon border, a black heavy helicopter landed slowly, its rotors blowing the weeds in all directions.
A few Stardragon special force soldiers lugged a person by their arms down from the chopper with serious expressions on their faces. This person was wearing a metal eye patch and a bandage. She had dry, messy hair that had not been taken care of for a very long time, and her lips were pale and cracked. The bottom half of the face showed it was a female.
“Sir, she’s here.” The special unit soldier saluted the officer who was waiting on the side.
“Confirm her body status, make sure she doesn’t wake up,” Feng Jun said. He was in charge of this exchange. This woman was Emerald Grass, a serial criminal whom they had bailed out of Bell of Death Island overnight.
“Don’t worry,” the doctor said, “I injected a large dose of tranquilizer into her. She’s in a deep sleep now.”
“Confirm it again.”
Feng Jun looked down at his watch. The agreed time of exchange was nearing, so he was nervous. Not only did he have to complete the assigned mission of exchange, but he also had to gain some information of Han Xiao’s current status.
He wondered who would be coming for the exchange and whether that person would give him some face. Although Feng Jun knew Han Xiao, it was because he knew Han Xiao’s personality that he was not very confident.
Seconds and minutes passed. They waited silently. The sound of the wind blowing lightly across the grass and the buzz from insects were the only sounds they could hear. The atmosphere became more tense together with the emotions of the people.
Whoosh—
It was the sound of rotors cutting through the air. Feng Jun regained focus and looked up.
A helicopter approached from the night sky. The indicator lights flashed in the code pattern, and Feng Jun immediately told someone to reply. After exchanging the signals, Feng Jun gave a quick scan but did not find any organization’s symbol on the chopper.
However, although it was unknown, Feng Jun could see that Han Xiao had joined another organization. He felt heavy-hearted.
“Where’s the person?” A man in mask hopped down from the chopper.
Feng Jun waved his hands, and the team behind him brought Emerald Grass forward. The masked man opened a laptop and confirmed it was the right person before carrying Emerald Grass onto the chopper. The helicopter took off immediately after. The entire process took little more than a minute. Feng Jun did not have a chance to communicate—he could only watch the helicopter fly away helplessly.
Feng Jun took out his phone and called Gu Hui to report the process.
“He did join another organization after all, and it’s because this organization hid him that we were not able to find him,” Gu Hui pondered. “What organization could it be?”
…
On the helicopter, the masked man unlocked Emerald Grass’s metal eye patch and bandage.
Suddenly, the supposedly asleep Emerald Grass opened her eyes and stared at the masked man. Neither said a word—they just stared at each other for half a minute. Emerald Grass looked down. She slit open the flesh on her arm, picked out a bloody wiretap device, and casually crushed it to pieces.
She had not been asleep at all. As a Pharmacist, how could she not have trained her drug resistance? Thus, tranquilizers were completely useless on her, but she had concealed that throughout all her years of imprisonment.
“What did they exchange me for?” Emerald Grass asked calmly. It did not feel like she was in danger at all; it was like talking to an old friend even though she did not know the masked man at all.
“Some intelligence.” The masked man looked at Emerald Grass with interest.
“Cheap.” Emerald Grass frowned in dissatisfaction. “Are you interested in my ability to make drugs?”
“Whatever do you mean?” the masked man asked playfully.
“You wouldn’t be interested in any of my other abilities other than this,” Emerald Grass said coldly. “You’re too strong after all.”
A few days ago, when the Bell of Death Island guards injected tranquilizer into her and brought her onto the chopper, Emerald Grass already knew that she had become a bargaining chip, and she finally saw an opportunity to escape.
While she maintained the disguise of being asleep, she had heard the conversation between the escort team and knew a meeting would be carried out. Emerald Grass had planned to use her own abilities to escape after the meeting, regain her freedom, and never be controlled again.
Emerald Grass’s ability was controlling plants within a certain range; therefore, her instincts were very sharp. The feeling the masked man gave off was like a beast hidden under the skin of a man, ready to consume its prey anytime. He felt even more dangerous than when the Stardragon special unit soldiers pointed their guns at her head during the escort. Emerald Grass immediately knew that there was no chance to escape, so she gave up the idea of resisting.
“I was going to escape, but it looks like that would be suicide,” Emerald Grass said honestly.
Han Xiao pulled off his masked and smiled. “You’re very wise.”
Han Xiao had disguised himself for this meet-up and taken a chopper over himself. He knew full well that Emerald Grass was not ordinary, and sending anyone else would have been a risk. Thus, it was best for him to go himself.
As expected, Emerald Grass had hidden something. If he did not go, she would most likely have escaped. Emerald Grass had a very calm temperament; she was not surprised at all when something unexpected happened. She was very obviously suitable for scientific research as she would never be afraid of accidents happening during experiments.
“What do you need me to do?” Emerald Grass asked.
“I will tell you when we are there.” Han Xiao casually took out a device and scanned to see if there was any other wiretap on Emerald Grass’s body, at the same time contemplating about how to have Emerald Grass work and stay in the sanctuary willingly. Although he had Emerald Grass under his control temporarily, he did not think that Emerald Grass would give up on escaping in the future if there was to be a chance, and he could not monitor her at all times.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The helicopter carried the two toward Sanctuary Three.
During the journey, Emerald Grass was very quiet, like she had accepted her fate. The imprisonment on Bell of Death Island had made her familiar with the feeling of not having freedom; it was just going from one cell to another for her, and at least her treatment would be better here with this man called Black Phantom than when she was on Bell of Death Island.
Black Phantom, never heard of such person, Emerald Grass thought. She had been imprisoned for many years and had very limited knowledge of the changes happening in the world outside. She looked through the events that had happened in the recent years in her laptop and realized that the name Black Phantom had first appeared half a year ago.
Unbelievable.
In only half a year, this name had risen to fame like a shooting star. His strength was more terrifying than the highly dangerous serial criminals on Bell of Death Island, and those were all renowned serial criminals.
There was one piece of information that gave Emerald Grass a huge shock; the Germinal Organization that had been extremely strong before she was imprisoned had been forced onto the path of destruction!
And the reason for that was just an ordinary traitor!
When she saw this piece of intelligence, Emerald Grass could barely believe her own eyes, and she only digested this information after a very long silence.
Her emotions were mixed, and it all turned into a sigh in the end.
The world was changing constantly. After a few years of imprisonment, the outside world had become completely different.
Also, what the hell was this ‘Inhuman’ described in the intelligence?
Sanctuary Three was coming into sight, so Emerald Grass put down the laptop and looked out the window. Surprise flashed on her face. “So that construction area is the place we’re going to. Black Phantom Sanctuary Three… What is a sanctuary?”
Han Xiao gave a faint smile and said, “You still have much more to catch up on.”
“I know.” Emerald Grass nodded. She flicked her messy hair and said softly, “It’s safe here, right?”
Han Xiao did not reply. He pointed at his eyes then at Sanctuary Three, implying that she should look for herself. Emerald Grass searched the keyword ‘sanctuary’ on the internet for intelligence, and after some time, she got a rough idea. “Turns out it’s the Dark Net’s plan. I didn’t expect this hidden huge organization to surface and even received funding from the Six Nations. The purpose is very pure, isn’t it? Indeed, there is no place safer.”
Looking down from the plane, the Graymetal Ruins had experienced a complete makeover. A new area was marked out from the ruins, players and engineering teams dashed across like ants, and various types of engineering machines made buzzing sounds. The abandoned buildings, bridges, roads, and such had all been demolished in order to construct new buildings. The atmosphere was completely fresh. A small half of the tall concrete wall had already been completed, and countless players climbed up and down for construction.
The helicopter lowered itself onto the parking spot.
Having received notice long ago, Huang Yu came up to Han Xiao, talking rapidly about the things that had happened when Han Xiao was not around. Most of it was cumbersome matters, but Huang Yu had taken care of all of them very neatly. He was indeed suitable as an assistant and secretary.
Emerald Grass looked left and right, then stopped at Han Xiao, and said with surprise, “Didn’t think you’re actually the leader of this sanctuary. No wonder you need me.”
Han Xiao did not agree or deny it; he gave Huang Yu a few words of encouragement and took Emerald Grass to the frozen warehouse.
After looking at a large amount of Shadow Stalker Viper materials, Han Xiao described the task then stared at Emerald Grass, waiting for her reply.
Emerald Grass pondered for two minutes before nodding.
“Shadow Stalker Vipers’ brains, kidneys, gall bladders, mitral valves, and tailbones are all drug materials suitable for creating steroids and hormone drugs. Their eggs have a substance that aids in bone growth and metabolism and can be extracted to create very effective healing potions.
“Since you have so many monster eggs, I can try to cultivate a Shadow Stalker Viper herd. You also mentioned that feeding them high energy waste can create radiation crystals. This is a renewable resource…”
Emerald Grass turned very professional when she talked about what she was good at, and she talked with more confidence, almost in a despising tone since she was so confident in her knowledge and skills of her field.
“What and what?” Han Xiao did not hear clearly and was very confused.
Emerald Grass rolled her eyes—her expression was like telling Han Xiao to leave these kinds of professional matters to the professionals, and Han Xiao should not interfere since he had no knowledge of the field.
Compared to the cold feeling that Emerald Grass gave off earlier, her expression was now livelier, like she had noticed that the situation she was in was not bad after all, which made her feel relieved and stop putting on a disguise that rejected everyone with her coldness.
“That substance you mentioned sounds very valuable. I’ll leave you to it.” Han Xiao nodded with his hands behind his back, looking like he totally knew what Emerald Grass was talking about. Emerald Grass laughed before hurriedly suppressing her laughter.
“Huang Yu, come!” Han Xiao yelled. Huang Yu, who was waiting to the side, ran over immediately. Han Xiao pointed at Emerald Grass and said, “This is a Pharmacist I’ve hired. Arrange a room for her.”
Huang Yu nodded. He brought Emerald Grass to an exquisite residence, then followed Han Xiao’s orders, and gave her some information about the sanctuary.
The room was new and rather large, or at least much larger than the cell she used to be in.
Emerald Grass lay on the bed and let out a moan of comfort.
After years of sleeping in that iron-framed bed, she finally could sleep on this soft mattress—it was like sleeping on a pile of cotton, and her entire body was sinking.
Huang Yu stood at the door awkwardly. Emerald Grass totally ignored him while doing this, and he did not know whether he should stay or leave. He knocked the door frame and coughed. “Rest well. I shall leave now.”
Emerald Grass took out the documents and started browsing after Huang Yu left, her eyes twinkling.
“Tens of thousands of undead Inhumans are gathered in the sanctuary. I will not have to worry about the number of test subjects. There will be no infections, and there will not be another plague. How perfect. The sanctuary is also free and safe. Maybe staying here for a while won’t be so bad. After all, I need time to digest the changes in the outside world.”
…
Han Xiao leaned on the chair in the office and stared at the laptop on the table. It was the image of real-time surveillance of Emerald Grass’s room.
Emerald Grass had history and was not trustworthy, so Han Xiao had back up plans. He had placed a few hidden cameras in the walls of the room and monitored everything Emerald Grass did, including what Emerald Grass was doing then.
Han Xiao squinted and thought, Her actions were very different before. She was calm and cold when she boarded the plane, but she showed her side of being a woman just now. It might be to create an illusion of her feeling safe to clear my doubts.
He was doubtful for a reason. The Emerald Grass in his memories was a liberal who did not bow to any organization. She did things her own unique way and was unpredictable. Han Xiao was cautious because he knew how important Emerald Grass would be in version 2.0.
There were also other benefits to Emerald Grass joining in. The players could do missions for her in exchange for her guidance and advance their class into Pharmacist. With her joining in, it was another step forward for Han Xiao’s plan of making a ‘Players Main City’.
To create a main city for the players, NPCs with all kinds of functions were a necessity.
“Your Excellency, I have already arranged her…”
At this time, Huang Yu walked in to report the situation. He took a few steps forward and saw the image on the laptop screen. He stopped the sentence, and the look in his eyes became weird.
Seems like I discovered something extraordinary!
Is… is this what they call a peeper?
Could this be the boss’ unknown hobby?
Will I be killed‽
Huang Yu took a quick step backward and looked down at the floor, acting like he had not seen anything at all.
Han Xiao clearly knew that Huang Yu had misunderstood him; he shook his head but did not bother to explain.
Let it be a misunderstanding then, the Great Mechanic Han has never cared about what others think.
“Don’t tell anyone,” Han Xiao said.
Huang Yu thought that Han Xiao did not want anyone to know about his weird hobby, so he nodded rapidly.
…
Emerald Grass was always very efficient. She started work almost immediately.
The players did not know that he had a deal with Stardragon secretly, and the efficiency of the information flow between players and NPCs was very low. However, Han Xiao required Emerald Grass to wear a mask and hide her identity just in case. It was not the best time to show their identity, and Han Xiao wanted to be steady for as long as possible.
Due to the difference in information, the players were at a disadvantage when it came to their sensitivity toward pieces of intelligence. Without missions or a storyline introduction, they would have no idea what type of information the organizations needed, and they would also not know how the organizations operated. Most players were busy doing missions, making money, and getting equipment. Also, with their player mentality, they would not chat too much with the NPCs, which meant that there was an even smaller chance of their conversation mentioning other NPCs.
Since it was for safety reasons, Emerald Grass did not have any problems with it.
Emerald Grass created many kinds of drugs with a very high quantity. Han Xiao took the healing agents and steroids with the best quality and allowed Emerald Grass to sell the rest of the drugs with lower quality to the players, which showed the ‘multiple functionalities’ of the sanctuary to the players.
There was always a high demand for drugs on the market. They were usually expensive to limit the players from using drugs excessively to win battles.
Despite that, players still had a very high demand for these drugs. The appearance of Emerald Grass made a lot of players content.
The message spread very quickly—all the players knew that there was a new NPC in the sanctuary who sold drugs, so a lot of players came and bought from Emerald Grass.
Emerald Grass was very curious about the Inhumans. She realized that the players were the best test subjects, and they were all very easy to talk to. As long as she asked them for help, they would almost always agree. She also did not have to worry about the consequences of failure—they were indeed perfect test subjects. Emerald Grass was like a fish in water; she enjoyed staying there even more.
Sanctuary Three was a good place.
Han Xiao still had the drugs that he had robbed from Louis Research Institution, but he did not plan on selling them any time soon. They were all of extremely high quality, and they would have much better effects when the level of the players became higher. Then he could sell them for a good price.
Thinking about Louis Research Institution, Han Xiao realized a small problem—the institution should know that Black Phantom was the one that robbed them by now, but they had not done anything about it.
“Looks like they are afraid because of my name. They don’t dare take revenge, so they decided to hold their indignation in,” Han Xiao sneered.
Organizations that knew their place were the best—a lot of small troubles would be avoided, and he did not have to destroy them.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Twenty days had passed since the start of Sanctuary Three’s construction.
The West City Area and North City Area of Graymetal Ruins had been modified into temporary sanctuary areas with the completed basic layout, including walls, power plants, residential areas, electricity network, and all the basic facilities.
Han Xiao’s [Sanctuary Three] main storyline mission that had thirteen construction requirements and a three month target now only had three uncompleted.
There were still ten days until one month—he would easily complete it within the period.
In that case, the mission would be completed sixty days in advance. According to the multiplier, the reward would be multiplied six times!
There was no such thing as too much experience for Han Xiao; he would never let such an opportunity slip through his fingers.
What would be completed within a month was only the basic layout. The overall requirement of the main storyline mission [Sanctuary Three] was to build a completed sanctuary three, so there was still a long way to go.
The good thing was, once the progress followed the right path, he did not have to care too much about the construction anymore. However, he had never actually cared anyway.
With Huang Yu’s help, it was easy for Han Xiao.
For the sake of more credit, Huang Yu was extremely diligent to showcase his usefulness so that by the time reward were distributed according to the amount of contributions one had made, he would receive a lot of credit.
The assistant whom Bennett had sent was indeed quite capable. At least, Han Xiao had been satisfied with Huang Yu’s efficiency till now; he took care of everything very well.
The only bad thing about it was that Huang Yu was a man, not pleasing to the eye at all.
As the saying goes, when there’s something to do, the secretary will do it; when there’s nothing to do, do the secretary.
Han Xiao had only heard of that saying. Unfortunately, he had never been part of it. He still remembered the owner of the small store below his house. The single old man that kept telling him how many CEOs he knew and how sexy their secretaries were. For the sake of the five percent off that Han Xiao received, he did not expose those lies.
The single old owner had dreamt of the luxurious lifestyle full of women, and in his eyes, even a fart from a beautiful lady had a flower-like fragrance. Every time he talked to Han Xiao about this topic, Han Xiao would always show his contempt and tell the owner that this was not a noble lifestyle one should wish for—it would be better for the owner to refill his stocks and stop buying fake instant noodles. Every time that Han Xiao ate the instant noodles bought from him, there were no seasoning packages, and he had to chew them dry!
Anyway, other than the assistant not being pleasant to the eyes, everything else in the sanctuary was going well.
According to the discussion on the forums, there were currently 60,000 players working in Sanctuary Three; it was livelier than a street market.
There were about 130,000 to 150,000 players in the entire Southern Continent, so almost half had gathered in Sanctuary Three. Its popularity was not hard to imagine.
There were a lot of players but only a little more than 2,000 wanderer residents. With the harsh environment of Karst, there were not many wanderers.
To achieve the ‘Players’ Main City’ plan. there had to be enough number of NPCs to provide functionalities to the city. The [Sanctuary] main storyline missions could only attract the players for so long, and as soon as the sanctuary was completed, the players would all be gone if there was nothing to attract them to stay.
All good things must come to an end.
Han Xiao wanted the players to be attracted to the sanctuary.
Therefore, he had to largely increase the residents of the sanctuary, and with more important people like Emerald Grass to provide unique functions, the sanctuary would provide more uses to the players.
The most direct way to increase the population was to migrate people from other large colonies. Han Xiao thought of Lu Cheng, Alumera, and such right away, he put this all into consideration.
…
Clank!
Metal finger blades and a retractable knife clashed and pushed against each other. The weapon vibrated and made squeaking sounds.
In the small empty square, Frenzied Sword, who had metal claws on his arms, was fighting with Hao Tian, who waved the retractable knife. Bun-hit-dog watched the two pro players spar, but he did not record due to privacy reasons.
Further away, Han Xiao leaned against the recliner chair casually and observed their fight.
Both Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian were pro players, and to hone their skills, they instantly agreed to spar with each other. After sparring once, it was like a fire that could not be put out. They sparred dozens of times a day. The professional league was drawing close, and the pro players had to prepare for it.
Between LV 20 to 40 was the time when PVP was most popular. PVP between players could be seen all around the sanctuary, and it negatively impacted the security measures.
Han Xiao immediately gave an order that sparring was not allowed in the safe areas within the sanctuary, but they could go to the ruins if they wanted to fight each other, and no one would care. If they went there, they might even help to demolish the old buildings.
Only a safe area could be considered as a main city.
The two pro players finally stopped after a long fight, with Frenzied Sword at a slight loss.
It was normal in the early stages for a Mechanical Pugilist to lose to a Pugilist that specialized in close range combat. They would have their own specialties once their level was higher.
In the hundred or so times they sparred, Frenzied Sword did not win even once, but Hao Tian did not look down on Frenzied Sword because of that. Rather, he was shocked.
“You have a lot of potential, very suitable to battle in the pro scene,” Hao Tian encouraged. Hao Tian believed in Frenzied Sword. Being able to fight against an extremely experienced god player like himself was a clear indication that Frenzied Sword had a lot of potential. Furthermore, Frenzied Sword was still relatively new to E-Sports.
Although Hao Tian was cold, it was because he focused on honing his gaming skills. He would always be joyful upon meeting players that were highly skilled, and he felt a sense of similarity toward Frenzied Sword.
Frenzied Sword scratched his head. Not only was he not frustrated by losing to God Hao at all, he had actually learned a lot of techniques and felt more controlled during combat. He noticed that he did indeed have a lot of potential in close range combat. Han Xiao had made a very accurate deduction and given him the right advice.
The weapons that Frenzied Sword was using were called Leopard Mechanical Claws. It was a cold weapon blueprint that Han Xiao had received from fusing knowledge.
Leopard Mechanical Claws were similar to the mechanical arms. They had an exoskeleton structure that covered the forearms, and the various finger parts were equipped with claw-like blades. Through the activation of the gears within, the blades would spin rapidly, which could easily cut through metal plates that are one centimeter thick.
Han Xiao had built this equipment especially for Frenzied Sword. Frenzied Sword was the first player to follow him, and they had known each other since the closed beta, being rather reliable the whole time. Han Xiao had made plans for Frenzied Sword’s Mechanical Pugilist path—Leopard Mechanical Claws were suitable for Frenzied Sword at the current levels, and they had even stronger power than the light mechanical arms at close range.
Once Frenzied Sword was at a higher level, Han Xiao planned to build Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor for Frenzied Sword. Such equipment would make Frenzied Sword stand at the top of the players, and Frenzied Sword would be able to do more things for him once he was stronger.
Hao Tian was a Pugilist. Han Xiao did not have any arrangements for him, letting him go with the flow.
Maple Moon had chosen to become a Mechanic, and she was very interested in building. She even did missions for Emerald Grass and wanted to advance class into a Pharmacist. She also offered to take over the missions to take care of Bear Cub, which saved Hao Tian from hell. In fact, she was walking Bear Cub at that moment.
As for Bun-hit-dog… Han Xiao had very low requirements for him. Reports just had to be able to run fast.
Bun-hit-dog had released another video recently that introduced Sanctuary Three. It had received quite good feedback on the forums, and he deserved part of the credit for contributing to the sanctuary’s reputation.
In recent days, the pro players that accepted the hidden storyline missions from Han Xiao had completed their missions one by one. Han Xiao had noticed a few suitable candidates and placed them onto his possible spare tire list. Han Xiao had no plans to expand his spare tire team temporarily—his resources were just right for four players. There would be some trouble if there were more.
Ding dong.
While Han Xiao sat causally under the sun, a message appeared on the laptop on his lap.
Han Xiao moved his fingers and clicked open the message. Instantly, he sat straight up, and his expression became very serious.
It was a very short message, but it signified the beginning of a storm.
“The Six Nations have started their expedition!”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the four lands of Planet Aquamarine, the Six Nations controlled the Southern, Northern, and Western Continents. The land of Andrea in the middle had once been the main battlefield of the old era, and it was heavily polluted, filled with radiation, desertified, and abandoned. The Germinal Organization had occupied it and made it into their headquarters.
The intelligence about the Germinal Organization that Han Xiao had sold half a year ago had shocked the Six Nations, and the bases that the Germinal Organization had operated for years had all been destroyed. The Germinal Organization had been using these bases to threaten the Six Nations all these years, and now that they had been destroyed, the Six Nations had nothing to fear anymore. So, they finally decided to make the Germinal Organization pay.
The expedition began.
A war did not start out of nowhere, especially one that involved almost the entire planet. The fires of war would only start once the military power and resources had arrived at the battlefield.
After a few months of preparation, the expedition finally started on Galaxy Calendar year 688, 16 September.
More than a dozen large navy divisions left their military port simultaneously. With the carrier as the core, countless escort ships and destroyers with tens of thousands of soldiers on board marched forward.
The Six Nations have discussed the strategic layout for their joint combat. The General Commander for the Navy was Lin Lin from Raylen, a pure soldier without any political biases, experienced and steady, the person that was agreed by all the highest ranked officials of the Six Nations. Lin Lin commanded the navy to attack Andrea from various directions for a full invasion.
The Germinal Organization had also planted defensive measures and military power along the coastline with the navy and air force to protect their control of the coastlines.
The first wave of battle was missiles.
The Germinal Organization engaged first and sent out their long-range missiles, wanting to destroy the Six Nations’ navy before they entered their vision range. However, the missiles were destroyed midair by the anti-missile systems of the aircraft carriers. The aircraft carriers returned the favor and fired missiles back at Andrea. Similarly, the Germinal Organization was saved by their land-based anti-missile devices.
Firing missiles at each other did not have any results, so the direction of the battle still depended on the results of real combat.
The fleets engaged each other violently on the seas of Andrea. The two armies fought against each other, explosions erupted continuously on one battleship after another, and there were ships sinking all the time.
Although the main focus of large battlefields was the various war machines, the impact of superhumans could not be ignored. Without precautions, a strong superhuman could slaughter an entire ship of soldiers and destroy a battleship from the inside single-handedly. The existence of superhumans brought a lot of uncertainties to the battlefield, but luckily, the power difference between the Germinal Organization’s executive officers and Six Nations’ superhumans was not very large—they both suffered wounds and restrained each other.
As the main storyline of the great war had been brought forward because of Han Xiao, the players that joined the expedition missions could only watch and did not have much of a chance to join in with the sea battle.
Their level was way too low. They would not have had any impact if they engaged; they would only have died.
The navy commander on the Germinal Organization’s side was a high ranked sea battle commander of a long dead nation. The fleet of the Germinal Organization was fierce like wolves under his control, but the Six Nations held their ground very firmly like they clearly knew the Germinal Organization’s strategies. Thus, the Germinal Organization’s fleet suffered huge losses.
On the southern battlefield, Stardragon’s ‘Long Star’ and ‘Flying Dragon’ fleet tore the Germinal Organization’s formation open. Hesla’s ‘Scorching Sun’, ‘Plundering Bird’, and ‘Sharp Spear’ fleets headed straight in and destroyed the islands that provided resources to the Germinal Organization’s fleets. The other four nations also had their own strategies on their side of the battlefield.
Han Xiao had given a lot of information to Stardragon before the war started, and the Six Nations had an advantage because of this information.
It was because of Han Xiao’s intelligence that they could take the lead in the battle, and the high ranked officials of the nations did not forget that.
The navy commander of the Germinal Organization’s ship was sunk during the sea battle. The cannons had turned him into pieces, and the vice commander, Anther, immediately took over as commander.
In the face of the Six Nations’ siege, Anther could not stand his ground and lost a large area of the sea within just three days, eventually giving up the coastline control and moving the troops back to the land for defense. The Germinal Organization was going to use their home advantage in Andrea to fight against the Six Nations.
After gaining control of the coastline, the Six Nations locked down the seas nearby. The fleets surrounding Andrea were equipped with pervasive sonar detectors that prevented the submarine attack or escapes. Like a huge net, the entire land of Andrea was surrounded. The Germinal Organization had nowhere to flee to.
The aircraft carriers became moving air force bases and challenged the Germinal Organization’s control of the sky as they fought against the Germinal Organization’s air forces. Nuclear bombs were the last resort, and they would not be used unless there was no other choice.
The transport ships dropped off the ground troops on the coastline.
The ground troops of the Six Nations had finally put their feet on Andrea.
The ground war had started.
The result of the ground battle could largely impact the ending result of the war, and according to the intelligence provided by Han Xiao, they just had to destroy these military bases that were equipped with anti-missile devices. Then, their aircraft carriers would be able to fire missiles and utilize their destructive powers. The Germinal Organization would soon be defeated.
Without anywhere to flee, the Germinal Organization would only lose more territory as the war went on, and their only ending would be death. If the Germinal Organization wanted to change the situation, they had to think of other ways. The commanders of the Six Nations were sure that the Germinal Organization had hidden strategies, and they were both trying to figure out each other’s aces.
Anyone could see that the Germinal Organization was at a huge disadvantage. The Six Nations held councils of war internally many times and came to a conclusion that the Germinal Organization had close to no chance of winning. The only thing that they had to be cautious of was the ‘Hand of Death’ system that Han Xiao had told them of, the Germinal Organization’s last resort.
To get rid of nuclear threats, the Six Nations sent special agents and infiltrated the various military bases that controlled nuclear weapons according to Han Xiao.
…
In the Germinal Organization’s explosion-proof, underground headquarters, the situation of the war was being presented to the leader.
The high ranked officials of the Germinal Organization were depressed. It was only the start of the war, yet the situation had been continuously heading toward their loss. The Germinal Organization indeed had no chance against the Six Nations on paper, but they still had certain strategies, which should have had a surprising impact on the ground war.
In Han Xiao’s previous life, the Germinal Organization and Six Nations had been on par during the start of the war. The Germinal Organization had been able to divert the Six Nations’ attention with their bases across the continents. Their military power on the actual battlefield had been nearly equal.
But now, the Germinal Organization had been wounded by Han Xiao—victory seemed to have favored the Six Nations so much that there was close to no chance of changing it. The situation was completely different to his previous life.
All of this was the impact from a tiny butterfly, Han Xiao!
Nobody knew how they could win the war, but the calmness on the leader’s face made everyone believe he had a way.
“Port of Holm, Aviary, and Temefa… all of the thirteen ports are lost. The Six Nations have been sending their ground troops to the shores non-stop. From the North, Raylen and Theseus are attacking the Sunset Valley base and Black Tree base. If these bases are lost, we will lose part of the missile launchers. The other four nations are pushing in steadily, and the guarding division lead by Bark and Mu Haishan had been defeated. They are marching toward the important bases. The goal of the enemy is very clear; they are aiming at our bases equipped with missile launchers and anti-missile devices. They even know the detailed information of these bases. They definitely have very key intelligence of ours,” the commander reported with sweat all over his head.
“It’s Zero,” the leader said so calmly that it was almost scary. He was used to it.
This result further proved his speculation of Han Xiao having predicting abilities. Zero would always be the biggest threat to the organization as long as he was alive. Intelligence would only be useful when there was enough power to make use of it, and unluckily for them, Zero danced between the Six Nations and used their power.
Unfortunately, the Germinal Organization could not do anything about it. Zero was like a mouse that was always hiding. They could only hope that the prediction from Destiny’s Child would be true, and Zero would come to the headquarters. The leader had countless men surrounding the headquarters—he just had to give the order, and an enormous encirclement that extended more than a thousand miles would be formed.
Nothing was overkill in order to capture Zero.
Zero’s strength was not to be taken very seriously, but there was a very high possibility that he would bring a lot of help along, and the leader was confident that no matter how much help Zero would bring along, the only ending for them would be death under this huge trap that he had planned.
As for whether or not Zero’s predictive power could predict these traps he had set, the leader had run a small experiment to test it. He had mixed up some of the military strategies and noticed that the Six Nations were unaware of these changes. From that, he knew that Han Xiao’s ‘prediction’ had limitations, or at least, it was not completely accurate. Thus, the leader had no choice but to believe in Destiny’s Child.
As a passive party, he could only wait.
The leader slammed the table with his gloved fist and said very coldly under his mask, “We would only have a chance at victory if we kill Zero.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The impact that the war had was very huge. Other than Andrea being in the flames of war, organizations all over Planet Aquamarine had their own reactions, and most of the civilians were terrified.
As Han Xiao had said in the speech that he stole from Bennett, the scars of the old era had yet to heal, but they were torn open with blood and awakened the lingering fear within people’s mind. All the high-positioned people of the society were paying a lot of attention to the war, and the lower-class people were affected as well. The goal that the Germinal Organization was promoting was to overthrow the Six Nations, and there were many remnants of dead countries all over the world that had mixed feelings.
At the same time, the brutality of war seemed infectious. Violence occurred more often everywhere around the world; robbers in the wild became more active due to the chaotic situation of the world, forcing wanderers to mass migrate. However, this was rather beneficial to the Dark Net. The sanctuary plan proved its use—all of the sanctuaries attracted a wave of residents.
Other than the Southern Continent, the players in the Western Continent and the Sanctuary that did not join the sanctuary missions had also acquired other benefits. Missions were plenty in the chaotic world, which satisfied the players’ needs.
…
_____________________
[Fall of the Germinal] current progress: 27.1%.
_____________________
The entire world was paying attention to the battle, and the Dark Net was no exception. Han Xiao, who was in Sanctuary Three, far away from the battle, was also paying attention to the information continuously. He had two sources of intelligence, one being the battle situation intelligence collected by the Dark Net, the other being the battle videos on the forums shared by the players.
It had been more than ten days since the war started. The situation kept changing. The progress of Han Xiao’s Germinal Organization main storyline that had been stagnant for a very long time suddenly shot up five percent, and it was still growing.
He shared intelligence with the Six Nations, which meant that he had contributed indirectly to the Six Nations’ achievements. Therefore, he could share a part of the overall progress.
Flames of the war filled the skies far away. Han Xiao watched the flames from Sanctuary Three, and the basic layout of Sanctuary Three was also being completed in the meantime.
The players were joyful. They were filled with pride and a sense of achievement. This was a city that they had built, and they felt a sense of belonging toward it.
Compared to the joyful players, the residents in the sanctuary were feeling down because of the atmosphere of the war. The sanctuary reaching its completion brought them some safety, but they were still mostly worried and afraid of the future.
The war affected everyone around the world; only players were unaffected.
That was because they did not have to consider the future at all.
The more chaotic the world was, the happier the players were.
Han Xiao received the short-term reward for achieving the requirements of the sanctuary main storyline. It was completed 61 days in advance; thus, he received a bonus 610% experience, totaling to 568,000,000 experience. This was the mission that had given him the most experience up till now.
There was also the reward of relationship points with the Dark Net increasing by 1,250, achieving the relationship tier of [Respect].
The overall grading of [Sanctuary Three] has also jumped from D to B, which showed that the plan had been carried out perfectly this time.
The short-term requirements did not update, which meant that there would not be any guidelines after this. In order to complete the [Sanctuary Three] mission, the entire sanctuary had to be completed. The more mission requirements that were completed, the higher the final overall grading would be.
The construction of the sanctuary was on the right track already, so Han Xiao did not have to worry about it at all. He just needed to leave it to continue the construction.
Duu—Duu—
Bennett called with a surprising tone. “The early stages of construction for Sanctuary Three is already completed‽”
Han Xiao laughed faintly and said, “Compliment me.”
Bennett was speechless. After a long pause, he finally said, “On a serious note, the progress of Sanctuary Three is already ahead of Sanctuary One. You have help from the Inhumans, so Sanctuary Three might be the first to be completed. Keep this up, I have a lot of hope for Sanctuary Three. As you know, the wilderness has not been safe since the war broke out. Wanderers have migrated in mass. Our sanctuary can be of use right now, so try to bring as many people in as possible.”
Han Xiao wrote this down on a paper and planned to give it to Huang Yu to take care of.
The high ranked officials within the Dark Net could not believe this result, saying that the progress of Sanctuary Three had already exceeded Sanctuary One, how could it make sense?
The use of Inhumans was clearly shown. The people of Dark Net received insights from Han Xiao. They planned to also hire some Inhumans as workers—this would be beneficial to the entire sanctuary plan.
Bennett said a little more before hanging up the call. He was also paying attention to the war, but he did not mention much about that topic. That was because the Dark Net was considered a neutral party—there was no need for them to join in this storm.
However, he did not know Han Xiao’s plans.
As the war breaks out, the Germinal Organization will have a hard time to even take care of themselves. I could pay them a visit. The thought flashed through Han Xiao’s mind; he had been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time.
He had three goals—one was to receive direct progress of the mission [Fall of the Germinal] and increase its completion percentage.
Another goal was to save Aurora, free Hila who would be extremely strong in the future, and hopefully create a positive relationship with Hila. He had wanted to do this for a very long time and had only been waiting for a suitable opportunity. Now was no doubt the best time to save them.
The guarding power of the Germinal Organization’s headquarters should be very low at the moment.
His third goal was related to his own growth, which also had to be completed in the Germinal Organization’s headquarters.
Han Xiao was planning to act alone, only then would it be stealthy enough. Andrea had become a battlefield now, so it would only be easy for him alone to cross the battlefield and the Germinal Organization’s security, then head to their headquarters.
His confidence came from his strength that had improved once again.
Five pieces of purple equipment lay in front of him. He had completed the class advancement mission in this month. With the first success he had, the rest had followed easily.
_____________________
Class Advancement Requirement: Build 5 Purple Equipment above level 60. Progress: 5 / 5
Class Advancement Succeed!
You have received a new class [Magnetic Ring Mechanic Lv. 1], +70 Energy, +2 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +4 Intelligence
– You have received 4 Free Attribute points
– You have received 1 Potential points
– You have learned [Advanced Machinery Affinity]!
– You have learned [Surging Mechanical Force]!
– You have learned [Electromagnetic Energy Extraction]!
– You have learned talent [Energy Modification]!
_____________________
Magnetic Ring Mechanic, also called Basic Mechanic, was where one graduated from being a trainee and pushed open the doors of the superhuman Mechanic class, looking into the beautiful scenery behind these doors.
The Magnetic Ring Mechanic’s specialty was utilizing the electromagnetic element energy into building machinery and increasing its affinity, thus improving its efficiency and quality. It was more superhuman-like.
After becoming a Magnetic Ring Mechanic, the energy of the Mechanic class would be called [Mechanical Force] and could be used in many aspects of the machinery. The newly awakened ability [Surging Mechanical Force] allowed the user to use energy to increase the power of machinery, similar to Overload, but this was a continuous ability that causes very little damage to the machinery. It was a basic use of the Mechanical Force and also a prior requirement to many advanced abilities.
[Electromagnetic Energy Extraction] was the same as [Energy Training Technique]. It was a growth ability that could increase energy. Its effect was based on the Intelligence attribute, and the only difference between them was that this skill was unique to Mechanics.
[Energy Modification] was a talent whose introduction was ‘You have discovered the key to building machinery—fuse your energy into the various building steps.’ Its effect was to increase the quality and efficiency of the machinery built based on the energy level. It was one of the specialties of Magnetic Ring Mechanics and a core talent of the Mechanic class. As an example, Han Xiao currently had a little more than 1,600 energy, which would increase his efficiency in building machinery by about 20 to 25%.
A breeze of freshness could be felt in Han Xiao’s brain, extending all over his body. A large amount of new knowledge appeared in his head. Han Xiao squinted his eyes in comfort. He could feel the clear changes of class advancement, and his control of machinery had improved once again.
New class, stronger power!
I have finally advanced class. Han Xiao clenched his fists. Excitement filled his heart. The enormous amount of experience on his interface could finally be used again.
[Magnetic Ring Mechanic] needed 3,650,000 experience to level up from Lv.1 to Lv.2, three times what was needed when leveling up [Trainee Mechanic] from Lv.14 to Lv.15. The higher the tier of the class, the more experience was needed to level up.
Without hesitation, Han Xiao immediately leveled [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] to Lv.5, spending 20,000,000 experience without blinking!
Rich!
His overall level reached 60!
One year and more than two months after he joined Galaxy, Han Xiao finally reached max level in version 1.0!
_____________________
LV 60 class advancement mission [The Ultimate Trial]: Push one’s limits during battle. Find and ascend the hierarchy of life.
Mission Requirements: Acquire 2,000 Trial Points. Current progress: 0/2000
Trial Points are gained through killing enemies. The stronger the enemies are, the more Trial Points. The harder the victory (calculated by the amount of health lost), the more the Trial Points.
_____________________
As expected, the version has no restriction on me because I’m not a player. Han Xiao had expected this long ago, but he still could not hold back his happiness.
What this meant was that as long as he completed the class advancement mission, he could become the only one on this planet to break through level 60!
He would stand on the peak of Planet Aquamarine, a place that no one could reach!
Just thinking about it made Han Xiao very excited.
His eyes looked beyond planets; it was the entire universe of Galaxy.
This type of class advancement mission requires a large amount of combat and killing. I have to first see what kind of enemies give me Trial Points. Low-level ones are out for sure. It has to be high-level strong enemies, Han Xiao thought.
Since he was going to Andrea, he could try to complete the class advancement on the way. Only the battlefield would be filled with strong enemies, and only then could he go all out.
He could damage the Germinal Organization at the same time. It was a steady but a little playful plan, just as how Han Xiao had always been.
Putting this matter aside, Han Xiao assigned the Free Attribute points, which all went to Intelligence as usual.
Afterward, he spent 25,000,000 experience to max the level of the newly acquired [Advanced Machinery Affinity] and [Surging Mechanical Force].
The tons of experience that he had stored could finally be spent on something.
Seeing the experience turning into his strength step by step, Han Xiao felt a sense of fulfillment.
Looking at the interface, his Combat Power Level grading had exceeded 2,000. He was at grade C!
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A Grade C superhuman was at the peak of Planet Aquamarine. They had stronger resistance and destructive power, and they were considered to be ‘Basic Planet Explorer Standard’ in the universe.
Achieving LV 60 would not guarantee a C grade. It also took into consideration the standard of abilities, talents, and attributes. Most of those who were level 60 in Planet Aquamarine were just at grade D+; only those like Bennett were at grade C. There were only about twenty grade C superhumans across the whole of Planet Aquamarine.
Han Xiao now stood among the very top.
He was more confident.
Since he had decided to go to the battlefield, he had to prepare for it.
After advancing his class to [Magnetic Ring Mechanic], his mechanical skills had improved another level. Han Xiao spent a few days enhancing his equipment once again and built some new machinery that might be of use.
However, he did not delay for too long as the Germinal Organization was in a dire situation and might turn Aurora into drugs any time; he had to save her as soon as possible.
After he finished his preparation, Han Xiao called Huang Yu over in the evening and said, “I have to leave for some time, about half a month most likely. You will take care of the matters in the sanctuary during this time.”
I was already the one doing that… Huang Yu did not say this sentence that he wanted to. Instead, he asked, “Your Excellency, where are you going?”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.” Han Xiao carried his equipment bag and said, “The construction of the sanctuary is on the right track. Make sure it stays that way, or you know the consequences.”
Huang Yu hastily nodded.
Han Xiao walked out of the room and toward the helipad; the helicopter was already waiting.
He observed the current situation of the sanctuary on the way. There were a lot of players, and it looked very lively. Other than the construction, the newly joined wanderer residents also hired players to do some simple jobs. The outline of the players’ main city that he had imagined could already be seen.
Han Xiao planned to act only for this rescue operation.
The Six Nations had locked down the Andrea Battlefield. If he approached as a third party he would be taken as an enemy and attacked. It was not easy to get close to the battlefield, and Han Xiao could not just close in while taking a plane like before—he had to go through the official procedures to enter the battlefield.
…
On the coastline of the Southern Continent was Stardragon Stone Port Base. Three heavy cargo planes were being checked before taking off. They had the mission of carrying important resources over the sea. In the small square beside the plane, hundreds of people in various clothing were either standing or sitting. They did not wear the uniform of Stardragon military, but they shared the same aura that they were not to be messed with. They stood in distinct groups and sized each other up.
These people were mercenaries belonging to different organizations. Mercenaries were not rare in such large-scale wars, and the Six Nations did not have any problems with hiring them.
Mercenaries were like hounds searching for the smell of blood, taking part in wars to earn themselves a fortune.
As the saying goes, people are gathered by profit and separated by profit.
Even some contract killers in Blood Pact Society wanted to be part of it. Most of the contract killers just had their names associated with the Dark Net; they were not technically subordinates and were not under Dark Net’s command.
There were many superhumans among mercenaries. These were the power that the Six Nations needed; there was no such thing as too many superhumans. The party taking the lead in the war would receive help from all over the world, and using this help effectively could further expand one’s advantages. The situation of the ground combat between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization was rigid. A large number of super soldiers that the Germinal Organization had produced gave quite some trouble to the ground troops of the Six Nations, so this was the time when they needed more manpower.
There were thousands of battlefields of various scales across Andrea. The places where the mercenaries would be most useful was in comparatively smaller battles as well as in carrying out strategic missions. Quality was more important than quantity.
These mercenaries were taking the cargo plane toward Andrea. They were chatting among themselves at the moment. Most of them were undisciplined, rough men who were acting rowdily. The Stardragon soldiers standing in their guarding positions on the side were annoyed by this behavior, but they were not allowed to scold these mercenaries as an order from above.
Surrounded in a noisy environment, Qin Yuan crossed his arms and looked at the surroundings.
The Blades, Goats, and Ice Sculpture Mercenary Organizations… Tsk tsk, seems like quite a number of people came, all wanting to earn a fortune during the war. Even the killers are here, and the most renowned ones here are Crowell from the Wasps and Ghost-level killer ‘Scattered Shadow’ from the Blood Pact Society, Qin Yuan thought mockingly.
Qin Yuan was a small time famous mercenary. The mercenaries organization that he belonged to was also the top among the others. He received a lot of attention, and there were a few others that received the same treatment as well, including Crowell and Scattered Shadow—these two killers had also proved themselves with their battle results.
Everyone in the circle knew that the Wasps Organization and the Blood Pact Society were competitors and enemies. Therefore, these two killers received the most attention. Many mercenaries wanted to watch them put on a show, but they stood in the corner and did not have any conflict at the moment.
Scattered Shadow sized Crowell up occasionally with dread in his eyes because Crowell had a bigger name. Staying cautious, Scattered Shadow was wary of Crowell.
In comparison, Crowell seemed very casual and relaxed. He closed his eyes and rested calmly, looking very confident. He ignored Scattered Shadow and felt he was above all.
Qin Yuan sized Crowell up with interest. Suddenly, he saw the Stardragon soldiers far away split open a path and allow one person in.
Another new guy. Qin Yuan looked over, but his ridiculing eyes froze and turned into shock very quickly. His mouth widened, and he became speechless for the moment.
The others looked over as well. The scene that had been noisy just a moment ago suddenly turned silent as shock appeared in everyone’s faces.
A man in black clothes slowly approached and stopped at the edges of the team, causing everyone watching to avert their gaze. Chatter filled with shock soon rippled through the crowd.
“Why is someone like him here‽”
“Black Phantom can be said to represent the Dark Net—is the Dark Net not on neutral ground anymore?”
Han Xiao stood quietly unaffected and did not say a word.
Black Phantom was a legend in the Dark Net. He immediately became the center of attention because they did not think that someone of this level would be acting together with them.
They were of totally different levels. Just by standing there, Han Xiao made these mercenaries shut their mouths in fear. The Stardragon soldiers on the side were surprised and contented to see this. Finally, they could give their eyes a break. They looked over at these mercenaries that had been lawless just moments ago.
Who told you guys to be so full of yourselves, finally learned your lesson?
Qin Yuan suddenly noticed something. He subconsciously looked at Scattered Shadow. The others have also noticed and looked over as well.
Blood Pact Society was also a member of the Dark Net.
Scattered Shadow did not think that he would meet a legend from the same organization here. He wanted to approach Han Xiao and strike up a conversation, but he was afraid of being despised. His eyes were filled with a mix of respect and hesitation. Nonetheless, the arrival of Han Xiao made him feel much safer and more confident. He stared at Crowell with taunting in his eyes like he was going to look for trouble.
Damn it, why is he here too? Crowell’s back was completely soaked in cold sweat. The calmness he had earlier on was long gone. Seeing the provocative look in Scattered Shadow’s eyes, he immediately turned away and did not look back. He then walked into the crowd and decided to be a coward.
Scattered Shadow felt very relieved and relaxed; it was the first time he had felt so good by making use of the fear others had for someone other than himself.
Under the strange atmosphere, seconds felt like years to everyone present. Then, finally, the plane was ready, and the Stardragon soldiers announced that it was time to start boarding. The next moment, like everyone had made an agreement, they split open a path, and at the end of it was the confused Han Xiao.
Qin Yuan coughed and said respectfully, “Please… please go first.”
Well, this is quite a good treatment. Am I that scary? Han Xiao shook his head, carried his equipment bag, and boarded the plane before anyone else. He casually found a seat and sat down. The others only then heaved a sigh of relief and boarded the plane respectively.
Whoosh!
After some turbulence, the plane took off.
The official path to go to Andrea for Han Xiao was to become a mercenary of Stardragon; this was the easiest way. The reason he had chosen to use Black Phantom’s identity and not change his face was, although the Six Nations accepted mercenaries into the war, they still would go through their records and did not allow anyone that was not trustworthy.
This Black Phantom identity of his not only did help to fight the Germinal Organization before but also belonged to the Dark Net; it was a very trustworthy identity and was approved easily. Of course, using the identity of Black Phantom would impact the Dark Net’s firm neutral ground negatively, but these were all small problems in Han Xiao’s eyes.
He actually had another choice, which was to change face and replace another mercenary then board the plane secretly, but he felt that he did not need to go against the rules if he could enter through an official channel.
The phone in his pocket started vibrating. Han Xiao took it out, and it was a call from Bennett.
He picked up the call, and the next moment, Bennett’s scream almost broke his eye drums.
“Come back now!”
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Han Xiao moved the phone further away from his ear, before picking his ears with his pinky and saying unhappily, “Lower your voice.”
“Why didn’t you discuss with me?” Bennett said furiously. “You represent the Dark Net; joining the war means we have lost our neutral ground. The impact behind this…”
Han Xiao covered the speaker and looked around at all the mercenaries who were eavesdropping with a warning in his eyes. The seats in the cargo plane were opposite each other, so everyone saw the look on Han Xiao’s face. They were all confused as to how they messed with him.
Qin Yuan was the first to react. He immediately took out earplugs and placed them in his ears. The others saw this and understood as well. They all followed suit.
Only then did Han Xiao uncover the speaker, and Bennett’s nonsense finally came toward the end. He did not hear most of it, but he still replied as if he was listening all the time.
“… therefore, don’t get involved in this,” Bennett said. “The Germinal Organization will definitely lose. No matter what grudge you hold against them, there’s no need for you to settle it yourself.”
“This is a private matter,” Han Xiao replied.
“Of course! How can it not be a private matter‽” Bennett yelled furiously.
“The Germinal Organization can’t even take care of themselves anyway,” Han Xiao said. “Isn’t it good to make use of the opportunity? Neutral standings aren’t important in the current situation anyway, so don’t worry.”
“… You didn’t actually hear any of my analysis just now did you!” Bennett was stunned.
Tsk, got found out. Han Xiao shook the phone rapidly and moved it further away while yelling, “Hello… I’m on a plane… The signal is bad…”
“You stop lying to…”
Han Xiao hung up the phone.
Bennett would definitely be unhappy with him doing this, so Han Xiao felt somewhat apologetic.
However, that did not mean that he would not do it just because Bennett was unhappy. Exterior factors would not determine his actions; he only followed his own thoughts.
Furthermore, Han Xiao was very clear that there was no meaning to whether the Dark Net maintained its neutral ground anymore. If the Germinal Organization was destroyed, Dark Net would be next on the list.
The Dark Net always seemed harmless, but no one could be sure that they would continue to be in the future.
In the previous life toward the end of version 1.0, the Six Nations expressed their intentions to suppress the Dark Net. Now that the Germinal Organization had met their demise two years in advance and the Six Nations were not as damaged, they might suppress the Dark Net at an even earlier date.
At this moment, a Stardragon commander walked into the cabin, waved his laptop, and said, “Eight hours till we arrive in Andrea. The destination is Migratory Birds Port on the south side. These are the basic situations of the southern battlefields and some missions. Take a look.”
After he finished, the people looked at up at him in confusion.
The commander was a little stunned. Should there be someone that would take the laptop from him? Holding onto the laptop and getting ignored is very awkward, okay?
Qin Yuan realized something. He hastily informed the others to take out the earplugs and said awkwardly, “Er, please say that again.”
After ten minutes, everyone had a laptop in their hands and was studying the information.
Han Xiao suddenly said, “Give me a map of the entire battlefield with the Germinal Organization’s territory and their basic layout.”
The commander agreed.
The territory map and the layout of the enemy was not a secret. He had received orders to pay attention to Black Phantom and satisfy any of his reasonable needs.
The reason that Stardragon treated him so well had to do with Han Xiao’s identity. In gaming terms, it was because he had high enough relationship points and legendary points.
Intelligence was also a reason that Han Xiao had entered through the official channel. It was not easy to penetrate the battlefield, and if he rushed in without any knowledge of the enemy’s strategic layout, he would most likely end up in a horrible position. The intelligence that the Six Nations had was very well rounded, and it was convenient for him to come up with an action plan.
“A lot of soldiers near the headquarters. Both ground and air are locked down…”
The Germinal Organization headquarters were made up of bases. The real core was the explosion-proof fortification hidden underground in the middle of these bases—that was Han Xiao’s target.
Han Xiao realized that there were many small gaps in the Germinal Organization’s deployment, which seemed like a chance for him to head straight into the headquarters. These gaps were not very obvious but were not too secretive.
Feels weird. Han Xiao rubbed his chins as his eyes twinkled.
…
The cargo plane landed in Andrea. The cabin doors opened, and the smell of dust and the tight war atmosphere filled the air. Countless battleships docked on the sea far away, and sound of helicopter blades passed above their head continuously. There were still burn marks from the coastline battle in this port. Stardragon soldiers passed by one after another.
Han Xiao alighted the plane along with the others. What followed next were all sorts of procedures that took two hours to complete. The mercenaries finally crossed the iron net obstruction, boarded the troop transport, and entered the battlefield area through the road. The vehicle was heading toward a battlefield on the front lines that was fighting with a Germinal Organization team in the ruins.
After getting off the plane, Han Xiao had not stopped moving. He could feel the tense atmosphere in the battlefield as he passed through the battlefield. He occasionally saw refugees in ragged clothes staggering and retreating under the soldiers’ lead. These were the wanderers in Andrea. Their life was already tough enough, and the war made it even worse.
The impact of the old era war was still affecting Andrea, the radiation pollution was still very severe, so plants and animals were rare. Many of the refugees had black yellow scars on their skin, and some of them even had tumors.
They alighted the vehicle upon arriving at the destination. Qin Yuan approached Han Xiao before the commander came.
“Your Excellency Black Phantom, we hope you can lead us.”
Mercenaries respected the strong, Han Xiao’s position was undoubted. It was the safest to act in groups on the battlefield, and it was an instinct to follow those who were strong.
Han Xiao waved his hands, picked up his equipment, and left.
Qin Yuan was stunned. He hurriedly yelled, “Where are you going? That’s the way to leaving the battlefield. Our mission is…”
Han Xiao’s voice came from far away. “I’m not interested in that mission. I’m used to acting alone.”
Everyone helplessly exchanged looks.
There was no need for him to join a team; he could just do things alone.
…
A few days later…
Scorching sun burnt the ground of Mika Town, which had originally been a colony for the wanderers. It had become a small-scale battlefield. Short and tiny buildings were destroyed, bullet shells littered on the ground, and burn marks scarred the scenery. There were still flames that had yet to go out giving out black smoke.
“Huu, Huu…”
A gasping sound appeared behind a building that was half collapsed. A few superhumans in Stardragon combat suits were hiding behind the wall and cautiously observing the surroundings. They were Pugilists cultivated by the military. With the civilization standard of Planet Aquamarine, Pugilists were the easiest to create in large numbers compared to the other superhuman classes.
“Captain, our situation is very bad. The Germinal Organization has outnumbered us. They have a small team of 200 people, 7 superhumans, and 15 super soldiers. We only have 11 superhumans left, and we are separated from each other.”
“I have requested for backup,” Fang Yun said in a low voice. “The Division 13 agents will be providing the backup as long as we can hold on for an hour.”
“An hour… there is still a group of damn Inhumans among the enemy. They are too difficult to deal with.”
At this moment, the sound of machine gun fire appeared from afar. Sounds of crying and screaming appeared but disappeared the next second.
There was still a group of refugees that did not retreat successfully in this battlefield and hid in fear. The Germinal Organization was worried that the people of Stardragon might disguise themselves as these refugees, so they killed every one of them.
“With these refugees to stall time, we won’t be discovered so soon.”
A flash of pity appeared in Fang Yun’s eyes as he nodded heavily. At this point in time, they had to make use of everything to protect themselves. The battlefield did not allow sympathy, and there was no time to care about the lives of a group of refugees.
There is no justice in war.
At the same time, in the second floor of a building, Han Xiao changed his face and put on a ragged coat to disguise as a refugee. He stayed beside the window and looked out to observe the situation outside.
This battlefield was the target that he had decided with after a few days of searching. His plan was to kill a member of the Germinal Organization here, switch to his face, and disguise as him, which would allow for easier infiltration. He had used this method before, and he planned to use it again. It would be as difficult as finding a needle in a sea to find him in this chaotic battlefield.
When he observed the battlefield deployment, Han Xiao had noticed the gaps, but he thought that since he could notice this weakness, the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization would be able to as well. It looked like a trap, so he decided to use his own method.
The risk of breaking directly into the headquarters was too huge, and Han Xiao’s destination was the underground headquarters, which would be many times harder. It was safer and stealthier to infiltrate by changing faces and identity. Even if he was exposed, they would not know his identity, and he could still switch to another face and continue infiltrating.
At this moment, a loud bang came from someone kicking open the doors downstairs. A group of people came in to search the building.
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Ta, ta, ta!
With the sound of footsteps, a pair of people headed upstairs. Han Xiao could see through the bullet holes in the walls that these people had IDs hovering above their heads.
“Unlucky, it’s a group of players.”
He was wearing his Smart Meta-Optical Mask, but although the players could not know his real identity, they could at least see that his attributes were all question marks and would immediately be cautious.
As these Germinal Organization players approached, their conversation could also be heard.
“What’s your contribution points?”
“127.”
“I have 95. There are no contribution points to killing refugees, how annoying.”
Both players of the Six Nations and Germinal Organization received battlefield missions. Killing enemies would grant them contribution points. The war between organizations should not have opened at this stage, but because of Han Xiao’s effect on the storyline, the players joined the war at a very low level, and their impact on the war was minimized.
With a loud thud, the door was kicked open. The two players walked in and saw Han Xiao in the corner.
“F*ck, another refugee.” One of them raised the gun immediately and prepared to fire. His attitude was like the person before him was equal to an ant.
Whoosh!
A few blades flew out near the ground and slashed through the two players’ necks in a flash. Blood shot out as they turned into white light and disappeared; they were killed in an instant.
These players were at around LV 20 and had about 300 HP. With Han Xiao’s abilities and talents, the damage of his purple Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was between 45 and 112, but he could deal about three times what was shown on the interface. Taking into consideration the enemies’ damage resistance and reduction, it was still a piece of cake to instantly kill the players around this level.
There were a few more players outside. Han Xiao wore his Electromagnetic Scanning Goggles and looked through the wall for their locations. He controlled the hovering blades to penetrate the wall and slash open the throat of these players. No one could react. The last thing they saw was a flash of light.
After killing all the enemies, Han Xiao returned the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades to his sleeve.
Then, Han Xiao changed to another face and left the building with a low profile. He hid in the ruins and avoided the Germinal Organization troops before finding a new house and observing the situation, waiting for an opportunity.
“Hope it’s not players again,” Han Xiao mumbled.
…
Flashes of white light appeared one after another. These players revived at the Germinal Organization battlefield revival point. They still had not realized what had happened, and their faces were filled with confusion.
“How did I die?”
“Was there a bug‽”
They looked at the combat information on their interfaces hastily
_____________________
??? has dealt 275 damage to you.
??? has dealt 267 damage to you.
You were killed by ???.
_____________________
The players were all confused
What was this ‘???’?
…
Tuk tuk tuk!
A string of bullets was being fired at a super soldier of the Germinal Organization, hitting his exoskeleton.
“These monsters are too tough.” Fang Yun threw the firearm aside and waved his fists, launching a punch. It clashed with the exoskeleton fist of the super soldier and left a dent.
Super soldiers were not as strong as normal superhumans, but the Germinal Organization had improved this technology through many experiments and were able to mass produce the super soldiers. It was quite a headache in the battlefield for the Six Nations.
Fang Yun and his team worked together and defeated this super soldier very quickly. However, the sound of battle attracted other superhumans of the Germinal Organization, and a siege battle started. It was bloody and merciless.
Fang Yun’s team members fell one after another. Fang Yun was besieged by the super soldiers. He was wounded all everywhere, and blood spilled out of his mouth as he was moving.
A team member sacrificed himself and opened up a gap in the siege. Fang Yun dashed out without hesitation and ran with all his might with people chasing behind him.
Fang Yun could not remember if he ran for ten or twenty minutes. The exhaustion and injuries were too much for him to endure. His legs softened, and he fell onto the ground. He had no strength left to even stand up, but he continued struggling and crawled forward.
Two Germinal Organization superhumans caught up. They rubbed their fists and walked toward Fang Yun with a ferocious smile on their faces.
Fang Yun clenched his teeth. These two people were the ones who had killed his team member earlier.
Both sides were building ruins, and there was nowhere to escape. Fang Yun stopped crawling and stared at the duo, squeezing every last bit of strength he had left, wanting to muster some energy and give the duo a surprise attack before he died.
They walked closer and closer, and when they were only ten meters away, a shadow appeared behind them. However, they did not notice at all and continued walking forward.
Fang Yun was stunned. The person was dressed like a refugee.
“What the…”
Blades hovered beside the refugee. With a flash of light, they penetrated these two from behind and went back and forth several times within a blink of an eye.
The faces of these two people froze. More than ten wounds appeared on their bodies the next second, and blood shot out like a fountain.
Fang Yun was completely shocked.
Two Germinal Organization superhumans had been killed instantly by a refugee!
“You…”
Before he finished his sentence, that shadow appeared in front of him, and the next moment his, vision became dark as he was knocked unconscious.
Both at about level 30.
After seeing the combat information on the interface, Han Xiao felt a sense of lamentation. Level 30 had once been a chasm that he had never been able to cross, but now, he could kill them easily.
Han Xiao avoided the face so that he could still change into their face. He first took out the items on these two people’s body, including any identification, then looked at their names and held onto them.
He pressed on his cheeks. A triangular scanning beam shot out from in between his brows and scanned the face of one of the corpses. The following moment, Han Xiao’s face became exactly the same.
He removed the clothes on the corpse and put them on. He then listened to the internal communication of the Germinal Organization troops through the headphones. They were sweeping up the rest of the Stardragon soldiers. Han Xiao pondered for a while before setting the two corpses on fire and throwing them aside. He left the Stardragon soldier alone.
Han Xiao had yet to leave when he heard a new message from the headphones.
“Attention, the enemies’ backup has arrived. There are superhumans from Division 13.”
“The enemies are too strong, fall back immediately.”
“I need backup. I’m at the West side of… fizz—”
Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. This was just the right situation for him to infiltrate.
Following the sound of cannons and guns, Han Xiao came to the battlefield. He realized that the Germinal Organization troops had been intercepted by the backup team of Stardragon. The superhumans of both sides were clashing with each other. The agents of Division 13 had a steady upper hand. The targets hit by their bullets were covered in flames and burnt—it was a huge threat that made the people of the Germinal Organization wary.
High-explosive rounds? Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. Had the high-explosive rounds that he had given Stardragon before he left still not been finished?
What he did not know was, after he left, Division 13 collected all the leftover high-explosive rounds, and after they burned three workshops trying to figure out its blueprint, they sealed them up as important resources, only giving them to their agents during very important missions.
There was not anyone that he knew among these Division 13 agents, but there were a few he might have seen once or twice. He was reminded of Li Yalin and the team. They had definitely been sent somewhere in the battlefield for missions. He wondered if they were still alive…
A Germinal Organization superhuman saw Han Xiao and yelled, “Karius, quickly come over and help!”
The unlucky guy that Han Xiao had changed into was called Karius.
This yell also made the Stardragon people notice Han Xiao and fired at him. With his fast reactions, Han Xiao hastily dodged and left a burning trail on the ground behind him.
He rarely used high-explosive rounds anymore, and he did not expect the Division 13 to still be using them. After all, they were just his leftovers.
Han Xiao did not want to be stalled, but trouble came looking for him. A Stardragon agent turned and headed his way. He dashed over, covered in flames, and took out a knife handle. It was the retractable knife that Han Xiao had built before.
“Hello Pugilist.” Han Xiao hooked his fingers. Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades flew out low on the ground and immediately slashed open the flesh of this Pugilist. He fell onto the ground the next moment while he was still charging toward Han Xiao. Han Xiao bolted over and sent him flying with a kick. He hit an SUV and the entire vehicle was turned over. This guy would probably spend half a year in bed for that injury.
The Germinal Organization soldier that had called Han Xiao’s name was stunned.
Since when was Karius so strong‽
Just as he wanted to call Han Xiao for help, he saw that Han Xiao had knocked over the people obstructing the way and hopped into a car, immediately escaping.
The people of the Germinal Organization were stunned. Then they realized what had happened and all hastily jumped up the cars to escape. They were in an extremely disadvantageous position anyway. As soon as someone started something like this, there would be people that followed.
…
The troops escaped back to the temporary base. The commander immediately yelled and questioned them. The Germinal Organization soldiers hastily explained the situation. Han Xiao also said a few words to add on. No one suspected him, or rather, they did not have the time to suspect him. This temporary base was very hectic, so after the commander finished listening to the explanation, he immediately sent the troops for other missions.
After infiltrating the camp, Han Xiao collected intelligence incautiously. His plan was to get closer to the headquarters by continuously changing his identity. The most direct targets were those troops that headed in the direction of the headquarters.
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Han Xiao was asking around until night fell, when he found out that a supply convoy had transported a large number of munitions from a resource warehouse nearer to the headquarters. That convoy would be returning in twenty minutes.
Han Xiao located one of the drivers, changed his face, and lured him out. He cracked the driver’s neck when they were alone and then changed into his face and clothes. It was troublesome to get rid of the body, so Han Xiao found a very creative and not bloody way, which was to find a player and give him the mission to get rid of the body. Although he set his identity to be unknown in the mission, the players would not care at all—the mission was accepted immediately.
Convenient, Han Xiao thought. He had a new idea—the players could be of help for his infiltration.
Although the Germinal Organization players’ loyalty was fixed, they still had the freedom to accept missions, and the Germinal Organization did not know that.
Han Xiao received an order very soon after he disguised himself as a driver—the GPS in the car showed the route, so Han Xiao simply followed the convoy and arrived at the resources warehouse half a day later. He then used the same method to gain more intelligence.
After two days, Han Xiao finally arrived at a base near the headquarters after changing his identity many times.
The group of black bases could be seen far away, occupying as much space as a medium sized city. This was the Germinal Organization’s headquarters, but Han Xiao knew that the real core area was hidden underground.
Han Xiao asked around from the soldiers there and found that it was almost impossible to enter the underground headquarters. Thus, he had to find a target with special identity.
…
Fang Yun woke up and realized that he was lying on a hospital bed in a medical tent. Around him were injured soldiers. Seeing that he was awake, the doctor walked to him and said, “I have treated your wounds. You have been unconscious for one day.”
“How’s Mika Town?”
“The backup made it in time and defeated the enemies, but some of them escaped. They are now calculating the losses.”
“Let me take a look…” Fang Yun coughed weakly. The doctor hastily handed over the water bottle. Fang Yun grabbed it and took a huge gulp before gasping for air.
As a superhuman, he was treated very well. Someone brought the battle damage statistics very soon. Fang Yun browsed through impatiently. Seeing that all his teammates were confirmed to be dead, he was filled with sorrow and rage. He flipped to the death count of the enemy, and suddenly, his pupils constricted.
“One enemy is missing,” Fang Yun realized that the person missing was Karius. The superior sent the intel on the enemies shortly after in video form. Enemies were identified through matching screenshots of the video recorded during battle with the database, and most of the superhumans in the Germinal Organization were in the database.
“That’s him. The missing guy is called Karius. I saw him die with my own eyes.”
The superior frowned and said, “But according to our witness intel, Karius escaped and is alive, and we also didn’t find his body.”
Fang Yun felt a chill up his spine. He immediately recalled that ‘refugee’.
…
In the underground headquarters of Germinal Organization, the leader was looking at the tactical map in silence.
The map was marked with red and blue areas. Red was the Six Nations’ forces, and blue was theirs. The blue was surrounded by red and was only getting smaller with time. This was the situation for the Germinal Organization; they were at a total disadvantage. However, the leader did not care about the gains of losses of these areas. He did not put all their forces into the battlefield as he was discreetly preparing for a counter attack. However, it could not be carried out yet because he had to get rid of Zero who could ‘foresee’ first, or else the exposed plan would be meaningless.
Although Destiny’s Child claimed that Zero would come to find them, the leader had to take care of some details. He purposely left some gaps in the deployment on the battlefield. Zero might take these routes if he wanted to infiltrate the headquarters, but the intel from the hidden scouts disappointed him again and again. There was no one who had infiltrated through those gaps.
The method Han Xiao used to infiltrate was unnoticed by the leader.
The longer the leader waited, the more impatient he grew. The ability to ‘foresee’ that Zero possessed was like a blade hanging on the organization’s head, and their actions were very restricted.
“Still not here…” The leader had asked the scouts as usual, but the results were disappointed once again. He started to doubt if Destiny’s Child’s claim had failed this time.
Because he really did not understand why Zero had to come to the headquarters, he could not figure out what Han Xiao’s goal was.
He never would have thought that Han Xiao’s target was Aurora. That was completely unexpected.
…
The pollution from the factories and the thick clouds painted the sky gray, and the clouds within ten miles looked like they were going to fall any time.
The surface headquarters consisted of numerous bases, vehicles travelled within, and sentinels guarded every junction to check for identifications. The main base in the middle was an enormous metal fortress with a ferocious metal tower that penetrated into the sky.
The entrance was a large alloy gate. The side gates on both sides were the human entrance, and the vehicle entrance was in the middle, more than wide enough for three tanks to enter simultaneously. Helipads were built on top of the exterior walls—helicopters took off and landed from time to time.
The entrance was very lively. Convoys were entering and leaving, and rows of guards stood on the side of the road and scanned the area to maintain safety.
One of the guards was Han Xiao in disguise. He turned his eyes and observed the surrounding environment.
The effect of the mask was outstanding. This method of infiltration was extremely stealthy. After changing his identity many times, he finally got an identity that could get him into the headquarters. In order to become a guard, Han Xiao had to patiently wait for a few days, and it went without saying what happened to the original owner of this identity; Han Xiao had never been one to have mercy in these times.
When the shift finally ended, Han Xiao followed the others into the surface headquarters. It was huge and spacious; it was more than ten meters tall just in the first level. After entering the door, a huge space came into sights. Things were being loaded onto their transportation, commanders were resting, it was lively and noisy, smoke from the operating engines made the air quality very bad.
The door of garage was at the West side, many ground transportations were parked inside, the doors at the other directions were for the people.
Han Xiao knew the basic structure of the Germinal Organization headquarters. The underground headquarters were connected with the surface headquarters. By authorizing one’s identity in the lift, one could enter the underground headquarters. Quite a number of people had the authority to enter the surface headquarters, including even some players belonging to the Germinal Organization. Han Xiao chose a suitable target and changed into the target’s identity in a discreet corner. He then entered the lift with his new identity card and scanned it on the reader. The green light turned on, and the lift stopped at an underground level. A metal tunnel came into Han Xiao’s sights after the doors opened, leading to the underground headquarters.
He opened the doors and entered. The underground headquarters were intense and quiet—not lively like it was on the ground. One could clearly feel the intensity in the air. The members walking around all had emotionless expressions and were in a quick pace. Everyone looked busy. Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He covered up the energy in his body and acted like a normal person. He then straightened his collar and started walking while planning for his next step.
He was already halfway to success now that he was in the underground headquarters!
That is what infiltration should be like.
It was unwise for him to drag it for too long; he would be in a very dire position should his identity be exposed. He touched the equipment bag and felt a little safer.
The security measures had to be turned off through the central computer before he could save anyone in the headquarters, and he also had to access the central computer for another goal he had. Therefore, he needed a hostage that had the authority to operate the central computer. Fortunately, Han Xiao had kept someone in mind since very long ago.
Cyberlos.
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Han Xiao knew about Cyberlos in his previous life.
A high rank researcher of the Germinal Organization, research fanatic, known by the players because he was the one in charge of the research that turned Aurora into Aurora Jam. To him, he could only do more experiments if he was alive, so he could betray any organization without any hesitation, loyalty was worthless in his eyes.
Han Xiao was very confident that if he threatened Cyberlos, he would compromise for his life, provided no one saw them.
There was a small problem, however; the headquarters were enormous, and Han Xiao had no idea where Cyberlos was at the moment.
At this time, a player with a hovering ID able his head walked past, so Han Xiao had an idea.
“There are players in the underground headquarter too, I can try to use them.” Han Xiao thought.
Electrolux was on the way to submit a daily training mission. Suddenly, a Germinal Organization soldier appeared and stopped him. The soldier looked extremely ferocious yet was smiling friendly, like a crocodile laughing. The unlucky person that Han Xiao replaced looked too rough.
Electrolux shivered and said, “what—what do you want?”
Han Xiao laughed friendly but made Electrolux feel a chill up his spine. He paused and said, “Hey there, I have a small matter that I need your help with.”
As he spoke, he set a mission and gave it out. The mission requirement was to find Cyberlos’ location. He wrote in the mission introduction that he had something urgent to report as if he really did. Since the players would not normally doubt the mission introduction, they would not suspect anything.
Electrolux was pleasantly surprised. It was the first time that he had experienced a mission coming directly to him. Furthermore, the reward was quite rich, so he was tempted. Finding Cyberlos was very easy—he could only be in the lab.
“Ok, I’ll be back very soon.” Electrolux went to confirm.
Not long after, Han Xiao received the message that Cyberlos was browsing data in the experiment level.
Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He gave another mission to Electrolux and asked him to get him the map for the headquarters. It was difficult for him to acquire such a thing, but it was easy for the players in the headquarters. Electrolux did not suspect anything; he passed the map that he had with him to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao looked at it in details and nodded. He had plans for the next step.
The experiment level occupied a very large area. Han Xiao came to the resting station of the researchers, used the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades to block the camera in the corner temporarily, forced open the uniform box, took out a few white coats and masks, disguised himself as a research, and walked to the experiment level openly.
Cyberlos was in a large experiment lab at the time, ordering the others to test the performance of a group of super soldiers while he browsed the data on the computer. Seeing that there were many people there, Han Xiao pulled his mask, walked closer to Cyberlos discreetly, took out a simple detector, and scanned him roughly. The result was that he was not wearing a wire as expected. Cyberlos spent most of his time in the headquarters, so he was not very cautious and also did not have any guards following him.
Han Xiao turned around and turned his back on Cyberlos, acting like he was arranging the data. He bent his finger. A blade hovered very close to the ground and flew into Cyberlos’ coat, touching against his heart.
Cyberlos felt something cold near his chest. He hastily reached out his hands to his chest and felt a piece of thin metal. Shocked, he immediately wanted to unbutton his collar to check. It was at this moment that he heard a clear whisper despite the noisy surroundings.
“Quiet, don’t move, don’t yell, or this piece of blade will slice open your heart. Now, act like nothing happened and listen to my orders. You don’t listen, you die; you trigger the alarm, you also die.”
Cyberlos looked around; everyone looked like enemy to him. He said softly, “Calm down, what do you want me to do?”
He did not dare fight back because he was worried for his life.
“Leave the lab, act normal.”
“Ok, don’t do anything to me.” Cyberlos took a few deep breaths and said loudly, “You guys continue the experiment; I have something to attend to.”
After he finished saying that, he walked to the door without raising the other researchers’ suspicion. Han Xiao paused for a while and followed behind Cyberlos.
The two came to the corridor. Cyberlos saw Han Xiao behind him and knew that this was the person who threatened him. He sized him up and said softly, “What else do you want me to do?”
“Bring me to the central computer. I need your authorization. Don’t try to pull of any tricks; I can penetrate your heart in less than 0.1 second if anything abnormal happens.”
“I won’t,” Cyberlos said as he felt the coldness on his chest. Then he calmed his mind and lead the way. He was not a soldier; his life was more important than anything to him. He knew that he had no choice but to compromise, so he was not willing to take the risk of triggering the alarm.
They met quite many Germinal Organization members on the way, and Cyberlos acted very naturally, nodding as usual. Han Xiao followed behind. The others had no suspicion and thought that he was Cyberlos’ assistant.
After entering an empty corridor, Cyberlos looked carefully at Han Xiao’s face and suddenly said softly, “I see you had a surgery on your face, Zero.”
Han Xiao was shocked. How did he figure out my identity?
“In order to catch you, the leader has planted an inescapable trap. Countless Executive Officers are on standby, ready to act anytime, and here you are as expected.”
Han Xiao’s expression changed a little in disbelief. The leader had set up an ambush and waited for him, which meant that he knew he would sneak in‽
How is this possible‽
I haven’t told anyone about my plan!
Does the leader have someone who can predict the future? Does that mean I am already in siege at the moment?
Han Xiao was perplexed at the time, but he hastily calmed himself down. Then he noticed something wrong. If the leader really knew his goal, he could not have snuck in this easily. That meant that the leader had limited knowledge and did not even know he had the ability to infiltrate through changing his face, which explained why there were no preventive measures.
Han Xiao instantaneously thought of the gap between the deployment layout of the Germinal Organization and was now sure that it was a trap.
Although he had many questions, since Cyberlos had mentioned the matter, Han Xiao knew what he meant. Han Xiao suppressed his killing intent and said in a low voice, “Tell me everything you know. I will consider letting you live.”
Feeling the cold and piercing murderous intent, Cyberlos’ back was soaked in cold sweat. He forced himself to calm down and said, “This is all the prediction of Destiny’s Child.”
Destiny’s Child? Han Xiao frowned. He had never heard of such a person in the Germinal Organization.
“Destiny’s Child’s ability might be foreseeing the future; it might also be deciding the future. We are unsure as well. He said you will walk into the trap yourself…” Cyberlos described everything from the beginning—Destiny’s Child’s ability, the prediction about Han Xiao, the leader’s plans, and other things. For the sake of his own life, he poured out everything he knew.
There is someone like that hidden in the Germinal Organization? Han Xiao was shocked. There was no information about this person in his previous life. It seemed like this was the Germinal Organization’s deepest secret. If Destiny’s Child could influence the future, did that mean his thought of saving Aurora could have been forced upon him?
Suddenly, he felt a strong need to kill Destiny’s Child.
The mind was one’s palace—anyone would be extremely furious if it was invaded.
Many abilities could influence the mind—psychic, magic, Esper—and there were even similar natural phenomenon in the universe. The Psychic Current, for one, was made up of thoughts, emitting waves that affected the mind, travelling in the universe unseen, causing any life form that passes by to hear ‘voices’ from the Psychic Current and thus get influenced.
However, after some pondering, Han Xiao felt this guess was way too unbelievable because he already had thought about saving Aurora when he first saw Hila more than one year ago, and he had analyzed the reasons for doing so, which were all beneficial to himself. It did not feel like he was influenced to do it at all; furthermore, saving Aurora was not the only motive he had for infiltrating the Germinal Organization headquarters.
There had to be limitations to Destiny’s Child’s abilities, or at least it had a limited effect on him. However, he did come to Germinal Organization headquarters alone as predicted, and that had him relieved and worried at the same time.
He finally understood how dreadful it was to have an enemy that might be able to predict the future. Suddenly, he felt the leader’s pain.
I have made the Germinal Organization suffer so much; the leader probably wants to skin me alive.
From what Cyberlos had said, Han Xiao knew that there was a large number of Executive Officers and troops hidden in the headquarters at the moment, all waiting to ambush him, and as soon as anything happened, a siege could be formed any time. He was in a rather dire situation.
However, Han Xiao also noticed the huge advantage that he had, which was that the leader only knew he would come, not when he would come or what was his goal.
Seems like I still have the upper hand, but I can’t drag this any longer. It’ll be best to complete the goal and leave immediately.
If he could complete the mission and leave without raising the alarm, it would be the best result.
Also, he made a mental note of Destiny’s Child.
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The central computer room was located at the core area of the headquarters. It stored a large amount of confidential information. Cyberlos had the necessary authority, so he turned off the defense measures and brought Han Xiao into the central computer room.
Rows of large hard drives were placed neatly like a bookshelf. Indicator lights flashed continuously, and at the end of the central computer room was the monitor and the controls. The room was simpler than the underground central computer room of Stardragon Division 13.
Cyberlos turned on the central computer, keyed in the password, then identified his fingerprint and scanned his retinas. There was actually a secret alarm measure in this step, where one set of passwords would activate the alarm in the event that a high-ranked official was threatened. However, Cyberlos did not plan to do such thing for the sake of his own safety.
He believed that Han Xiao could kill him easily before being caught, and he did not want to take the risk.
Thus, this alarm measure was useless to him.
Cyberlos was lawless and extremely daring when doing experiments, but when something concerned his life, he was a total coward.
“What do you want to see?” Cyberlos asked.
“Full map of the headquarters,” Han Xiao said.
Cyberlos controlled the computer, and the construction map of the headquarters showed up on the screen.
Han Xiao took out Viper’s helmet from his equipment bag, took a photo of the map, and stored it into the database to create a 3D model automatically. At the same time, he was also memorizing the map, quickly locating where Aurora was imprisoned.
Thinking about the Destiny’s Child mentioned earlier, Han Xiao was a little tempted to see what that was about, but Cyberlos said that only the leader had the authority to open the gate toward the Destiny’s Child. Thus, Han Xiao had to let go of that idea.
“Open your confidential intelligence database,” Han Xiao said.
Cyberlos did as he was told. The secrets were laid out right in front of Han Xiao.
Gathering this intelligence was the other reason he had come to the Germinal Organization headquarters. He had changed the original storyline, so it was only natural that there would be secrets that he did not know. Furthermore, he had just been a player in his previous life, so he did not have information on things like experiment stats, deployment plans, and such.
Han Xiao saw the exoskeleton structure of the super soldiers, it did indeed use the technology from the light mechanical arm he once had left behind, they were basically just using his leftovers.
Han Xiao recorded all the intelligence, especially the detailed information regarding the Hand of Death system. Giving all this to the Six Nations could create incomparable advantages for them and eliminate the Germinal Organization’s last resort. The more useful the intel he contributed, the more progress he would made in his mission.
That was not all.
The Six Nations and the Germinal Organization both had a part of the class advancement knowledge—opportunities like this did not come very often.
His target was indeed the class advancement knowledge!
Han Xiao always like to maximize his benefits. Saving Aurora was not his only goal; intel and class advancement knowledge were, too.
“Open the knowledge database,” Han Xiao said.
Class advancement knowledge of Pugilist, Esper, and Mechanic showed up on the screen. Han Xiao let out a long exhale upon seeing that class knowledge. He was excited deep down—he could finally gain new class advancement knowledge after so many months.
The Mechanic class advancement knowledge the Germinal Organization had was [Nerves Connection] of the ‘control’ branch.
_____________________
Mechanic class advancement knowledge detected: [Nerves Connection].
Spend 2 potential points to learn?
_____________________
“Confirm.”
_____________________
Learning in progress. Do not cancel.
5%…. 43%… 78%…
Successfully learned! You have learned [Nerves Connection]!
_____________________
Han Xiao closed his eyes and felt the new knowledge appeared in his mind.
Like the name suggested, [Nerves Connection] was an important technology related to biological machinery. By reading the nerve signal from a life form, machinery could be controlled with one’s mind, increasing the reaction speed several levels. Having new advanced class knowledge meant that the number of possible knowledge combinations increased, and he could fuse many more blueprints. It was a direct benefit to him.
Finally, I have the second class advancement knowledge after the one from Stardragon about a year ago.
Han Xiao did not stop there. He also recorded the class advancement knowledges for Pugilist and Esper. Although he could not use them, he could sell them to the players in the future and profit a lot from it.
Controlling the source would give him a monopoly over the technology and attract the players. Furthermore, these were the core abilities for the players, so selling them would not be a problem.
When the level of the players was higher, they would start to need class advancement knowledge, and when they realized that they could buy from Han Xiao…
Han Xiao started to worry if he could take that level of popularity.
Intel and knowledge, it was a lot of profit.
Cyberlos was watching from the side all the time. Suddenly, he felt a chill and asked while shivering, “You… are you an Inhuman?”
Through their research, the organizations had realized that the Inhuman had the ability to learn things very quickly, and Han Xiao’s actions earlier were a little suspicious, so Cyberlos suddenly thought of this possibility.
Han Xiao had an evil idea. He laughed and misleadingly said, “What do you think?”
Cyberlos suddenly felt a chill around his hands and feet.
The arch enemy of the organization was an undead Inhuman, then what was the point of opposing him?
Sh*t!
What the hell!
Damn it!
“But… you appeared much earlier than the Inhumans…” Before Cyberlos finished his sentence, he became extremely shocked and looked at Han Xiao as if he was looking at a ghost.
Is Zero actually the first Inhuman‽ Was the Inhuman phenomenon actually spread by Zero and his ability‽
Not bothering about Cyberlos, whose thoughts diverged further and further from the truth, Han Xiao checked the intelligence and made sure it was correct before asking, “Is there a self-destruction program in your central computer?”
“Who would be so stupid to set a self-destruction function in the headquarters? That’s crazy…” Cyberlos wiped away his sweat.
Viper completed the 3D map at that moment, so everything was ready. Han Xiao pulled Cyberlos up and yelled, “Turn off all the defense measures of area A-4. Freeze all the surveillance cameras.”
Cyberlos did as he was told hastily, then it occurred to him… Area A-4, isn’t that where the little girl with the vital power ability is imprisoned?
“What do you want to do?”
“I want that little girl. Let’s go.” Han Xiao left the central computer room while pushing Cyberlos.
Cyberlos was stunned. He could understand why Han Xiao wanted the intel, but Aurora was the organization’s top secret. Han Xiao had not looked into details of the intelligence he just received, so it was like he knew it all along.
Was the reason that Han Xiao chose him to be the hostage also because he knew that he would cooperate?
Cyberlos felt a chill up his spine.
The feeling of being completely exposed was a fear that deeply penetrated into his bones, devouring his mind.
…
Cyberlos was very good cover. They came to area A-4 without any problem. After walking past the twisted corridors, they finally came to the tunnel toward the prison Aurora was in. The defense measures had already been turned off.
The duo arrived at the gate, and the guards stopped them.
“Open the gate.” Cyberlos tried to be as calm as possible.
“Cyberlos, I didn’t receive any authorization,” the guards said with confusion.
“Just the routine blood draw.”
“But someone is already drawing the blood…” the guards said hesitantly. However, when they saw that Cyberlos was losing his patience, they still opened the gate.
Walking into the room, Han Xiao finally saw Aurora. She was petite and skinny. Her skin was the kind of pale that had not been under the sun for years. She was locked in the room with glass walls, like an animal in a zoo.
The little girl was cowering in the corner and hugging her knees. She looked at the people in white coats outside with fear. These people were pushing a small trolley full of tools and preparing for the blood draw.
Aurora vividly remembered the pain of the blood draw, and it was going to happen again today. She bit her lips and hoped that the waiting could last forever. However, she knew that these people would enter the room sooner or later and insert a needle into her blood vessels and bones while she helplessly watched her life force turn into a red torrent and leave her body in a tube.
Aurora had fantasized that her older sister would save her from this fate, but she knew that was too much to ask. She did not want her sister to be in danger just to save her, so all she could do was look happy and optimistic in front of Hila—only then would Hila not feel even worse and feel less stressed.
At this time, she saw the gate open once again. Two people walked in. Then she could only see a few white lights flashing before she saw the people in white coat and the guards fall onto the floor with blood spurting out from their bodies.
Aurora blinked with confusion. She stared blankly as the glass wall that stood between her and freedom was opened easily.
A ferocious looking weird uncle walked in and reached out toward her.
“I’m here to save you, follow me.”
Aurora froze in place. She had fantasized and dreamed of this moment, but when freedom finally came, she was lost.
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Aurora looked at the hands that reached out for her before raising her head to look into Han Xiao’s eyes.
“Why are you here to save me?” she asked timidly.
Han Xiao pondered and said, “You can take it as I’m just a warm-hearted person.”
“Who are you?” Aurora turned her head sideways.
“You can call me Zero,” Han Xiao said casually.
Aurora’s wet and large eyes were filled with surprise. “So, you’re Uncle Zero.”
Han Xiao squinted his eyes. Being called uncle made him felt like he was abducting a little girl.
Cyberlos hesitated before speaking up. “She went through brainwashing. You should take note of that if you want to save her.”
Brainwash?
He knew about this rumor, but Aurora’s expression did not look like she was brainwashed. Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled, and he said, “Tell me more.”
“We have many methods of brainwash,” Cyberlos said softly, 'such as the destructive one that will recreate one’s personality or the gentle one that twists their thoughts. We have also been researching on chips recently… although there has yet to be any progress.”
“Which method was used on me?” Han Xiao said with interest.
Cyberlos was immediately covered in cold sweat. He braced himself and said, “I saw your documents before. When we found you, you were already severely injured, delirious, and had clear signs of memory loss. When you became a test subject, because of the importance of your brain and the fact that you were already in such a state, we used the gentle brainwashing method.”
This was within Han Xiao’s expectations. Back then, he had been tormented for quite some time by conflicting images and sounds that could be nullified if his Intelligence was just higher than ten. He figured that it was not any sort of destructive method. Anyway, it was in the past, and Han Xiao did not particularly care about it. “What about her?”
“Her elder sister is a strong Executive Officer. Her ability is very unique—she holds a special position and has contributed a lot to the organization. Because of that, Aurora’s brainwash was an even more gentle method. Her personality and mind remained unchanged. However, if she hears a set of specific words, her brainwashed personality will take over, and she will follow orders strictly,” Cyberlos said.
Han Xiao understood roughly. Although Aurora was important, there would not be any accidents since she was completely under control. Her sister, Hila, was a sharp blade, so they left Aurora’s personality unchanged as a way to order Hila. Getting rid of the brainwashed personality would not be a problem; since Aurora was just a weak little girl, Han Xiao just had to knock her unconscious if her brainwashed personality was awakened.
At that moment, Han Xiao realized something. “Wait a minute, how do you know me?”
“My elder sister told me about your story.”
That’s weird, what did Hila mention me for? Han Xiao thought. This little girl seemed to be rather friendly toward him, which was really weird since they should be enemies. He wondered what Hila had told her.
Aurora stood up wobbly, put her hand in Han Xiao’s hand, and said, “Thank you for saving me. Please bring me away.”
Han Xiao was interested. “Aren’t you afraid that I will use you like the Germinal Organization?”
“My older sister said, no matter how dangerous the future is, it will be better than now.” Aurora raised her head. Her innocent face was filled with seriousness.
Seeing that Aurora was so understanding, Han Xiao was relieved. His understanding of Aurora was only limited to the rumors in his previous life. There had been a side mission to investigate the source of the drug that Aurora was made into, and through that, the players came to know about Aurora.
Therefore, he did not know Aurora’s personality, and he did not expect things to go so smoothly.
There would be plenty of opportunities to improve their relationship later on, and now was obviously not a good place and time.
The surveillance cameras of this area were frozen, and it would be found out sooner or later. Thus, time was scarce.
Han Xiao moved the bodies in, took off the white coat and mask from one of them, and gave them to Aurora for disguise. Aurora followed his instructions.
Han Xiao only felt how truly skinny Aurora was when he touched her—it was pitiful. However, Han Xiao did not have any needless emotions. After he disguised her, he turned and yelled at Cyberlos, “Bring us to the underground tunnel, and I promise not to kill you once we’re safe. The Six Nations likes people with your abilities—you should still be able to receive funding for your research over there.”
The escape route was definitely not going to be the main gate now that Aurora was with them. The underground headquarters were connected to many underground tunnels. The tunnels were railway tracks that transported resources and people, and they spread out like a spider’s web.
The plan was to take Cyberlos as a hostage, use his authority, and leave the headquarters from the underground tunnel, hopefully with Cyberlos cooperating willingly. That was why Han Xiao gave him such a promise.
Although Cyberlos did not want to leave the research that he had in the Germinal Organization behind, he also did not want to die. So, Han Xiao’s solution was acceptable, and he even felt relieved.
The Germinal Organization was a sinking ship—to be able to change a side at this time might be a better choice.
As they were going to head out, Han Xiao suddenly stopped. He realized that the small body size of Aurora would attract too much attention even with a disguise. He thought for a moment and took out an empty single shoulder equipment bag. “Get in.”
Aurora did as she was told and climbed into the bag.
As the zip closed, her vision became dark. She could only feel herself being lifted and moved.
“Sister…” Aurora cowered in the bag, closed her hands in front of her chest, and prayed.
…
The three of them quickly passed various levels and headed toward the underground tunnel.
At the same time, the leader, who was listening to the battlefield analysis, suddenly took out his phone.
“The central computer was browsed by Cyberlos. A lot of confidential information was gone through…” The leader narrowed his eyes and raised suspicion. He said to the assistant, “Find Cyberlos’ location and show the surveillance camera footage on my laptop.”
Then, the leader operated his laptop and entered the central computer system through a backdoor command. He looked at the browsing history and immediately noticed that Cyberlos had turned off all the defensive measures. The surveillance camera footage could be seen, too. Cyberlos had entered the central computer room with another person.
The leader’s eyes became sharp and cold. He was immediately able to deduct that Cyberlos was under duress, and this stranger was most likely Zero. He did not step into his traps and snuck in another way.
“Well… don’t think about leaving now that you’re here.” The leader sent out orders immediately. “Send all the nearby Executive Officers to surround Area C-11 and the entrances of underground tunnels 3 to 11. Do it secretly and don’t raise any attention.”
The leader did not turn on the alarm in the headquarters. He wanted to secretly trap Zero to make sure he was dead.
At a lounge in the underground headquarters, a group of Executive Officers played poker out of boredom.
“It’s so damn boring to standby every day. How I wish to go to the battlefield,” someone lamented.
“What’s good about the battlefield? There’s danger everywhere. With these Inhumans and super soldiers, there’s no need for us to put our lives at stake,” someone sneered.
“Super soldiers are a group of monsters that are even more disgusting than the Inhumans. They’re a bunch of half-completed trash,” someone derided. The normal superhumans looked down on those mass-produced soldiers.
At the side, Hila sat on the sofa with an indifferent expression and rested with closed eyes. Her coldness stopped people from approaching, and she did not approach anyone either; she was not part of the lively atmosphere.
All of a sudden, Hila opened her eyes and turned her head in a specific direction. The coldness on her face was gone, replaced by shock and rage in her eyes.
The Life Mark that she had left on Aurora moved!
These Executive Officer suddenly received orders from their superiors, and before it was finished, they heard a loud blast. As they looked up, they saw that the gate was shattered. Hila had already turned into a high-speed, dark-red shadow and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Something’s wrong.”
As they were heading toward the gate of the underground tunnel, Han Xiao frowned, looked around, and said, “The atmosphere doesn’t feel right. There are fewer people along the way. I have a sense for danger. Did you trigger the alarm?”
As he finished speaking, Han Xiao looked at Cyberlos with a piercing look in his eyes.
Cyberlos was shocked and denied it immediately. “No, I definitely didn’t do it. Maybe the leader noticed something abnormal. I don’t have as much authorization as the leader, so him noticing my browsing history really has nothing to do with me.”
Han Xiao tightened his grip on the equipment bag and said in a low voice, “Let’s go quickly.”
At this time, five levels higher, the leader was heading to this direction with a laptop in his hand. The surveillance camera feedback was displayed on the screen. He laughed coldly and said, “So, you have started to suspect it. By the time you reach the underground tunnel, the ambush that I set up will be completed as well. This time, don’t even think about escaping.”
The leader did not think that Han Xiao would dare to infiltrate alone. He even felt that the number of ambushes that he had prepared was overkill. In his mind, Han Xiao’s strength was the same as back in the Dark Crow Valley, similar to the level of Pan Kuang, and there were more than fifty Executive Officers that were stronger than Pan Kuang in the headquarters right now.
There was nowhere to escape.
The last resort of the siege was the leader himself. He hardly met anyone that could match up to his strength. Even the legendary hero Bennett was at most at the same level as he was. The leader had fought Bennett a few decades ago—they were on par.
The leader was also someone who stood at the top of the Planet Aquamarine—only then could he build and support such a big organization.
Seeing that Han Xiao was like an insect that had sunk deeper and deeper into the spider web, the leader seemed to have seen the light of success. However, the next moment, he saw from the surveillance camera a flash of dark red light shooting straight toward Han Xiao.
Hila had almost gone haywire; her red eyes were staring straight at Han Xiao with rage. It was not because she recognized Han Xiao—it was because she felt the Life Mark on Aurora. Her younger sister was hidden and cowered in the equipment bag that this person was carrying.
Seeing this, there was no way Hila could hold back anymore. Her abilities activated in an instant. Her maroon long hair was like snakes, entangled in gray and red smoke that formed an arrow-like shape. Her murderous intent was almost tangible.
“Put her down!”
Her seeing a stranger taking her younger sister away in a bag was like a parent seeing the child being carried away by a stranger; there was no way to stay calm in such a situation. Rage consumed her senses, and she could not think rationally anymore. Furthermore, her younger sister was very special to her; Aurora was almost like her spiritual sustenance, and that made things even worse.
This woman got stronger again. Han Xiao was shocked. He hastily slid to the side and dodged this cone-shaped dark red air arrow by a few centimeters. The air arrow shot through the metal wall. Han Xiao was surprised. Hila’s superhuman abilities could inflict both physical and psychological damage, and this was already so strong despite only being the physical damage. This meant that the main psychological damage would only be stronger. It was probably because she was attacking in a rage state—the damage enhancement could almost match up to his [Flaming Will]
Despite being rather tanky, Han Xiao was not interested in getting hit. He moved to the side and dodged again. With a thought in his mind, Han Xiao destroyed two surveillance cameras with two shots and yelled, “Hila, I’m here to save your younger sister. You’re attacking the wrong person, you stupid woman…”
Before he finished, Hila already crashed toward him and reached out to grab the bag without listening to anything he said. Being speechless, Han Xiao let go of the bag, carried his other equipment bag, activated Electromagnetic Hover-boots and Mini Maneuvering Equipment, then jumped up to the rooftop.
Hila hurriedly placed the bag on the floor, opened the zip, and looked Aurora in her eyes.
“Sister!” Aurora’s voice was filled with surprise.
“Are you ok?” Hila immediately checked over Aurora’s body. Seeing that she was not hurt, Hila was relieved. Then she remembered there was still an enemy present, he stood up in a flash and stood in front of Aurora, her face alert and looking like she was ready to fight any time.
“Sis, you misunderstood.” Aurora struggled to get her head out of the bag and yelled, “That uncle is here to save me.”
“I don’t know him at all.” Hila was still cautious.
“He said he’s uncle Zero.”
Hila was stunned. She could not believe it.
Zero‽
“It’s me.” Han Xiao did not hide anymore. The alarms all across the bases were ringing. He knew that he was exposed. When Hila suddenly appeared, he already knew that things were not pleasant. With how much Hila cared for Aurora, she would definitely go all out straight away.
“How can it be you?” Hila could not believe it. The dark red smoke moved with her emotions.
Why did Zero come to save Aurora? There should be no connection between them.She could not figure out Han Xiao’s motive at all. Furthermore, they should be enemies. Why was the target Aurora? Does he want to threaten me like the Germinal Organization?
With all the guesses in her mind, Hila could not trust Han Xiao subconsciously. No matter what, Hila could not let go of Han Xiao stealing Aurora away secretly.
“I will explain in the future. Your sister is already saved. The truth is right in front of you, and regardless of whether you believe it or not, I’m here to help.”
“You’re now an enemy that the organization is going after.” Hila’s expression was indifferent. Her power gathered in her hands, but she did not engage.
“Do you want your younger sister to continue being controlled by the organization? Right now is the best chance to escape,” Han Xiao said in a low voice. His motive of saving Aurora was for Hila, and Hila was right in front of him now. Naturally, he would not let the chance slip by.
The alarm was ringing loudly. Hila was hesitating despite the fact that she hardly ever hesitated at all. She really wanted to just take Aurora and escape like this, but the alarm in the base was already triggered. She knew the power gathered in the headquarter more than Han Xiao did; there was too little chance to escape, and she did not want Aurora to take the risk.
If only I didn’t attack just now… This thought of regret appeared and disappeared within an instant, but if she had to choose again, she would still attack without hesitation.
At this moment, Aurora pulled on Hila’s shirt.
“Sis, bring me away.”
Hila’s expression tightened. She looked down and saw Aurora’s hopeful face. The words of rejection were stuck in her throat.
How can she put her younger sister back in a situation worse than death?
Thinking of the things that Aurora went through all this time, Hila felt like her heart was being squeezed and rubbed.
At least the most difficult part was already completed. Her younger sister had already left that prison cell, and this was what she had been dreaming of.
At this moment, Hila’s became firm. She touched Aurora’s head gently and thought to herself, If it fails, I will die with you.
Hila raised her head, looked at Han Xiao with mixed feelings, and said, “Follow me.”
She had never expected to fight side by side with Han Xiao.
With more help, there was a bigger chance to escape. Zero had snuck in without anyone noticing, so he could not be too weak.
After she said that, Hila put Aurora into the bag and walked toward another direction with big steps. Han Xiao dragged Cyberlos and followed behind.
Since they had already been exposed, they could not go to the underground tunnel anymore. Hila knew the base, so she must have some other way.
Han Xiao was quite sure that a bloody fight was unavoidable. Luckily, he was prepared in the case that the infiltration failed although he did not intend to allow that to happen.
What he did not know was, although it seemed like Hila had exposed him, she had actually made him dodge the trap indirectly.
…
“Moron! Who told her to engage!” The leader was furious. Han Xiao changed his route, so his plan was disrupted. Han Xiao was now more cautious, and the leader’s siege had not yet fully formed.
As the cameras were destroyed, the leader did not see the conversation between Han Xiao and Hila. He merely thought that they had already started fighting.
“All Executive Officers and soldiers, full engagement. I want Zero to die here,” the leader yelled through the walkie talkie.
At the same time, the players in the headquarters received an urgent mission.
_____________________
[Intercept Zero]: Intercept Zero before he escapes the headquarters.
Mission reward: 200,000 experience, Lv.20 Dungeon Crystal – [The Germinal Organization Base Escape Warfare]
_____________________
200,000 experience and a Dungeon Crystal‽
The players were extremely motivated.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Boom boom boom!
The high caliber Berserk Eagles shot hot flames out of the muzzles. The cameras on the way were destroyed one after another. Han Xiao was rapidly counting and calculating. Thirty-eight seconds had passed after the alarm rang. They were moving very fast and had already deviated from their original path, so the enemies should appear soon.
The team composition now was two burdens and two who could fight; it would be too difficult to just rush out recklessly. Han Xiao would not have had a problem on his own, but it was a pain in the ass to protect someone. In his previous life, Han Xiao had never liked missions to protect people as there was not much room to play, and it would definitely fail if he was reckless.
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He looked at Cyberlos hostility.
Now that Hila was here, was there any reason to keep this old man around? They were not going through the underground tunnel, so Cyberlos was of no use anymore.
Cyberlos shivered. “Do—don’t do this. You need my authorization…”
“He’s exposed. His authority is frozen. There’s no point keeping him.” Hila had an indifferent look. Cyberlos was a superior that was in charge of the experiments on her younger sister, so her hatred for him was deep in her bones. She raised her arms and was going to kill Cyberlos.
At this time, a hand grabbed onto her arm. Han Xiao shook his head toward her.
“Don’t kill him. We might need him alive,” Han Xiao said. Then he slapped Cyberlos unconscious. Han Xiao had misled him in many ways, so he could make Cyberlos mislead the leader as well.
Hila swung Hila’s hand away and gave him a stare, but she did not insist on killing Cyberlos.
Han Xiao was not bothered by her attitude. “What’s your plan?”
Hila was not used to Zero being her teammate yet. She kept silent for a while then replied, “I know a hidden path that can help us escape the headquarters, but it is very far, four floors down. We’ll have to break past the interception if we want to go there.”
“Four floors down…” Han Xiao had memorized the map. To go down four floors from here, it would take at least 5 minutes without any interruption, but the enemy would definitely not let them do that.
“Are you sure of this hidden path?”
“That was originally an abandoned hidden path. I discovered it by accident, so it is very discreet.”
Hila kept it short, but she did not say the exact location.
In fact, she hid the truth. This hidden path was a backup that she had secretly prepared. Although she was controlled by the Germinal Organization, she had never given up and hoped that one day she could save Aurora. However, she could not get Aurora out of that prison cell, so she did not take any action. She had never expected that the most difficult part would be completed by Han Xiao. Thus, the hidden path was could finally be of use.
These things happened out of nowhere; she truly did not expect someone to save her younger sister.
Hila looked at Han Xiao discreetly, wanting to say something, but in the end, she did not.
There was actually a safer way with more than eighty percent chance of bringing her younger sister away, but that would put Han Xiao in a very dangerous situation. She felt Han Xiao would most likely not agree, so she did not say it and only planned in her head.
At this time, footsteps appeared at the corner up ahead—a team of Germinal Organization had shown up to intercept them.
Just as Hila raised her hand and was going to attack, Han Xiao did it before her. The two guns fired rapidly. High caliber bullets exploded on these soldiers’ chests, and flesh and broken bones sprayed all over the place. One bullet from him was as strong as a grenade explosion for normal soldiers.
After killing a group of these soldiers, the Trial Points for the class advancement mission on the interface did not increase—only enemies that were strong enough gave Trial Points. However, since the weak ones were already here, the stronger ones would not be far.
As expected, strong presences entered his detectable range one more one and approached very quickly.
“You don’t attack; protect your younger sister. I will deal with the enemies,” Han Xiao said.
Hila frowned and said worriedly, “Can you? Even I don’t have confidence in beating these Executive Officers…”
“Shut up and watch. If you didn’t attack, I would’ve already escaped.” Han Xiao was not in the mood to explain to her at all.
Hila’s expression froze. She admitted to being at fault, so she kept her head down and led the way in front.
The leader was heading toward them. The cameras were destroyed, so the surveillance images became black one after another. He could only know the situation through the report from his headphones.
Executive Officers, super soldiers, and Inhuman teams are now heading that way to surround him, and there’s also Hila stalling Zero. There’s no chance for him to escape, the leader thought.
This time, a voice of an Executive Officer came out of the headphones, filled with murderous intent. “I have met the target, engaging!”
The leader was excited. He yelled, “No need to catch him alive, kill him right away!”
However, the next moment, high pitched noise exploded from the headphone that hurt the leader’s eardrums.
Screams came out of the headphones; it was from the Executive Officer that was just reporting the situation.
The leader was stunned. It’s been less than ten seconds. That Executive Officer was not weaker than Pan Kuang at all. What accident happened?
He felt an unpleasant intuition.
…
Eight seconds earlier…
A large and muscular male executive officer ran out of the corner and charged toward Han Xiao with a ferocious expression. Loud thuds could be heard from the floor, and the combat suit was almost breaking from his muscles.
“Careful, he’s an executive officer. Strength enhancing superhuman ability, you…” Hila warned hastily as a thick cloud gathered in her hand. As soon as Han Xiao was going to be defeated, she was going to back up immediately.
Han Xiao struck before Hila finished her sentence. With a swing of a hand, two Sonic Bombs flew out. The high-pitch noise gave the male executive officer a shock and slowed down his action for an instant. All Han Xiao needed was this instant. Activating both the Mini Maneuvering Equipment and the Electromagnetic Hover-boots, he approached the enemy like a ghost.
[Overload]! [Surging Mechanical Force]! [Lethal Critical Hits}!
All the damage enhancing active abilities were activated one after another. Although there was no [Flaming Will], the power was still horrifying.
With a spin of both his palms, a blue light shone from the Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves and pressed onto the male executive officer’s chest, and the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades penetrated into his body behind his back like a blossoming lotus.
Combo, Flaming Lotus Slash!
This was the fighting style of Mechanical Pugilists, to combo different melee machinery into one’s own ability. Of course, the name had been decided casually, but it did indeed feel different once it had a name.
Stunning damage numbers appeared. The male executive officer screamed in agony and fought back with all he had. He landed a few punches on Han Xiao’s Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor.
Han Xiao’s palms burnt right through the enemy’s chest as the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades sliced his throat continuously. The health bar of this large and muscular executive officer was thus emptied.
LV 44, 120 Strength… not bad. Sadly, the health bar is just ordinary.
Han Xiao looked at his interface. He could kill enemies at this level this quickly even without Viper.
Although he was a Mechanic, which was not strong in the early stages, he had many abilities, his level was high, his equipment was good, and his skills were at max level. The strength of someone varied even with the same level, like normal monsters and elite monsters. Han Xiao was at BOSS level among LV 60s, so there was an even greater difference between him and people with a lower level.
_____________________
You received 1 Trial Point.
[The Ultimate Trial]: Progress 1/2000
_____________________
Only one point for someone at level 40 something‽ Han Xiao was speechless. He did not even know if there were two hundred executive officers at this level in the Germinal Organization. It would be awkward if there were not enough to kill…
On the other side, Hila was lowering her stiffed hand. This executive officer had been killed instantly before she had even finished her sentence—there was completely no need for her help.
Hila was completely stunned. Even she did not have the confidence to do it so fast.
How is Zero this strong? Is this a fake‽
…
At the same time, the leader was stunned by this problem, too. He realized he had misinterpreted Han Xiao’s strength.
One mistake could affect the entire plan. Luckily, the leader knew that Zero could not be judged with common sense after many failures, so he had overestimated Zero’s ability as much as he could, and many people were waiting in ambush. However, seeing what was happening now, not only was it not a waste, but there might not even be enough!
Since his subordinates could not win, he would kill Zero himself.
“Stop him, wait for me!” the leader said coldly.
In less than a year, there was no way Zero’s strength could have reached his level.
He was someone who stood at the top of Planet Aquamarine!
If Han Xiao knew what the leader was thinking of, he definitely would have laughed.
What a coincidence, I am, too.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The group followed the twists and turns of a winding corridor to get downstairs. The elevator exit was likely blocked by people, so they went with the emergency staircase.
The enemies who tried to block their path came in from all directions. Han Xiao went all out and used everything from his melee skills to sniping to continuous shooting. All but Viper, which was his trump card, was thrown out, and he fought like a true assassin, leaving behind a trail of corpses.
There were four types of enemies: newbie troops, superhumans, Germinal directors, and players. Only the directors were capable of slowing him down, while the rest, players especially, were taken care of in mere seconds.
The players rushed up in waves while kicking and screaming only to disintegrate into light particles the next second. Han Xiao figured that if it continued for a bit longer, he could probably use up all of the players’ weekly resurrection, which could help cure their gaming addiction and have them go complete their homework instead.
As the players were not much of a threat to him at all, Han Xiao did not want to bother with talking sense into them. At this point, players could not change sides yet anyway.
Soon enough, the players became more hesitant and stopped rushing in masses with their previous fervor.
Although players did not fear death, they did not want to throw away their lives for no reason. They realized that the mission reward was only something they can covet but could not even come close to touching. With their current levels, trying to stop this monster of a character was pure fantasy.
This kind of feeling when the reward was so close yet so far was akin to constipation, and continuing to rush in would only cause more experience to be lost. There was just no point.
In an instant, the players started to back off. Who cares about some required mission? What’s so amazing about forcing the tasks? Do you think I care about you that much?
Not only that, but when attacked, the interface showed a constant drop in reputation points with the NPC. However, no one really minded this, as no one knew him anyway.
Electrolux swallowed his saliva to calm his nerves. He recognized Han Xiao as the person who gave him the mission, but he never would have thought that he was an enemy, let alone someone as insanely overpowered as this. For a while now, Electrolux had been witnessing one Germinal director after another, all with ‘Fatally Dangerous’ tags on them, rushing up to the also ‘Fatally Dangerous’ Han Xiao, only to be smacked all over the place like wet cabbage. Electrolux was so scared that he was about to suffer liver problems just from watching.
Bullsh*t. Why do they even have the same tag? This is all a scam!
Even more fatal than ‘Fatally Dangerous?’ Why not just say that you’re here to harvest lives?
The players could not stop lamenting at the unfairness of it all.
…
The Executive Officers in the headquarters were by no means weak, but it was a shame that they are pitted against Han Xiao. Unless they were at least LV 50, there was not even a tiny bit of chance that they could hurt him.
Hila did not even need to help a single time along the way, so she focused on protecting Aurora. Han Xiao was simply unstoppable. However, Hila realized that the Germinal forces did not know about her betrayal. Instead, some were even shouting at her for help against this monster of an enemy.
The cameras along the way were blown up by Han Xiao, and the Germinal leader did not know that Han Xiao and Hila had teamed up. Hila realized that this was a huge advantage!
As Hila looked at Han Xiao’s figure amid the intense battle, she thought, Could it be that this was all part of his plan? Did he not have me help for this purpose?
Bang!
… and another director fell beside his feet. Han Xiao wiped away the blood on his face and could finally take in a deep breath.
He was not exactly unscathed. Some directors had weird powers that could threaten him, but both his defense and HP were very high, so the damage was hardly worth mentioning. The problem was his energy and stamina, which had both decreased significantly. However, he still did not think that it was necessary for him to use Viper.
The class advancement mission had reached 27 points, and Han Xiao found that killing stronger opponents had a chance to award him with 2 to 3 points at once.
“Only the last two levels left,” said Han Xiao.
“Be careful. These are only the vanguard. The main force has yet to arrive.”
Hila’s face was tense as she knew how much manpower the leader had allocated to the headquarters. Even if Han Xiao did far exceed her expectations with his combat strength, he could not possibly take on a whole army.
Hila was still considered one of the ambushing members, and her earpiece was still connected. However, there was not much use as the enemies’ number was too great, and she could not discern any useful information from the overlapping coms transmissions.
They had to be smart if they were to escape from this place.
In that moment, Hila thought of a plan that would basically guarantee her and her sister’s escape but would put Han Xiao in significant danger. She pursed her lips together finally decided before speaking out. “I have an idea.”
Han Xiao immediately replied. “Split up, and I will be the bait.”
Hila’s eyes were then wide open, and her face was full of shock. “How did you know?”
“I guessed,” Han Xiao said nonchalantly. From the moment Hila appeared, he had already started coming up with this vague plan, which was why he focused on destroying all the cameras. It was to ensure that Hila was not considered a traitor—at least not yet—in the eyes of Germinal.
Hila could just use her position as a high-level director to escape easily, while Han Xiao could pull all the attention elsewhere.
However, this would also mean that Han Xiao would be facing all the danger by himself. Hila had never thought that Han Xiao would suggest this idea himself.
“Splitting up is a good idea. Tell me the where the secret passage is, and I will catch up with you after I have diverted their attention.”
Hila was shocked.
They had no reason to trust each other, yet Han Xiao was giving the choice to her. She could not understand where his trust came from.
Is he not afraid that I will give him the false directions? However, this dark thought started to take from inside her mind and would not go away.
Give him the wrong location, let him be cornered by Germinal and buy even more time.
It was as if this voice in her mind was packed with magic, constantly causing her to waver.
For Aurora, I will do everything it takes to keep her out of harm’s way.
Hila looked down, touched Aurora’s face through the bag, and felt the slight tremor from her sister’s petite body. She steeled her resolve once again.
“Room H-418. The fourth brick on the floor from the left is the secret passage’s entrance.”
“Got it.” Han Xiao laughed, seemingly not doubting her words at all as he gently patted the bag with Aurora. “Go.”
Hila took one last look Han Xiao as she tried to etch his image into her memories before she turned and left with hurried strides, afraid of wasting even a single second.
One side of Han Xiao’s mouth perked up, and he went the other direction. He took out multiple bombs of different shapes and sizes out of his tool bag and stuck them onto the walls along the way.
Since he was trying to get attention, he might as well made it big.
Boom!
Sounds of explosions came one after another, followed by heat waves that spread out all over the place.
The whole headquarters were shaking. Although the actual damage was not much because of the previous work, the tremors could still be felt throughout. Even without the security cameras, one could tell where Han Xiao was just by following the explosions.
A large number of troops changed course and were heading straight for him.
“Just wait for me to kill you myself.”
The leader was shuddering all over out of rage as he made his way toward Han Xiao.
…
Han Xiao was humming to a tune, and despite knowing there were an army of Germinal troops closing in on him, he acted without any sense of worry nor care because he knew that they were walking right into his trap.
After turning a corner, he saw that the path ahead was jam-packed with soldiers. All superhumans with top equipment. With at least twenty of them, they acted like a wall that blocked Han Xiao’s way.
The one at the front stood out larger than the rest, with every single part of his body aside from the face looking like it was made of metal. This was test subject No. 1.
“Zero, do you still remember me?” No. 1 said through gritted teeth, his tone full of hatred. “You killed me.
“I became this monster, all to get the power to crush you like a gnat!
“I will break your limbs just like you did to me!”
No. 1 roared and pushed with his legs. Power burst forth from the hydraulic press on his exoskeleton, and the ground beneath him shook. No. 1 shot forward like a cannonball, flying straight for Han Xiao’s head with his hulking body.
The murderous gaze in No. 1’s eyes also contained excitement. He could not wait to exact vengeance to his rival.
At the last moment, Han Xiao turned and side-stepped the attack. He then reached out, grabbed No. 1’s exoskeleton, picked him off the ground, and started swaying around him. This was happening so fast that Han Xiao’s actions became a blur as a magnetic force penetrated through No. 1’s defense.
No. 1 instantly lost any feeling in his right arm, and the upper right portion of the exoskeleton started to fall apart until eventually everything broke off with gear parts flying all over the place, looking like a mechanical power that bloomed.
The design of these superhuman soldiers’ exoskeleton suits was extremely similar to his lightweight mechanical arm. Han Xiao had also just learned ‘neural link’ not too long ago, and as a magnetic ring mechanic, he could easily assemble or disassemble such equipment at will.
So, in a way, superhuman soldiers posed the least threat to Han Xiao. He could easily reduce them down to bare naked bodies.
No. 1, who had lost balance, stared at his now non-existent right arm. He could not process what had happened.
When he finally came to his senses, his rage soon returned, and he stood up once again with the other arm swinging.
“It took me everything to get this power. What gave you the right to beat me!”
Seeing this guy screaming like some dying pig, Han Xiao decided to detach his other arm as well. His legs too. Might as well.
As the other superhumans rushed up, Han Xiao danced between them, and limbs could be seen flying all over the place.
Soon, Han Xiao was the only one left standing amid piles of torn limbs and mechanical parts. This scene was scary enough to fit right in to any kind of horror film.
No. 1 was left facing the sky, hatred still clear on his face, still questioning why he lost.
Han Xiao had wanted to ask since a while ago… Who is this dude?
Han Xiao never would have guessed that it was No. 1, as the appearance was much too different. Moreover, to him, No. 1 had died already.
“Have we met?” Han Xiao asked confusingly.
“How could you not know me‽” No. 1 was furious. “I’m your rival!”
What rival? He must be delusional. Who on earth is this metal head?
Han Xiao was baffled, and his ear was starting to hurt from No. 1’s screaming, so he flipped the limbless No. 1 around to face the ground.
It was instantly much quieter.
No. 1’s mouth was plastered onto the ground and could only make muffled noises. He was enraged, yet there was nothing he can do except stare at Han Xiao out of the corner of his eye.
Gradually, the shining halo faded, only to welcome a curtain of black.
Soon after, the sound of security cameras being shot could be heard again.
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The explosion sounds came from afar, and Hila’s face tensed up. She knew that Han Xiao had Germinal’s attention for the moment.
A large group of troops were quickly approaching, and when the Executive Officer saw Hila, he frowned. “You’re going in the wrong direction; the enemy is that way.”
“I have a different mission.”
Hila had once again put on her usual ice-cold expression as she waded through the group of soldiers and hurried off in the opposite direction.
They passed over ten groups of Germinal reinforcements along the way, but Hila did not dare stop moving. Thankfully, the most people did was give her a confused glance, and none tried to stop her.
Everything happened so suddenly that Hila’s betrayal had not been exposed. Even though she had a strong will, she was still secretly glad at how Han Xiao had reacted in time and destroyed all the cameras, giving them this advantage.
Only things that had to do with her sister could move her emotions.
The Germinal forces faced no opposition as they rushed to get to the floor that Zero was on. However, no one was to be found. Hila also started to destroy all the cameras along the way to prevent the discovery of the secret passage. When Germinal came to their senses, Aurora would have long disappeared.
After she finished her precautionary measures, Hila opened the door to the passageway and entered while carrying her sister. It was a pitch dark and narrow tunnel, and one could only move forward by crouching.
Once she closed the door, all the noise from outside suddenly disappeared. Silence permeated through every nook and cranny, and the tension also started to drop along with Hila’s previously heightened heartbeat as she calmed down.
Hila could finally take a deep breath and relax.
Now that they were in the tunnel, the escape plan could be considered almost successful.
As her bag was wriggling around, Hila unzipped it and Aurora’s tiny head popped out.
“Have we escaped?” Aurora asked as she looked around curiously.
“Almost,” Hila replied as she lovingly touched Aurora’s head.
Aurora then went back into the bag and hid her face inside, only showing her two big, round eyes, as she suddenly asked, “Where’s Uncle Zero?”
“We will wait for five more minutes. He should… be here soon,” Hila said after a pause.
Aurora cocked her head and asked again, “Sis, Uncle Zero seems really strong, right?”
“He’s alright.” Hila did not want to give a clear answer.
“Sis, why did he come save me?”
“How would I know?” Even as Hila said that, her hand subconsciously reached for the photo in her pocket. She remembered that Zero had once seen this photo back in his training base. It could not be…
But back then, Zero did not even have time to protect himself, so why would he remember this inconsequential thing, even to the extent of carrying out this huge rescue plan? Unless he really did have the capability to see the future…
Hila shook her head; she still could not figure out his motives. All she could feel was fear and respect to this mysterious figure, who single handedly devastated the behemoth that was the Germinal Organization.
To think that he had once been that weak little trainee back in the base but had now risen to such heights in such short amount of time. She could only sigh at this. The world truly worked in mysterious ways.
“Sis, Uncle Zero…”
“Stop mentioning him.” Hila got a little bit annoyed. Although he did save her sister, for some reason, she felt some sort of unexplainable familiarity with this Zero. It was as if she had met him somewhere else after he escaped from the base. However, that should not have been possible.
“But Sis, you usually spoke so highly of him and even praised him whenever you told me stories about him.” Aurora felt wronged.
“Nonsense,” Hila said as she gently pinched Aurora’s cheeks.
At this moment, a third, odd-sounding voice spoke out in the cramped and lightless tunnel.
“Did I hear that right? You were praising me?”
Hila turned in an instant and was just about to send out her powers before a powerful force squeezed her hands and brutally pushed her against the tunnel wall.
With the help of the red lights, she was finally able to identify the owner of the odd voice. It was Han Xiao, who was supposed to be outside fighting still.
“Why are you here‽” Hila was shocked.
Han Xiao let of his hands before laughing lightly. “I’m everywhere.”
Hila relaxed and called back her powers while making a face. She remembered clearly that the tunnel door was opened and closed only once. How did Han Xiao manage to get in? Did he go through the walls?
Han Xiao laughed and said nothing. When he took the initiative to propose splitting up, he had already made a simple but effective plan in his mind. Of course, he would not gamble on Hila telling him the real position, so he had then been left with two choices. The first was to leave simple tracker on Aurora’s bag, while the second was a character card that had never used. The Dion card obtained on the Western Continent had a special stealth ability.
Although he was very strong, he was not willing to be encircled and ganged up on for no reason. His main goal was to get out of the germinal headquarters. So, after he taught No. 1 who was boss, Han Xiao went and blasted all the cameras at the intersection, giving Germinal the idea that he was in the area before he activated Dion’s character card and backtracked along the original way.
Regardless of the truth of her words, she must have been headed to the real passageway.
The character cards’ ability name was ‘You Can’t See Me’. As the name suggested, Han Xiao simply waltzed along the way without anyone taking notice of him.
The enemies were then all baited to the intersection where Han Xiao had been without knowing where he had disappeared to. Han Xiao simply followed Hila and jumped into the tunnel together with her.
What surprised the Great Technician Han, however, was that Hila had actually given him the correct directions. Both the room number and the floor tile location were correct. To be honest, when they were about to split up, Hila’s fishy look had made him almost think that he was going to be sold out, but the result was unexpected.
In truth, Hila had also struggled with this, but she had finally decided to give Han Xiao the right information.
Han Xiao did save Aurora, and if she had lied to him, she would not know how to face her sister. Although a part of her kept tempting her otherwise, she finally abandoned such thoughts and told him the truth.
Compared to ‘Goddess of Death’ in Han Xiao’s past, this Hila had not been consumed by darkness, and her heart was still illuminated by the stars and moon that was Aurora.
Han Xiao originally thought that if Hila had sold him out, if he suddenly appeared again, Hila would be very embarrassed and even owe him a moral favor. However, since she did not, Han Xiao could not help but look at her in a new light. Although he was prepared, no one would want to be betrayed, and his mood was instantly better.
“Brat, what kind of stories did you sister tell you about me? Let’s hear them.” Han Xiao finally got to ask this question.
Aurora was about to politely answer, but Hila cut in expressionlessly and said, “Stop wasting time. This is only the first part of the secret passage. We still have to get to the abandoned underground tunnel. Let’s go.”
Hila led the way with Aurora and took off with enthusiastic strides.
Han Xiao shook his head and was about to follow when he suddenly remembered something. “Ah. I forgot to ask the old man what Aurora’s brainwashing code word is. Oh well. Let’s just get out of here first.”
…
On another side, tens of thousands of Germinal troops had gathered and were searching for Han Xiao around the area where he disappeared.
“Reporting to leader, target was not found.”
One by one the executives brought in the same results.
The leader was furious, and he held his hands so tight that his glove started to rip. “This is where the cameras last caught him. How could we not find him?
“That’s right, I saw him walk down this way.” No. 1 said as he lay on the ground to one side, his face full of resentment, as the researchers helped reattach his limbs.
“Just find him!” the leader roared as he slammed his fist on a nearby wall. With a bang, steel and concrete components ripped apart and flew out as if they were made of paper. The executives were frightened and had no choice but to continue searching.
The leader originally had thought that Han Xiao was trapped and had been cracking his knuckles to get ready to beat Zero up for all the grievances that he had caused the organization. Now that there was nothing to vent his frustration, the leader was feeling a sense of loss that was making his chest feel like it was going to explode.
Every time he dealt with the Zero, it had ended in failure. The leader could hardly tolerate it anymore. He glanced at the scattered parts of the super soldiers on the ground and cursed them for being so useless in his mind.
He took out his laptop and made another search. It was then that he found something odd. All the cameras in the lower floor had also been destroyed.
“Could he have accomplices?” The leader tapped the keyboard and quickly called up the interface. He soon found a new lead. The camera records in the A-4 area seemed to have been modified. He suddenly thought of something and quick gave his orders. “Send someone to A-4 to investigate.”
Soon, news came back.
“Security measures had been shut down, the guards have been killed, and the little girl had been taken away.”
In that moment, the string of information from Aurora’s disappearance, the destroyed cameras, and Hila’s absence in the previous battles to stop Zero started to make sense.
They had been fooled!
“Hila, you traitor!” The leader suddenly realized what had happened and was so enraged that the sound of his teeth gnashing together was like steel grinding against each other.
“Get man to search for Hila now. She escaped with Zero!”
The soldiers around were startled into action. The order was passed down one wave after another. Soon, a large force was mobilized to search yet again. However, Hila had already destroyed all the cameras on the lower floor. There was no way of knowing where they could have gone.
Then, someone finally brought the dazed Cyberlos to the leader, and with a slap, Cyberlos was awoken with a shock. Seeing the leader’s face that was full of hostility right after waking made Cyberlos tense up.
“Tell me everything you know!” the leader said coldly.
Cyberlos did not dare keep anything to himself and told the whole story from when he had been taken hostage until he was knocked unconscious.
“He took the organization’s classified information, kidnapped Aurora…” Cyberlos tried to be as careful. “He… He might be an Inhuman!”
Inhuman‽
The leader felt his body sway when he heard that. If Zero really was an undying Inhuman, then Germinal faced certain defeat.
After taking a deep breath, the leader said decidedly, “That’s only a guess. I will just have to kill him first and see if he really is an Inhuman.”
Cyberlos was then taken away. Seeing as the man had done a lot for the organization in terms of research, the leader decided to spare his life. Cyberlos had never been hired for his loyalty anyway.
“Widen the search net. Even if that Zero can get out of headquarters, I won’t let him get off the continent,” the leader said calmly.
The forces were but a small part of his plan.
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After travelling down the winding tunnel for some time, the path in front suddenly widened.
Right in front of them was an underground tunnel with an open space. The exit for this dark path was located on top of the wall at the side of the tunnel, which was around five meters above the ground.
The air was filled with the smell dust and mold. The place had been abandoned long ago, and the walls were covered with spider webs. The front door of underground tunnel had also been locked for a few years.
Hila hugged Aurora and jumped down. Dust and debris scattered as they landed. Han Xiao followed.
“This was an early stage of the underground tunnel. After they built the headquarters, people left it without any maintenance. I dug a path from the air ventilation pipes which lead to this place. All the cameras and gates are gone, and the railroads are broken, too. We need to walk out of here. The exit a hidden door that is located at the fringe of the headquarters, and it will take around four hours for us to reach there.”
Han Xiao looked back at the hole and said, “Won’t they be able to catch up?”
“Nobody knows we are here, but we still have to be on alert.” Hila carried Aurora on her back and started walking forward.
Han Xiao quickly followed and walked right next to Hila. He occasionally dropped a few small landmines to blow up the tunnel in case anyone came later.
Three of them continued to march forward in silence.
Just now, the situation had been intense, so there were a lot of things that they were still unclear of. Now that they had the time, Hila seemed to be more confused as she kept recalling what had happened. She kept on turning her head toward Han Xiao.
Hila had a few questions to ask, but because of her cold personality, she pursed her lips and kept on walking.
Aurora, who was on Hila’s back, covered her head inside her sister’s long red hair and smelled the delightful scent she had. Her eyes were calm and safe, and she turned to look at Han Xiao.
“What are you looking at, you little brat?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.
Aurora quietly replied, “Do you not have a name, or is your name just Zero?”
Paying attention, Hila’s ears perked up.
“Han Xiao. That’s my name.”
“My sister said you were brainwashed. She couldn’t figure out how you escaped.”
Han Xiao stroke his chin and said, “Everything has its own destiny.”
Hila rolled her eyes.
“My sister said you are only twenty years old, but why do you look so old?”
Han Xiao’s face darkened. Didn’t I already change my appearance? This brat doesn’t appreciate beauty at all.
Then Han Xiao looked at Hila and realized that she was being oddly quiet. Han Xiao started to tease her interested and smiled. “So, do you have anything that you want to say to me?”
Hila pushed Aurora higher up on her back and coldly replied, “Thanks.”
“You don’t sound like you mean it at all.” Han Xiao started to flip the bullets in his hands. “Don’t forget that I came a long way to save your sister. There’s no need for you to kneel on the ground to show your gratitude, but at least be more polite, will you?”
Hila turned her head around and frowned. “How did you know about my sister? What are you trying to do?”
Hila could not believe that Han Xiao really came here to save her sister, and she thought that he must had an ulterior motive. Although Hila was right, she could never guess that Han Xiao’s target was her.
“You sound like you are trying to interrogate me even though I am your savior and your teammate.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. “If you want to ask anything, you must at least try to show some respect.”
Savior and teammate… Hila was having a hard time getting used to someone with these two roles. After a long silence, she still could not say the word ‘please’. She boldly said, “Tell me.”
“What now? Do you think I’m like the Germinal Organization, trying to use your sister to control you?” Han Xiao yawned. “I might try if I want to.”
There was no way that he could do what he said. Hila relaxed for a bit and replied, “So, what do you want?”
“I want world peace.”
Hila ground her teeth in frustration. Han Xiao had just been playing with her all this time, and she did not get anything useful out of him. Hila shut her mouth again.
“Sister told me some stories about you, and she said you were very talented.” Aurora then curiously asked, “Are those stories real?”
Oh… Hila actually complimented me behind my back.
Han Xiao looked over, and Hila did not even flinch. Her face was still as cold as ice while looking straight ahead, ignoring Han Xiao. Well, there’s a saying that if you don’t say anything. then you agree to whatever that’s happening.
“Of course, it’s all real.”
“Then what happened after you escaped?” Aurora was really interested into Han Xiao’s story. During her time of imprisonment, when she and her sister meet up, her sister would always tell Aurora about the stories of the world outside. The stories of Zero had left the deepest impression on her.
Hila thought that Han Xiao had some things that he did not want to say, so she suddenly had an idea.
“Even though we don’t know how Zero… Han Xiao has gain so much power in such short period of time, when he escaped the base, he was not strong. After he finally got the freedom he longed for, he was frightened that the organization might capture him, so he had no choice but to change his name and hide away from the eyes of the Germinal Organization. He never showed himself and only gathered information in the dark, and the organization could not find him.”
Seeing that Han Xiao remained quiet, Hila thought that she must have guessed it correctly. After working for the Germinal Organization for years, she knew the consequences of rebels, and Han Xiao must have had a difficult past during his time hiding from the organization.
After a few sentences, Aurora slowly fell asleep. Her body was weak, and the intense journey quickly drained her energy. Han Xiao and Hila also stopped talking and focused on the journey ahead.
After three hours of silence, they reached a part where the tunnel was blocked, and the exit was right above their head.
Han Xiao and Hila stepped on the shattered rocks. Hila’s hand swept over the ceiling, and she found the lever. After she flipped the lever, cracks suddenly appeared and formed a square, and dust started to fall from above of them. The crack was dark, and one could not see anything on the other side.
“Get up.” Hila pushed open the hidden door and jumped into the room.
The room was pitch black without any sound. After the eyes had adjusted to the darkness, they could see that they were in a large storage room. Tons of boxes and containers were lined up, and there was another exit at the corner of the storage room that was covered in dust.
“They don’t have anything important in this warehouse, so there shouldn’t be a lot of security here. Toward the south is the secured part of the headquarters. As long as we can get out of the secured zone, then we will be safe.”
Han Xiao remained silent.
Cyberlos had once said that the leader encircled him using large amount of manpower, and they set up countless of troops scattered in a radius of a few hundred miles. Even though he had escaped the headquarters, he still did not escape the encirclement. If what Cyberlos had said was true, then there was still a long way before Han Xiao could get to safety.
Gripping his equipment bag, Han Xiao thought, My identity will be revealed sooner or later. I might as well just do it right here.
Suddenly, the interface popped up with a message.
_____________________
Your landmine successfully killed the soldiers of Germinal Organization. You gain 1 experience.
_____________________
“The landmines in the tunnel just exploded, it won’t be long before the Germinal Organization catch up,” Han Xiao said.
Hila’s face briefly let slip a stunned expression. “We need to pick up our pace.”
It was night, and the sky was dark. They woke Aurora up and put her into the bag. Then the two of them quickly left the warehouse, sneaked under the patrol of the soldiers, and head toward the exit.
A number of troops started to show up and settle down in the area around the headquarters. The security level was also increased by a few levels.
A few hours ago, Han Xiao and Hila had disappeared in the headquarters. The leader called for the highest level of order to employ all the standby troop to catch Han Xiao. He knew that Han Xiao must still be in the headquarters’ surroundings, so he reinforced the security at the borders and would not let anyone pass.
The ambushing troops on the outside was a few hundred times more than the number of troops in the headquarters. In the beginning, the leader used all the resources that he had to set up the encirclement of troops that lasted for a few hundred miles. All the preparation was for any possible accident, and the day’s events proved that he had been right to be so cautious.
The leader of southern troops quickly changed from a normal leader to executive officer Kedor who was LV 55. To target the powerful growth that Han Xiao had, the leader also employed the veterans and executive officers. There were more than ten executive officers, a dozen super soldiers, a few hundred Inhumans, and a few thousands common soldiers that followed after Kedor.
In the chaotic battlefront, Kedor was receiving orders from the leader.
“The headquarters have already found the location of the target and have started a blanket search operation. There is a high chance that the target is heading toward you. You are authorized to fire at any suspicious object in the battlefield, and you are authorized to kill on sight. Do not let him get away!”
“If he dares to come toward me, he will die,” Kedor replied. “How about Hila and her sister?”
“They betrayed the organization; if they resist, kill them all.”
The leader’s voice was deep. Zero was the number one enemy—even sacrificing Aurora would be worth it.
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Dark clouds covered the sky, and the moon and the stars were nowhere to be seen.
The ground base was brightly lit, and columns of light tore through the surrounding darkness. The guards were searching everywhere for something, and armored vehicles rolled past one after another with their loud engines blaring through the still night. Helicopters lit up their searchlights and were searching as well, causing circles of light to cut through swaths of empty ground.
The large-scale search gave Han Xiao and Hila quite the headache. Thankfully, Hila was well acquainted with the local terrain, and they were able to avoid all the pursuing soldiers. Eventually, they hid themselves in the shadow of a metal building situated at the edge of the base as they observed the distant Germinal army formations toward the south.
The troops toward the south and the base were separated by an inclined area. Based on the duo’s observation, heading straight out would just make them easy targets for the search parties. At this moment, there seemed to be some commotion toward the south, as countless lights were suddenly turned on. It was as if a miniature sun had appeared in the dark scenery.
“This is bad. They have drastically increased the personnel on the ground, and it’s impossible to pass without drawing their attention. Once we’re found, they will kill us all,” Hila said with a heavy voice.
The organization’s forces seemed to be endless. Although they were being defeated at every turn by the Six Nations’ combined army, it was still a force to be reckoned with. On the other hand, they were but two people, and trying to force their way out would be possible. They should consider some other ways to stealthily sneak away.
Han Xiao gave the massive number of troops a few glances before speaking calmly. “Tanks, artilleries… Heh. They’re basically prepared to fight a war. It’s quite a feat they have pulled just to deal with us.”
“More like to deal with you. We’re just addons.” Hila was expressionless, and she asked, “Do you not have any reinforcements?”
She felt like Han Xiao definitely had some help when infiltrating the Germinal headquarters. Since that was the case, he must have arranged the extraction.
Yet Han Xiao shook his head immediately, making her feel like her heart just dropped.
“No help…” Hila could not hold it in and asked, “Then what’s your plan now? Germinal won’t stop looking for us. Even if we somehow break out of this encirclement, there will still be countless pursuers after us.”
“I’ll just see.” Han Xiao did not really care about it and went back to preparing his equipment.
Hila frowned. If help was not coming, then what was the point of following Han Xiao?
The one Germinal wanted was him, and her sister would be safer if they were to split up. She thought that since she had already helped him leave the headquarters, she had already returned the favor. So, it would not be immoral to suggest to split up.
For Aurora, Hila was willing to do anything.
Let’s just try to get out of here first…
Hila calmed herself down, stopped paying attention to what Han Xiao was doing, and just focused on observing the troops ahead.
…
At the same time, toward the south, the large searchlights all shone on the inclined ground, and nothing could have escaped their observations. There were heavy turrets set up every fifty meters, ready to send out a wave of metal bullets on command.
Different scenes of the encirclement were all sent back to the control room back in headquarters so that the leader could control the situation in real time.
Among the troops stationed toward the south were the group of players who had been recruited by Germinal and formed into their own Inhuman squad. They were grouped up in their own camp, ready for orders. The mission to intercept Zero had not failed, and the players were astounded when they saw the large formations of Germinal troops deployed to catch Zero.
“We won’t be able to help much. Isn’t this basically just a free mission?”
“You’re right. Maybe this is sort of like a cutscene, where we can only watch,” said Electrolux, who had also been recently recruited. Foreign players were not uncommon on Planet Aquamarine, and none thought his presence was odd. No one knew that he was actually a European spy.
“Hey. Do any of you know anything about Zero’s origins?”
A player with the ID White Hunt said, “I do.”
The moment he spoke, the crowd was interested and started to throw in more questions.
White Hunt, a top player from Temple of God, had obtained information from the Guild of Gods, which was why he came to Germinal to trigger the Intercept Zero mission. As he described the process of how Zero single handedly manipulated events to hinder Germinal’s activities on the planet, the other players could not help but be shocked.
“Sounds like an amazing person.”
“Doesn’t he sound like a character from the main storyline? He escaped from the original Germinal base by himself and has now sent the organization to the brink of collapse. He must at least be a Legend on this planet to be able to manipulate massive wars like this!”
“Maybe he’s Planet Aquamarine’s protagonist… Oh no! My reputation with him is -30,” someone screamed in distress.
White hunt laughed at that. “Although he may be a character in the main storyline, he shouldn’t be someone we will have to interact with in the future, or else we wouldn’t have lost so many reputation points just from being his enemy.”
The crowd nodded at that. Strong but unimportant NPCs were not unheard of in the game. Since they would not be interacting, having reputation points with him would not do much for them.
…
After some observation, Hila finally said, “This path is too dangerous. Let’s try another place.”
She heard noises behind her as she said that. Han Xiao seemed to be preparing some sort of equipment while he explained, “The search parties have already narrowed down all the possible escape routes. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it is, and it’s the same everywhere.
“Then do you have an idea?”
“We rush them.”
Frowning, Hila answered without looking back at him, “The enemies are too many; even if we take out several hundred, we will still eventually fall to their human wave tactic. Only death awaits us if we charge in like that. Let’s look for an opening.”
However, Han Xiao seemed to have already made up his mind and said confidently, “Make sure you keep up.”
Hila was going to question where that confidence came from when she heard some sort of machinery activating behind her. She turned around and was shocked by what she saw. Han Xiao’s appearance was completely different. She was now looking at a streamlined suit of jet-black mechanical armor with faint blue lights glowing through the gaps of the suit. This breathtaking scene brought about an abrupt realization.
This figure, this suit, there was no doubt… It was way too famous. The whole Germinal, no, the whole world knew him.
“Black Phantom!”
Hila could no longer hold her calm and had a look of disbelief on her face.
At that moment, she realized what had happened. No wonder how Han Xiao could infiltrate the Germinal headquarters alone without any sort of backup. He was someone who stood at the top. A one-man army!
So, this is the truth!
Thinking back on the news that she had read about Black Phantom, Han Xiao’s life these past few years was far from that of a runaway fugitive. He was always right in front of everyone, including Germinal, showing off his powers and making a legend of himself, one step at a time.
Hila had witnessed Han Xiao at his weakest, and she never thought that he would one day stand at the top and far surpass her.
“You, you…” Hila was lost for words.
Han Xiao gently patted the still shocked Hila and made large strides toward the troops in the south as he exuded a sort of confidence exclusive to the powerful.
The built-in tactical screen in his helmet gave him a quick analysis of the battlefield as he strode down the slope toward the enemy without a care. As he approached, dozens of powerful lights instantly shone onto him, making his figure as detailed as possible to the onlookers.
When everyone saw this figure, they took a while to react.
“Why is Black Phantom here?” Kedor was confused.
Once they looked past Han Xiao, they finally saw Hila.
This was when shock, realization, and fear suddenly went through the minds of all present.
“Zero… is Black Phantom!”
When the truth finally revealed itself, everyone was stunned and could not do anything but stare.
Kedor, the field commander, had also lost his wits and forgot to order his men to attack.
All the executives on the field suddenly felt a gust of cold air blow up their spines and into their minds. All those who had opposed Black Phantom had ended up as corpses.
This name instilled fear in all those who heard it.
Han Xiao crouched lightly, brought his arms behind him, and got into a pre-jump position as the booster on his back let out bright red lights. The sound of a spinning turbine got more and more intense, and the faint blue light that filled the lining along his suit sent energy all over his body. The mechanic muscles grew in size as the suit entered the Strengthened state.
Boosters appeared on his waist, behind his arms, legs, and between the gaps in the suit. These boosters released an invisible force and bended the air behind Han Xiao. Back in the shelter, Han Xiao had made countless modifications to Viper and added a number of modules. It was now much stronger than before.
This was the advantage of being a mechanic. Even as other classes started to face bottlenecks, he could always continue to upgrade his equipment and steadily increase his strength.
“Attack! Attack, now!” Kedor finally reacted and roared his commands. His men were startled into action and started to lock the machine guns onto Han Xiao.
Yet, right before they could open fire, a huge boom sounded as Han Xiao exploded off the ground and sent dirt flying everywhere like an artillery shell had hit where he was standing.
Han Xiao launched away and flew right into the enemy formation. One after another, the Germinal soldiers were sent into the air.
At that moment, chaos fell upon the battlefield!
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Han Xiao tore through the enemy formations like a hot knife through butter. There was a constant stream of clinking noises as the bullets that were shot at him got reflected by his high-level armor.
He kicked away a Germinal soldier, stole his machine gun, and opened fire at the others around him as the gun was surrounded by a faint blue light that greatly boosted its power and rate of fire. The barrage of shots was also triggering the effects of Lethal Shot one after another. Kill confirmation messages flooded through his interface as the Germinal soldiers fell in swaths.
The nearby troops quickly filled in the gaps and tried to surround Han Xiao. A dozen or so grenade-launchers were fired and drew parabolas across the battlefield toward Han Xiao.
Yet, before the shots even reached him, Han Xiao stepped to the side, leaped into the air, and took off with the reaction force from the blasts.
Boom!
All kinds of tanks and artilleries fired at Han Xiao, and explosions roared through the night as the smell of gunpowder permeated the battlefield. It was as if a small-scale war was being waged against Germinal, but Han Xiao was their only opponent.
Viper’s upgrades along with his skills and talents made Han Xiao unstoppable as he ran straight through explosions. Not even the heavily armored vehicles were spared from his rampage. A few unlucky tanks got flattened to the ground after being run over by Han Xiao. It was a complete massacre, and soon, the Germinal forces were breaking apart.
Whoosh!
Two attack helicopters rushed to the scene and immediately opened fire on Han Xiao, and a stream of high caliber bullets trailed after him. Han Xiao’s eye flashed, and in a split second, he calculated the helicopter’s speed and flight path with his helmet interface, retrieved the Ghost sniper rifle from his back, and took a shot. It was as if he did not even have to aim.
The electromagnetic projectile zoomed past the battlefield before it went clean through the helicopter and flew off into the night sky.
The pilot was killed instantly, and the helicopter spiraled out of control and crashed into the hillside below and tumbled down the hill with the centripetal force from the rotors. It kept on rolling until it eventually destroyed the fence in its way and tore through dozens of Germinal soldiers before crashing into and collapsing a defensive structure, causing dust to fill the air. The helicopter had cleared a bloody path through the swarms of soldiers.
One of the rotor blades broke off and flew through the air and landed right in front of a group of stunned players. They were already flabbergasted since the moment it was revealed the Han Xiao was Black Phantom.
The source of all these legendary achievements was the same person, so he was basically the main protagonist on their planet!
The players were all very familiar with Black Phantom since they heard about him pretty much every day. Now that the mystery of his identity had been revealed, the players were extremely excited, as if they had just discovered a new continent.
The quick ones immediately turned on the camera function and started streaming the event to the world.
“Wait a second, if he’s Black Phantom…”
Some players finally realized the gravity of the situation and turned their attention to their reputation points on their interface. Instantly, they felt like a gust of north had just blew past them, freezing their excitement.
This can’t be real! A -30 reputation with Black Phantom? How long will it take to even reset it back to zero?
The Germinal players felt like their hearts were crushed.
We haven’t even enjoyed Black Phantom’s benefits, yet we just lost all our hope after waiting for so long!
The players present looked frozen ducks. All color drained from their faces.
Screw you Germinal. Give me back my youth!
When Han Xiao saw this, the corner of his mouth perked up.
This group of players was essential in his plan. They played the role of the ‘reporter’ and were responsible for spreading tonight’s events out far and wide. The big reveal of his double identity would surely rock the player community and become a hot topic for the time to come.
Currently, there were not very many NPCs that had made a deep impression on the players. So, making big news himself would be the best way of ensuring his spot in the community. Now that his popularity was sure to be on the rise, the benefits would also roll in one after another.
By showing of his capability at the Germinal headquarters, it would seem completely natural story-wise. There was not a better moment than this. His new legendary ranking was basically set in stone.
With Han Xiao loaded in his new gear, the mechanic’s strengths were on full display. He did not even need to keep his distance, and instead, he began a one-man massacre amid enemy forces.
Dragging this out will do more harm than good. Viper’s energy levels are going doing very fast. I need to clear out an area and find an escape vehicle, Han Xiao thought.
“Kill him!”
Suddenly, a powerful force approached as Kedor roared and led a group of executives straight for Han Xiao.
Han Xiao frowned, and the Field Repulsive Machine on his wrist began to store up energy. He raised his right fist, ready to attack at any moment, as energy waves started to pulse out of him.
The next second, as if pulling a trigger, Han Xiao released his fist and punched at the air in front of him.
Boom!
A condensed wave of energy exploded out of his fist and crashed into the group approaching him like a tsunami. Like bowling pins, the executives were all knocked away. This attack was just like the Shockwave Blast used by Pugilists, and Kedor’s group was instantly broken out of formation.
Using this chance, Han Xiao locked onto the person with the strongest life force, Kedor, and rushed him. The disoriented Kedor did not even have time to dodge before he was tackled to the ground. Viper’s muscle fibers pulsed and bulged, and attacks with the Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves with +80 Strength landed on Kedor’s body one after another. Blood spurted out everywhere.
After a dozen or so hits, Kedor, with his face was full of blood, was furious. He released his energy and pushed Han Xiao high into the air.
Han Xiao pulled out the Ghost sniper rifle mid-flight and activated Burning Will.
The rifle’s muzzle that started to glow was giving Kedor all sorts of warning signals and made all his hair stand on end.
Hum!
The shot dealt explosive damage and instantly emptied Kedor’s remaining health bar.
The shot left a faint trail of blue light in the air before it left a hole between Kedor’s eyebrows and a shocked expression on his face.
_____________________
You have killed Kedor (LV 55). You have earned 142,000 experience.
You have earned 25 trial points.
_____________________
Level 55 enemies actually drop so many trial points! Han Xiao was overjoyed.
For the half minute or so after eliminating the strongest Germinal member in the area, it was as if Han Xiao turned on his grass-cutter mode—he just mowed through the rest of the enemy forces. Like a human bomb, he obliterated anyone who stood in his way. A C-class superhuman was enough to go against armies on their own.
Only by demonstrating overwhelming strength could he rise up in popularity and fame.
Han Xiao cleared out a large patch of ground, and it was as if there was a hole in the middle of the Germinal base.
He really went and rushed them! Hila was shocked, but she still did not forget Han Xiao’s instructions and followed behind, carrying Aurora.
After stealing and boarding an armored SUV. Han Xiao smashed his foot onto the gas, and trio drove off into the night after smashing past the roadblocks.
The players received mission failure notifications, yet no one care anymore. They were still trying to process the fact that Black Phantom was Zero.
The control room back in headquarters was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone had witnessed the chaos from the screens. The leader’s chest rose and fell rapidly, and even though he was putting on a poker face, everyone present knew that he was enraged.
“I kept sending people to search for him. Yet, I never thought… that he never tried to hide.” The leader felt a suffocating feeling and felt like he had been played like a fool.
His assistant to the side asked warily, “Do… do we chase?”
“We chase. Summon back all the executives still out on the field, the organization’s strongest military force, and all the reserve forces. Lock down all areas and kill on sight. Short range missiles are authorized.”
At around the same time, the videos that were posted by the Germinal players were starting to cause waves on the forums.
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The post titled ‘Shocking news! The man behind the war was actually…’ instantly shot to the top of the Planet Aquamarine forums.
The players on Planet Aquamarine back then had all of their attention on the war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization. Being able to participate and contribute in this world-shaking event allowed them to be truly immersed in the game. And this was also when the post revealed that ‘Zero’ was the person who had manipulated events behind the scenes and single handedly caused this war.
Some players remembered that the Germinal Organization had put out a massive bounty for Zero, and they felt intrigued by this character.
This kind of plot where an organization’s traitor was able to turn around and cause massive damage to the organization was very compelling to many people.
He had to be the key character in the main storyline!
The post detailed the things that Zero had done against Germinal up till now, but when the players thought that was the end of the post, they found out that there was even more information at the bottom—information on Black Phantom. The post’s author did not give any explanation and simply listed Black Phantom’s achievements as well. The players were confused but patiently read through it as there was no harm in understanding more about Black Phantom.
But everyone’s face changed when they got to the last line—’Black Phantom and Zero are one and the same!’
“What?”
“They’re the same person‽”
Many players doubted the authenticity of this information. However, the post also came with a recording of Han Xiao rampaging through the Germinal headquarters, shocking the players when they watched it.
The players were not too familiar with Zero, but it was a whole other story when it came to Black Phantom. Ever since the start of the open beta, this NPC had provided them with countless benefits and interacted with them countless times. When the players watched the recording of Black Phantom wreaking havoc in the Germinal base, they felt an odd sense of familiarity, and they had the impression that this was something that only Black Phantom would do.
Now, his identity had been exposed.
He was Zero and also Black Phantom.
His name was Han Xiao!
Zero’s past and Black Phantom’s achievements complemented each other perfectly and created an image of a character who, after losing everything to Germinal, escaped from the organization’s evil grasps. He never gave up to his miserable circumstances but only slowly grew stronger and gradually worked toward toppling the gargantuan organization that had wronged him before he finally swept the whole world into war. This story sounded as if it came right out of a Hollywood film.
Hero stories always sold well, and Han Xiao’s badassery had already firmly placed him on top of a pedestal in the players’ hearts while Germinal was immediately seen as the planet’s antagonist. Although there was not any true right or wrong in this world, people had already grown used to taking sides—having two extremes was much easier to understand. Players stopped caring about Germinal’s ideology and took Han Xiao’s side as they had already thought of this NPC as ‘one of their own’.
This post’s popularity exploded in a never before seen manner, and it felt like a historical moment for the players on Planet Aquamarine. The upvotes were increasing by tens of thousands every the second, and instantly, it took one of the top ten spots on the Galaxy forum’s trending posts ranking.
Just as Han Xiao had thought, the combination of his two identities, when revealed, caused a chemical reaction and pushed his popularity on to a new height, further consolidating his position in the players’ hearts.
Interacting with players was something he had focused on doing ever since the open beta, and he was now seeing the fruits of his labor. The tiny spark that he had started several months ago had now turned into a raging fire with the reveal.
The players were the first to know about the news that get posted on the forums, and now, Han Xiao’s group had just escaped from the Germinal base.
…
Their vehicle rolled over the rough landscape of Andrea under the darkness of the night, gradually getting further away from the base until it was but a dot on the horizon.
Han Xiao, who was driving, had not unequipped his suit, but he opened up the mouth hatch. He lit up a cigar and started puffing smoke in and out his mouth, giving off the vibe of an old truck driver, as he held the steering wheel expressionlessly.
The car stopped abruptly and caused rocks and dust to fly everywhere around it.
“Switch. You drive. I need to give the car some anti-radar modifications. I have no wish to be blown up into the air by missiles.” Han Xiao pushed opened the car door and got out before maxing out SUI: Anti-radar Coating and Camouflage Paint in his interface.
He also took a glance at the advancement mission—his progress was 72/2000. This was normal as advancement missions were often long-term goals.
Hila closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she got out of the car and supported herself with the side of the car to suppress the nauseous feeling welling up in her stomach. Although it was almost unbearable, she had to admit that under their previous peril, Han Xiao’s driving had made her feel safe enough.
Aurora, on the other hand, was fast asleep in the backseat and was completely unbothered. Han Xiao saw this scoffed and said, “Your sister will definitely get further in life than you.”
Hila did not even bother with replying and got into the driver’s seat. As she watched Han Xiao taking out all sorts of gears and parts to attach onto the outside of the car, she said, “We’re still in Germinal territory, so we shouldn’t take the large roads. However, driving through the wilderness will take eight to nine days before we can get to safety. Not to mention, the Germinal troops that must’ve been sent to pursue us. They will bring planes, armored vehicles, and even missiles.”
“You can just follow the map and take whichever route you think is safer. You’re more familiar with the area, after all,” Han Xiao replied without even turning. Now that Germinal knew about his face-changing capability, they would definitely kill all those suspicious. Escaping would not be easy.
Han Xiao did not guess wrong. This time, all search parties were equipped with cameras that were connected to headquarters’ command center at all times to prevent him from masquerading as one of the Germinal soldiers sent to catch him. Once a camera lost connection, the whole squad would be considered as KIA.
The Germinal Organization practically utilized all their forces to chase them, and their only chance of escaping was to run faster and break through the encirclement before they were completely trapped. Once they were in the Six Nations’ territory would they truly be considered safe. Germinal also knew this and would do whatever it took to kill Han Xiao and the sisters off while they still could. Escaping from enemy forces was often the most dangerous, as enemy reinforcements would be endless.
Fortunately, Han Xiao had anti-detection measures to prevent them from being pinpointed by their pursuers. Germinal’s only way of finding them was to throw in as much manpower as possible
But there was also another problem.
“Our fuel can only last another eight hours, and we’re completely out of food and water. Moreover, we are also running low on ammunition. We need to find somewhere to resupply soon, or things won’t be looking good,” said Hila.
“We don’t need to look for supplies,” Han Xiao replied calmly. “The enemies will just bring it to our doorsteps themselves. I’m a mechanic. It won’t matter if we run out of equipment to use as I can just make more.”
Hila did not have a response to that. By now, she had long since thrown away the thought of splitting up with Han Xiao to escape. It was much safer for her sister and her to stay with him.
Han Xiao tried to think of his next steps in silent as he made the modifications on the car.
“Although we have anti-radar measures, we should still be careful of the Germinal Organization getting desperate. I need to find some way to deal with missiles.”
They were currently still in Germinal territory, so nuclear missiles should not be a worry. What they needed to watch out for were the countless short-range tactical missiles from the nearby Germinal bases. These missiles would be more than enough to take out the few of them. With their destructive capability and range of up to several thousand kilometers, they were often used to target important enemy structures.
As a C-class superhuman, tanking attacks from normal firearms and smaller troops was not an issue, but it was still too early to talk about taking missiles straight on.
Superhumans were able to resist attacks based on their energy levels and skills, but there was a limit to how much they could absorb. Taking on weapons of mass destruction to the face would simply be suicidal.
A superhuman’s body was relatively fragile when compared to those weapons of war. However, this all changed when one got strong enough. A-class superhumans and above were capable of reigning over whole regions in Galaxy and were even capable of taking on whole small space battleships by themselves. However, those kinds of characters were few, and although superhumans could get very powerful, it was still impossible to take large armies on by themselves. This was especially so when highly advanced civilizations were involved. Galactic entities had access to terrifying weapons such as electromagnetic and beam weapons. Even a random foot soldier would be equipped with an advanced combat suit. In wide reaches of space, strength was calculated by one’s civilization, not individual strength.
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The first idea that popped out was to engineer an anti-missile device, and he just so happened to know a basic blueprint for a pure defensive device, which was called expandable light fortress. It could suddenly form a golden shield that protected the target and blocked the explosion and shockwave.
There were a variety of blueprints for defensive machinery, and the most common one was the energy shield. However, knowledge on those shields required class advancement in energy studies, and this type of light fortress did not require a high level of skill. One only need the blueprint and some basic understanding to create the design in the blueprint, and the defensive durability would be dependent on the materials used.
But Han Xiao quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way he could create any complicated machinery without a lathe. The only thing he could do was modify and improve the vehicle by taking some parts out of the enemy’s equipment. Creating a light fortress simply would take too much work.
After eliminating the option, Han Xiao had another idea.
Anti-missile defense… We’ll have to get professionals.
…
Right after Han Xiao escaped the headquarters, the Germinal Organization responded without any delay. Under the command of the leader, countless troops of the Germinal Organization started scouring the areas that they had control of. The air force and the ground troops were employed at the same time. The scale of this operation was similar to that of a proper battlefield.
An hour later, the Six Nations picked up the movement of the Germinal Organization. Without any intel, they had to prepare for possible attacks, so they increased their security and defense order to prevent any tactics of the Germinal Organization. Then, on the same night, the Six Nations conducted an emergency meeting to analyze the current battle and try to understand the reason behind the military movement of the Germinal Organization.
After half an hour of intense discussion, from the evidence that they had, they finally came to the conclusion that baffled their minds.
Who are they trying to hunt down‽
The Six Nations had already pushed their military right in front of the base of the Germinal Organization, and they still had the time to waste their resources to hunt down someone. That man had to be very special.
The situation was not ideal, and the Six Nations were still debating whether they should stop the Germinal Organization’s operation. While the enemy of an enemy was often a friend, Raylen, Theseus, and Ordina opposed the idea of intervention in case it was a trap, and they suggested that the Six Nations should keep on following the original strategic plan to ensure a predictable battle.
While the commanders were discussing, Stardragon’s commander suddenly received a message from Division 13. His face was shocked as he said, “Everyone please wait, my troops just received important information. The man who is being hunted down contacted my communication division. Please allow me to pass on his message to the main channel.
Everyone was surprised.
The monitor blinked, and Han Xiao’s face started to surface. He used his original appearance, and the commanders quickly recognized that he was Zero, one of the most wanted man of the Germinal Organization. The man who kept on providing intel to the Six Nations appeared right in front of their eyes. The commanders around the table were shocked.
“Are you the one being hunted down by the Germinal Organization?”
“Why are you in the territory of the Germinal Organization?”
“I infiltrated the headquarters and retrieved key information from the mainframe of the system,” Han Xiao replied. “All their information on their troops, strategies, and missile distribution are now in my hands. That’s why the Germinal Organization are using everything they have to kill me. And now, I want to make a deal with you.”
The commanders looked at each other. None of them had told Zero to steal intel on the Germinal Organization, but he did it anyway all by himself. How much hatred does Zero against the Germinal Organization? He probably wants to destroy them more than we do.
“Go on.”
“Send out your troops, interfere with the enemy troops, and ensure my safety. Once I am safe, the intel will be yours.”
Han Xiao prepared to use the intel as a bargaining chip for an exchange of the Six Nations assistance. The intel was originally going to be sent to the Six Nations, and now they would have to fight for this information.
In the beginning, Han Xiao’s plan had been to steal the intel and get out without getting found out. However, Destiny’s Child’s foresight had allowed the leader to set ambush, which disrupted Han Xiao’s plan. So, he could only adjust accordingly.
Han Xiao did not anticipate the appearance of Destiny’s Child, but he was not frustrated since not everything would always go according to plan. He was not afraid of accidents as long as he could adapt to the new situations.
An officer said coldly, “You can’t prove that you have the intel unless you tell us right now. If you do so, we will consider protecting you.”
“This intel can burn the Germinal Organization down to the ground, and this is essential for victory of the battle,” Han Xiao replied. “If you do not accept my terms, this intel will be buried with my dead body. No… not only me, but all of your soldiers will die too. If the Germinal Organization admits defeat, they might trigger all their nuclear weapons and wipe out everyone. And then, you will question yourself—why didn’t you simply accept my offer?”
The commanders were anxious as Han Xiao pointed out their main concern. They did not know the quantity or the location of the nuclear bombs that the Germinal Organization had. If they could get information on this matter, then they could send out all the agents, elites, and strong soldiers to eliminate this greatest threat.
“How can we trust you?”
“To show my gratitude, I just send out the first documents on the ‘Hands of Death’ system to Stardragon’s troops. I used to work for Stardragon’s communication agency, and Stardragon can testify.”
Stardragon was pushed to the front of attention. Everyone looked over at Gu Hui, and Gu Hui looked dismal. With an annoyed expression, he nodded, which meant that it did happen.
“The Germinal Organization has a strong security system in place. Even our most elite agents could not infiltrate the headquarters. How did you get through?” another officer asked.
Han Xiao tapped his cheek, and his appearance slowly changed.
After looking at his face, the commanders of the Six Nation all stood up with chairs rolling away. Everyone froze.
This is the face of the Black Phantom!
“Are… are you…” Gu Hui, who almost fell, stammered with disbelief, “Black Phantom‽”
Han Xiao adjusted the image and showed the Viper next to his body. “Zero, Black Phantom, they are both identities of mine. You can call me Han Xiao.”
Gu Hui’s breath quickened. Division 13 did try to send people to track down Zero. The targets were all the homeless migrants as they thought that Zero could only hide around such groups of people. As it turned out, they had searched in the wrong direction. Han Xiao had never tried to hide, but instead, he had become the legendary killer in the Dark Net.
The commanders could not believe the truth. The Black Phantom was considered an extreme threat in most countries, and no one could find out his true identity. And now, he had just showed up as Zero, the most wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization.
The mask allowed its user to change appearances in an instant, which left the commanders in awe. They were just glad that Han Xiao was on their side.
Han Xiao took off his mask, and his face was calm. He stood straight and looked powerful. Han Xiao no longer needed to hide his true identity. Sooner or later, the Germinal Organization would spread this news, so Han Xiao might as well just reveal the secret by himself, and this would make it easier to get Legendary Points.
The meeting room was dead silent. No one was able to speak a word. After a while, the commanders finally started to accept the truth.
“We accept the deal. We will send our troops to face them head on. Natural Satellite security and anti-missile device will be activated, so there will be no way the Germinal Organization and land a missile on the ground. The escort troops might take a while. We do not have any permission in air, so the air force might not be able to directly escort you away from the battle. After we finish discussing, we will tell you the extraction point.”
Han Xiao smiled. “Okay.”
…
After he turned off the communication device, Han Xiao let out a long sigh. The negotiation was successful, and the troops of the Six Nations would push forward on the side and intervene with the Germinal troops. This was the biggest ally that Han Xiao could get.
At this point, there was no need for Han Xiao to wear his mask. The cool wind blew on his cheeks. He closed his eyes as if tasting the feeling of freedom.
He could finally take off his mask after wearing it for more than six months. There was no reason to hide anymore.
From that night onward, the world would know his true identity. He was Zero. He was Black Phantom.
Legendary Points would flood in like water after the organizations on Planet Aquamarine accepted this truth.
And now, what he had to do was break through the lock on the ground and meet up with the escort team of the Six Nations. For Han Xiao, this battle had already ended.
Hila looked back at the sleeping Aurora as her icy expression slowly melted.
“Since you’ve convinced the Six Nation, with their help, we are now in safe hands.”
“Don’t let your guard down. Even if we have allies, we have to make it until they can find us.” Han Xiao did not think twice before killing Hila’s enthusiasm.
The sky slowly brightened, and the long night came to an end.
The battle would begin after sunrise.
…
That very night, the true identity of Han Xiao spread like wildfire to the organizations all around the world.
Every organization was shocked.
The whole world was shocked.
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The battlefield only covered the land of Andrea, which was significantly far away from the other three continents. Each and every piece of news about the war was like a wide spread disease that instilled fear and anxiety into people’s minds. This warfare caused inevitable repercussions to all the nations around the world. The world was in chaos. The rate of theft and murder increased at an exponential rate, extremist of religions that preached the end of the world rose, and small groups of wanderers decided to join the Six Nations to seek protection.
During war time, the Six Nations had strict policies, and they performed rigorous investigations and surveillance on the wanderers. Thus, the wanderers did not dare say anything that would offend the Six Nations. During time of peace and prosperity, these wanderers could not really sense the benefit of having neighboring countries. But for those who betrayed the country, they realized the importance of having a nation one could rely on. Discrimination and unequal treatment were around every corner for these people. The wanderers without citizenship were probably in a lower status compared to stray dogs, and they could only remain quiet and beg for mercy.
Therefore, some wanderers would rather remain homeless, robbed by bandits and attacked by wild creatures, than join the Six Nations. For them, the only other option left was to seek shelter under the Dark Net. Without any reinforced policies and restrictions, the wanderers eagerly joined the Dark Net, and all the money and resources Bennett had poured in finally came into use. He felt like he was Buddha, alleviating all the suffering around the world.
“Ah, the futility of war.”
On the top floor of Sanctuary One, Bennett stood next to the window as his sharp pupils reflected the entire field of Sanctuary One.
The mist of war surrounded the tower, and everyone on the Planet Aquamarine worried about their future. Even though the Sanctuary was a step toward the bright future, Bennett was still troubled by the Han Xiao’s baffling action to join the war. It had already been a few days, and Bennett had not heard from Han Xiao.
Bennett had a rather complicated perception on Han Xiao. On one hand, Han Xiao was the most important assistant with an honorable record in the battlefield and uncountable achievements. And now, the size of Sanctuary Three was already larger than that of Sanctuary One and Two. From time to time, Bennett considered changing the name of Sanctuary One to Black Phantom Sanctuary.
On the other hand, the movement of Black Phantom was unpredictable, and Bennett often had to bear the responsibility of those actions. Even though the mistakes were only small compared to the achievements of Black Phantom, Bennett believe that sooner or later, he would have to take the blame for the actions that offended the world.
“We received information from the frontline. There are unusual movement in the battlefield. Please take a look at this.” The assistant rushed into the room and handed over the laptop.
As the largest intelligence network on Planet Aquamarine, the Dark Net had kept up to date with the situation on the battlefield. Bennett meticulously read the latest information.
“Two days ago, the southern front of Andrea experienced a drastic change. The Germinal Organization, which who was on the defensive side, employed a large-scale search around the headquarters. At the same time, the Six Nations applied pressure to the Germinal Organization from south and east sides. Moreover, they sent out multiple troops to infiltrate the Germinal Organization’s territory. From the movement of both sides, it seems that they are all going after the same target.
“It is reported that the target is the most wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization, Zero, who infiltrated the mainframe and obtained a large amount of classified information. Both the Germinal Organization and the Six Nation are fighting to obtain this information. From our undercover operatives in the Six Nations, the information will determine the outcome of this war.”
Bennett stopped reading and sighed. ” Zero… I know this man. The reason that the Germinal Organization has fallen to the point today is mostly because of this man. A traitor who made the Germinal Organization walk toward the path of destruction. Now he has obtained the key intelligence on this war, and he is the eye of the storm. He is an impressive man. Even if he lived in the old era, he could have been the legend to shape the world.”
Bennett then flipped on to the next page.
“In addition, Zero called himself Han Xiao, and he had a mask that can change his appearance in an instant. Black Phantom is one of his identities.”
Bennett could not say a word.
Bang!
Three seconds later, the window in the office shattered as Bennett threw the laptop through it with all his strength. The laptop arced through the sky and smashed onto the ground. The laptop was utterly destroyed with parts rolling on the ground. The people on the ground were surprised and looked up at the Sanctuary.
“Han Xiao! You b*stard!”
Bennett more than furious. He scratched his head out of frustrated, and the clean, styled hair quickly turned into a mess. He then walked back and forth in the room.
The origin of Black Phantom had always been a mystery, as if his existence was created out of thin air. Bennett did try to ask Han Xiao about his history. At that time, Han Xiao’s tone had been reflective and dense.
“Every man has a past that they do not want to face, just like hands you bathe in blood. And that’s true for me. I have made a lot of mistakes. I used to wear a mask, and I never knew who I truly was. It’s only recently that I’ve finally seen my true identity. Of course, you do not know me.”
Bennett had believed him at that time. He had tried to remember if there’s any faceless legends in different organizations, and he had vaguely recalled a powerful man who disappeared in the flow of history. From his own experience, he had suddenly reached the conclusion that Han Xiao was a man with strong internal struggles, a man who sought self-redemption. Bennett had thought that he suddenly had a common topic that they could talk about.
Well, right now, Bennett was disappointed at how brainless he was.
How dare you trick me‽
Bennett took a few deep breaths and straightened his chest. He looked at this reflection on the broken glass and fixed his hair style. After he calmed down, he turned to look at the frightened assistant and said, “Has the information spread to the public?”
The assistant nodded dumbfoundedly.
Bennett sat down and sank into deep thought as he tapped his finger on the table like he was playing the piano.
…
On the southern front of the land of Andrea, a convoy that was intercepted by the Stardragon drove into the fourth section. Dozens of vehicles were in the area with a few carrying the missiles with cold warheads on top.
Division 13 of Stardragon began their infiltration mission. They took over a military base in the inner parts of the Germinal Organization’s territory, and they got a few batches of warheads.
The secret intelligence agencies of all the countries were working on the same operation. They slowly chipped away at the power of Germinal Organization with the intel given by Han Xiao before the war started. They had made their plans after knowing the strategy of the Germinal Organization, and their scale of operation had become smaller and smaller as time went on. Therefore, the Six Nations were desperate for the intel that Han Xiao had on his hands.
Small teams of agents got out of the vehicles, and Di Su Su and Zhang Wei’s teams were among them.
Di Su Su was going to wave at Li Yalin, but she saw Li Yalin and her team hurriedly left the area.
Li Yalin and her team charged into the commander’s room.
“Sir, it seems that Han Xiao had the intel!” Lin Yao said anxiously.
The commander nodded, and he handed over a document. “The situation is complicated. The upper officials wanted me to give you this intel.”
Li Yalin grabbed the document, and everyone squeezed around her to read it. On the very first line, the document already stated that the true identity of Black Phantom was Han Xiao.
“Haha. He really was Black Phantom. I was right after all!” Li Yalin laughed out loud, and her laugh was similar to a ringing bell. She slapped Lin Yao on the back, and he almost fell over.
In the battle of Tedramira River, Li Yalin did recognize Han Xiao. At that time, everyone in the team had guessed about the identity of Han Xiao. Zhang Wei had reported this to the higher officials, yet the officials did not give any response except to tell them not to further inquire on this topic, as if they were trying to hide something. Lin Yao had also stolen some of the records, but he realized that the higher officials had disregarded the report and never followed up with the case.
Now this proves that they had been right all along, and this truth slapped the higher officials right in the face.
Li Yalin suddenly let out a long sigh and cleared her mind.
“Wait…” Zhang Wei’s face darkened. “He still has another identity.”
The crowd quickly read the paper, and everyone was shocked.
Zero was actually Han Xiao‽
So, his true identity was the wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization!
Recalling about the weird behavior of Han Xiao when he first joined Stardragon, everyone was suddenly enlightened and connected all the dots together.
That is why the higher officials wanted to hide his identity. He was wanted by the Germinal Organization.
Now we know why no one can catch Zero. He can actually change his appearance.
Now we know…
All the mysterious events that had happened all seemed to have an explanation. The people were dumbfounded by this realization.
Lin Yao swallowed the saliva and said, “His history is unbelievable.”
Everyone nodded with agreement. No one had ever thought that one of their teammates was a legend.
On the side, Hou Yue face froze. He had heard a lot about this old team member, but to think he was actually such a great figure.
Du Su Su had also followed them into the office and read the document on the table. The commander did not stop her, as this intel would be spread anyway.
After reading the document, Di Su Su’s face was full of disbelief.
“No wonder when I saw Black Phantom near Seagull City, I felt that he was familiar. It turns out that Black Phantom was Han Xiao… Wait, then what Golden Fox said was…”
As she mentioned the incident, everyone in the room had a chill and stopped her from continuing the topic.
Li Yalin suddenly was aware of the danger that Han Xiao was in. She asked about the situation. The commander replied, “Other than the military operation, the officials have also formed an escort team to enter the battlefield and extract Han Xiao from the Germinal Organization’s territory.”
Zhang Wei walked up and asked, “Can we join the escort team?”
Commander shook his head. “You are nowhere near standard of the team.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As the news spread further and further away from the center of the battle, for those who had no dedicated channel to receive intel such as the wanderer warlords, they were the last ones to receive the news. Alumera was one them.
As a companion of Theseus, the Alumera family did not participate in the frontline of the war. Instead, they were in charge of keeping stability and security in the Northern Continent. This was a chance for Alumera to develop. The Dark Net Organization’s sanctuary plan ignited a few revolts from various warlord organizations. A part of these warlord organizations also tried to build places similar to the sanctuaries. However, their intention was different from Bennett’s intention to protect the innocent. They built their sanctuary only to gain profit and acquire more labor force.
Currently, the Alumera family was guided by the Xiao Faction, and Xiao Jin had a chance to get Black Phantom to visit this place. Xiao Hai looked up to his father’s capability to use methods to trick and gain power. Even though he often recalled that Black Phantom was his godfather and was disgusted by that fact as if he just swallowed a pile of excrement, Xiao Hai was glad that Black Phantom had not showed up in a very long time.
In the study of the Xiao Faction’s mansion, Xiao Hai reported the updated news they had, and he read Xiao Jin’s concerned face. “Father, are you not satisfied with the current affairs?”
Xiao Jin glanced at him. ” I’m still not standing on my own feet, and I’m still restricted under others.”
“Are you referring to Black Phantom?” Xiao Hai was confused. “Even though part of the reason you are in this position today is because of Black Phantom, the power and authority are still ours. Moreover, he is not even here, so he can’t have too much influence over our decision.”
“And this… this is my weakness. Black Phantom brought me up to the head of the house, but his influence is still limited, so he cannot touch on the inner policy making. Other Factions act like they look up to us, but they have plans behind the scenes to overthrow our position. We are not safe. In the end, we can only employ the power we have in the Xiao Faction, and the other factions never lend their resources, so it is hard to push any new policies.”
Xia Jin then reminded the Han Xiao’s threat and added, “Moreover, Black Phantom did not do this for free. I paid my price.”
Xiao Jin stood up and took two wine glasses and the precious Maple wine from the cabinet. He poured for two and handed one to Xiao Hai. He took a sip and continued. “Well, we’ll worry about that later. For now, the Xiao Faction has a more urgent task to deal with. Your brother Han Xiao is a wanted criminal of the Germinal Organization. This fact will be problematic, as people of Theseus came on multiple occasions to gather information. Currently, the war is at the most intense stage, and every organization is trying to severe any relationships with the Germinal Organization, but we will not be able to because of your brother, unless we are able to find to and send him over to the Six Nations.”
As soon as his father mentioned his brother, Xiao Hai’s face became unnatural. He was worried that the man that he had setup was still alive.
“It seems that Zero and the Germinal Organization are in a complicated situation…” Xiao Hai was troubled. The last thing that he want to see was Han Xiao being powerful and successful because he was afraid of revenge. At the bottom of his heart, Xiao Hai knew his brother’s weak character and mentality after growing up alongside him. But he still afraid of the possibility of a drastic change in his brother’s character.
What Zero did was clearly not what his obedient brother would do. Han Xiao was still scared of the revenge even though he had no idea what man his brother had become.
Knock knock.
The door opened, and the assistant peaked his head in. “Leader, Se Qi is here to visit.”
Se Qi was the chieftain of the Red Island Faction, which disagreed on Xiao Jin being the leader.
“Let him in.” Xiao Jin frowned and put down his glass of wine. “Since I became the leader, he has not visited me once. Something must be wrong.”
Xiao Hai nodded and waited on the side.
After a while, Si Qi walked into the room with a large smile on his face. “Leader.”
Xiao Jin remained silent and nodded back. He invited Si Qi to sit down, and Xiao Hai on the side was trying to size up Si Qi’s intentions. From the smile and the friendly expression, it seemed that it was nothing bad. The man was friendly and natural, so he did not seem like he was going to get into an argument with his father.
Si Qi took out a plan book, and this was Xiao Jin’s plan that needed the Red Island Faction’s cooperation. Before, Si Qi had kept on refusing, and now, suddenly, he took it out and said with a sweet expression, “After thinking about this for a while, I think this plan is very doable. I am willing to contribute my resources for this plan. I hope to discuss the details. Don’t worry, I will give all the resources I have for this project.
Xiao Hai was surprised and laughed in his heart. Now the Red Island Faction has finally bent over to our power and recognized the Xiao Faction is the leader.
Xiao Jin was also surprised. He slowly nodded and started discussing the plan with Si Qi.
After a few minutes, the assistant rushed in to the and said, “Leader, Todd has also come to visit.”
Todd was the chieftain of Home Faction, and he also did not have a good relationship with Xiao Jin. But now, he was visiting right after Si Qi.
Xiao Jin suppressed his surprise and invited Todd into the room.
“Hehe, head of the Xiao Faction. Right now, I want to discuss the plan we had last time…” As soon as the door opened, Todd saw Si Qi and acted like he was not there. He also took out a plan book, and just like Si Qi, he wanted to discuss the plan and submit power to the Xiao Faction.
Since the two largest powers had submit to Xiao Faction, they had the proper power to control Alumera. Happiness had come too suddenly, and Xiao Jin was stunned while Xiao Hai on the side could not suppress his excitement.
Before Han Jin could reply, the assistant again said that there were more people who want to come over. And just in a few moments, all the leaders or higher officials were in the room, all to submit power and discuss their plans.
Xiao Jin was lost. He had no idea what just happened. In an instant, and without any reason, he had secured his power without any effort. What was going on?
Todd saw Xiao Jin’s confused expression and laughed. “It seems that Chief of the Xiao Faction has not received the news. Take a look at this…”
He pushed a document across the table, and it was the intel on the true identity of Han Xiao. As the Home Faction, he had a larger information network and was the first to receive the information. He had then relayed the information to the rest of the Factions, and that was why there was such a scene in Xiao Jin’s office.
Todd had almost pissed his pants when he learned that the true identity of Black Phantom was the second son of Xiao Jin, Han Xiao. He had suddenly found the answers to all the questions.
No wonder Black Phantom came to visit Alumera and supported the Xiao Faction at critical times. He was clearly trying to protect his family.
The identities of Zero and Black Phantom were one, and he was the crucial figure in this battle. One could easily see that once the war ended, he would have immense influence over the world. This legend had come from one of the wanderer warlord organization, and it was the Xiao Faction.
Connecting Black Phantom’s action of protecting his family, every organizations in Alumera could not sit still. They could no longer ignore the Xiao Faction after this incident, and the Xiao Faction could be one of the most powerful organizations that they could rely on. Therefore, everyone came to submit power, and Xiao Jin was the last one to know what had happened.
“What‽” Xiao Jin was shocked. Xiao Hao felt that a hammer had smashed his perception of the world. His head was spinning.
“He’s my brother‽” Xiao Hai slowly lost his vision and almost passed out.
Xiao Hai could never believe that his brother who did not have any achievements could become such a powerful figure today. His brother was a man who could change the tide of war and the shape of the world. Yet, Xiao Hai was still only obsessed with powers in a small warlord organization. Times had changed. He recalled that since he was small, he had been the most outstanding kid among his siblings. Han Xiao could only look up to him. Now, the tables had turned, and Han Xiao could not accept the truth. He ground his teeth, and his body filled with rage and anger.
Not only that, as he remembered that Black Phantom was his godfather, Xiao Hai’s lungs almost explored. He clenched his fist so strongly that his fingernails sunk into his palms.
My brother became my godfather, what was he thinking?
He definitely wanted to embarrassment me. That’s why didn’t refuse at the time.
Xiao Hai went dizzy again out of anger.
Xiao Jin’s face was stone cold, but he was not mad. It was his decision to approach Black Phantom, and who knew that the son he had been looking for all this time had been right in front of him? Remembering that he made the exchange, he wondered how excited Han Xiao must have been behind the mask. Xiao Jin sat still, and the awkwardness and embarrassment flowed through this body.
Si Qi, Todd, and other people had mockery in their eyes. His son had suddenly become on the same level as his father all because Xiao Jin tried to pull him to his side. The existence of Xiao Jin was just a joke. However, they could not ignore the power that Xiao Jin had, so they could only mock him behind his back. In the end, they suppressed their desire to mock and argue, and they submitted power of their organization to the Xiao Faction.
With Han Xiao, the position of the Xiao Faction was secured. Even if both the father and son were embarrassed and surprised, they had to give credit to Han Xiao for the power they held today.
After the rage had died down in Xiao Hai, what followed was a sense of powerlessness.
He realized that no matter how angry he was, there was one truth that he could not alter. He could no longer see the shadow of Han Xiao.
Just with the name of Han Xiao, it solved all the internal struggles that they had between the factions and forced the other factions to submit to their power. With this much influence, Han Xiao was probably the most powerful figure on the planet.
Xiao Hai suddenly froze, and tremendous fear flooded his heart.
Now that his brother became powerful… would he seek revenge?
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The real identity of Han Xiao created a lot of interest among the major organizations because he was not only Zero, the orchestrator of the war, he was also Black Phantom, the top-notch mechanic and contract killer. When one combined the two identities together, all the organizations could see a new star rising that would impact the world.
It had been years since the appearance of such a legendary figure.
Now that he was had intel that could control the tide of the war, he was the eye of the storm, and naturally, there was a lot of attention and expectations on him from everyone on the planet.
After the news had been out in the world for four days, every organization around the world knew the true identity of Han Xiao, and there were two organizations that received the most attention.
First was the Alumera family, which was the place of birth of Han Xiao. Numerous small organizations in the Northern Continent visited the Alumera family. Under the influence of Han Xiao, the Alumera family made countless new allies, and at the same time, the fact that Han Xiao was the godfather of Xiao Hai also spread around the new allies.
This embarrassing joke was a mark that could never be washed away from the name of the Xiao Faction. Seeing that everyone was trying to hide their laughter, Xiao Hai was extremely frustrated, wanting to kill himself to end the shame on him.
Another organization that was in the spotlight was the Dark Net. Han Xiao was one of the higher officials in the Dark Net, yet all the major organization did not see any response from the Dark net. So, no one knew how was their attitude toward the reveal of identity of Black Phantom was.
Like so, four days had passed in an instant.
…
When one glanced down on the battlefield from the sky, the wilderness was full of sand and dust. A ferocious jeep with sharp armor zoomed across the wilderness. Around a kilometer behind the jeep was the Germinal Organization’s vehicles trying to catch up.
“Fourth day, this is Division 13.”
On the passenger seat, Han Xiao was controlling the camera at the back of the jeep to see check the situation on the convoy behind them, and he shook his head with disappointment. “They didn’t send enough people again. Guess we will get some free spare parts to use.”
Hila, who was on the driver seats, gave Han Xiao a cold stare. She was too busy and exhausted to say anything.
At this point, the appearances of the two people were in a stark contrast with each other. After fleeing from the enemy for four days, the enemies were everywhere, and they faced difficult battles every single day. Hila was not a mechanic who could build equipment and machinery to fight. Her power came from her psychic abilities, which required energy and strength. Every battle that she fought was tough and challenging, and at this point of the escape, she had already exhausted all her power, and her face was covered in sweat and dust with dark lines around her eyes.
On the other hand, Han Xiao was completely different. Using Viper, fighting off the enemy was a breeze for him. Most of the enemies who chased Han Xiao were weak and easily defeated anyway. However, Hila could not fend off the enemy as easily as Han Xiao.
While Hila was driving, her brain felt like it was going to shut down at any given point of time. Even though she was extremely tired, she did not want to hand over the steering wheel to Han Xiao—one side was a cliff, the other was an abyss. At least the cliff has a bottom…
“Hey sis, do you want some juice?” Aurora, who was sitting at the back with big sparkling eyes, offered a plastic bag containing liquid.
“That is not juice. That is an energy drink that can help you stay awake and increase your energy, so don’t…” As Han Xiao looked back, he saw the empty bags on the back seat. He continued with a mildly infuriated voice. “… drink too much.”
“But it tastes good.” Aurora hid her face behind the seat.
When she was imprisoned, the food she had every single day had been nutrition cream without any taste. The energy drink was a new experience for her taste buds, and she was wide awake.
At the beginning of their escape, only Han Xiao could fight. They had needed to gather all the resources they could find. The long escape operation was naturally the stage for Mechanics to shine. They could get rid of the soldiers chasing after them, get their equipment, change them into parts, and create a new weapon to fight. They had to fight to keep on fighting and survive.
In the professional gaming scene, there were also some long-term survival game modes similar to this situation, and Mechanic was the best class in this situation.
Other than Military MRE and energy drinks, Han Xiao could get a lot of parts after winning a battle to improve the jeep they had. He slowly modified the engine and cylinder of the car, and now, the jeep ran like a wild bull that could crush anything in its path. The shell of the jeep was full of scratches, which fit its wild style.
The Germinal Organization’s troops were tied up by the attacks of the Six Nations, which almost halved the pressure on Han Xiao. The Six Nations also got rid of the threat of missiles, so they did not have to worry missiles blowing them up if they stopped in a place for too long.
Han Xiao looked at the rear mirror and said, “Turn the car around and kill them all. Hey, little brat, lie down on the back seat and don’t stick your head out.”
Aurora listen obediently.
Hila did not flinch. She grabbed an energy drink and chugged it in an instant. She span the steering wheel, and the jeep abruptly drifted around, leaving a trail of dust behind. Then Hila charged the jeep directly at the enemy like a bull.
Han Xiao quickly finished the modification, and his Viper mechanical suit had a huge upgrade. In order to adapt to the long chasing battle, he had equipped multiple long-range weapons, such as a triple barrel gun turret and the grenade launcher on his shoulder. He had additional magazines on his legs and on his back, with a belt carrying yellow bullets across his shoulders. All these weapons were made from the equipment of the enemy they fought before.
The mechanic suit looked at least twice as large as before, and it was more suited for long range combat. Thus, it was called [Viper – Ranged Form].
The interface information analyzed the enemies’ formation.
“Four executive officers, thirty Valkyrie squad, and ten players. Ten vehicles in total… Oh, they changed the formation.”
The convey spread out and lined up in an encirclement formation. They wanted to avoid head on fights and delay Han Xiao for as long as possible while waiting for reinforcements. They knew that they did not have the power to stop Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was not surprised. After he single-handedly destroyed five convoys, the rest of the enemies had all used the same tactic, so he was already used to this.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The turrets on mechanical suits arms roared with burning iron bullets blasting toward the enemy. With every bullet that he shot, he felt a powerful recoil that pressed on his heart.
The dark-blue electromechanical force coiled around the turret barrel, and the damage was suddenly amplified. One armored truck was destroyed within a few seconds.
The convoy began to return fire. They had stronger firepower compared to the side of Han Xiao, and bullets and missiles, with an orange trail in the air, were coming for Han Xiao from every direction.
Han Xiao’s technical interface analyzed the path of the light rockets for Han Xiao to shoot it down before they hit their target. As for machine gun bullets, they could only forcefully rely on the armor of the jeep to protect them.
Because the firepower of the Germinal Organization was too powerful, Han Xiao had decided to modify a ranged version of the mechanical suit since he knew how difficult it is to fight when one was being kited around.
Boom!
The sound of explosion continues.
Han Xiao fought against multiple vehicles and dozens of soldiers at the same time, and the battle was in a stalemate. Suddenly, Han Xiao gave Hila the signal.
Hila knew that it was her time to fight. Her eyes were filled with red light, and from the corner of her eyes leaked the burning light. She opened the window, pushed her hand outside, and a light red curve of flame penetrated three different vehicles, dealing mental damage that reduced the physical armor.
Hum!
Shock wave explode in their hearts and souls.
Everyone in the car suddenly spat out blood and was heavily injured.
“Cough cough…” Hila suddenly started coughing, and her face looked even more fragile.
The frequent use of such power drained her energy level down to the bottom, but at the same time, her power had somewhat advanced. A few days ago, if she wanted to use this attack, she would have had to charge up for a few seconds, but now, she could instantly cast her attack. Only when people were under extreme pressure could they extract their hidden potential. Hila’s potential was as high as S level, and she had an exceptional improvement throughout the battle
With the cooperation of the two people, the battle quickly reached to the end. The four executive officers were only around LV 30, but it gave Han Xiao two Trial Points. He realized that not only did enemies above LV 40 give out Trial Points, enemies with lower levels could also give out some, but the system would not show that if it is below one point. It would still add the accumulated points in the system.
_____________________
[The Ultimate Trial]: Current Progress 723/2000
_____________________
Seven hundred or so points, I am progressing faster than I expected. Han Xiao looked at the battle interface popped up a new message.
_____________________
Battle has ended. From the difference between the forces of the two sides, you receive an extra 15 Trial Points.
_____________________
In these four days, Han Xiao found a new requirement to advance the mission.
It seemed that fighting against overwhelming numbers of enemies would give out more Trial Points, and the extra Trial Points were calculated after the battle. When he was charging through the enemy forces as he escaped the headquarters, he had gotten an extra eighty Trial Points. He did not have time to check as he was in danger, and later on, he had forgotten to check it since there were too many missions. It was not until now that he noticed the bonus after the battle.
Included in [The Ultimate Trial]’s description was ‘The harder the victory (calculated by the amount of health lost), the more the Trial Points.’ Han Xiao had thought that if he won the battle while having lower health, he could get more points. But for the bigger picture, he had to keep his health at a high level, so he did not bother losing health and reducing his chances of survival just for some small gains.
But now he realized what the statement meant. ‘Calculated by Health Points’ was probably calculating the total Health Point allies and enemies. So, when there were more enemies while he had fewer allies, he could get a higher reward. This means that the mission encouraged players to fight as a small group against a large force, and this could lower the reward for rich players who hired more players to join the team. Therefore, people with higher skill would finish the mission and earn the class advancement at a faster rate. This system was to ensure a balance between rich players and skilled players, shortening the gap between them.
Han Xiao started to disassemble the parts from the equipment that he had just gotten. Destroying was always easier than creating. The speed of Han Xiao taking parts away from equipment makes one’s head dizzy.
“From my calculation, it seems that the enemy reinforcements will come between seven and twelve minutes,” Han Xiao said. “So, we can only stay here for another five minutes. Can you still drive? If not, I will do it.”
“I’m fine.” Hila chugged another energy drink and boosted her energy level.
Han Xiao quickly went through the spare parts that he had disassembled and took the ones that were useful. Then they drove off while having an anti-radar layer on top of them. The only way for the Germinal Organization to catch them again was through a blanket search.
Ten minutes later, as the Germinal Organization’s reinforcements arrived, they could only see the scattered parts lying on the ground. Han Xiao had disappeared from their vision again.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the car, Han Xiao was smoking and repairing his suit when he decided to check out the forums and saw the post made by the Germinal players that he had just killed.
“Found mission target. Han Xiao’s location coordinates are…”
“Germinal has distributed new tailing missions. We are looking for two more members for this group mission. Leaving in twenty minutes.
Han Xiao chuckled when he saw this.
Germinal players were also trying to find him. As the mission only required the players to find his whereabouts, it would not lower their reputation points with him, and many players took on the mission for the reward.
As the old sayings went, there is no better way to show your love than through beatings.
Although Han Xiao had not given them any benefits, but following the players from the three other continents as examples, the Germinal players still loved him.
Once his identity was revealed, the players became very passionate about him and were eager to accept any missions that were related to him. However, it was not like they had much of a choice. Now that Germinal’s full attention was on catching Han Xiao, practically all the missions had something to do with him.
Logically, having to fight immortal players should have had been troublesome, but Han Xiao was actually glad that a lot of players were chasing him.
Aside from trying to find him directly, the Germinal forces were constantly trying to widen their search net to encircle Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao was always able to escape through a gap just before they could complete the encirclement.
This was not just a coincidence. The forum posts made by Germinal basically gave Han Xiao free information on the enemy troop movements.
Germinal was not aware of the existence of the forums while there was no way the players could have known that an NPC could see their posts.
Han Xiao’s group kept escaping through the openings between their forces, and Germinal had no idea how the information was being leaked.
Germinal could not have known that their own Inhumans were the ones dragging them down. All this did was further convince the Germinal leader of Han Xiao’s power to predict the future.
…
Han Xiao was not afraid of running out of posts to read. Due to the recent rise in his popularity among the players, posts about him basically dominated the Planet Aquamarine forums.
Revealing his own identity also gave his image a boost. Compared to Black Phantom’s uninspiring middle-aged uncle face, Han Xiao’s current look was basically prince-like, and he was able to capture the hearts of countless female players. There were a bunch of comments along the lines of “Well hello, handsome…” that started to appear in the forums.
A BOSS level character that manipulated the war behind the scenes actually looked so young and handsome. This change finally helped Han Xiao acquire female fans. One should know that back in his Black Phantom days, all those who chased after him were just a bunch of stinky, hairy, hot-blooded, gamer guys…
However, the players’ enthusiasm on this topic far exceeded Han Xiao’s expectations, and after the initial shock, the direction of the conversations on the forums started to go somewhere weird.
Many of the players had seen Han Xiao bringing a sister-duo along with him when he broke out of Germinal’s ambushes. Discussions about this suddenly exploded.
“Why would he bring two girls when running for his life? Is there any doubt? It must’ve been for love!”
Then, a player who had let his imagination break through the skies posted this story…
“I was once a test subject. I was tortured and went through endless unimaginable suffering in a hell-like place.
“She was my only source of light. Every time I saw her tall figure and ice-cold face, the pain I felt all over my body suddenly disappeared. Although I was only a test subject, and she never spared me so much as a smile, seeing the fury in her eyes taught me the warmth of spring.
“Maybe this is what it feels like when love finally arrives.
“So, I swore, when I one day escape this place, I will become stronger and rise to the top. When that day comes, I will stand in front of you and tell you with all my heart that I love you… ”
When he saw this post, Han Xiao coughed all the energy drink that was in his mouth onto Hila.
Which god damn pervert wrote this‽ Where did this idiot jump out from?
Don’t you ever let me see you! I will kill you all the way back to level one!
This was only one of the versions that the players came up with. Another person wrote about how Han Xiao fell in love at first sight with the older sister and decided to elope with her while bringing along the little girl!
Or how Han Xiao and the redhead were lovers to begin with, and the little girl was actually their secret child!
Some even claimed that the sisters were already Han Xiao’s women, but they were taken away by the evil Germinal leader. To take back what was his, Han Xiao had gone on the path of revenge, eventually causing this whole war for love.
Basically, the people’s imaginations were endless!
“Ohohoho, I never thought that you were like this, Black Phantom.”
“So, we’re all the same…”
“Oof, the little girl’s the best!”
“The older sister’s where it’s at!”
Just as Han Xiao was having a headache from all these stories, he found out that the players had given him two new nicknames.
Black Phantom: The Womanizer!
Technician Han: Your Knight in Shining Armor!
Han Xiao was conflicted.
Although it was not his original intention, his popularity still went up because of this. It was normal that characters with some ‘dirt’ on them were more likely to be talked about by the players.
Although my image among the players isn’t what I intended, at least I’m getting more and more famous.
Han Xiao could only stay optimistic. Most of these posts were not made seriously. These people must have come to cause trouble because of popular he was.
The reveal significantly boosted his popularity with the players, but his legend points on the interface were taking a while to be updated.
Suddenly, a new post caught Han Xiao’s attention.
“Everyone, look! I have received a new mission. It’s a large-scale encirclement operation this time! Request for group members to carry me…”
A Germinal player posted his mission details, and the photo of the map that he attached showed a massive force that stood on what was supposedly Han Xiao’s current route of escape. This group of Germinal forces was unlike anything that they had ever seen. It completely blocked off all the possible openings that Han Xiao could use.
Han Xiao’s expression grew heavy when he saw the post.
“This is bad.”
…
“The encirclement forces are in place. It will take another six hours before they make contact with Han Xiao.”
“How many men do we have?” the Germinal leader asked in a grave voice.
“Sir, we have mobilized a total of eighty high ranking executives, six hundred super soldiers, and several thousands of armored infantry troops. There are also over three hundred tanks and thirty attack helicopters. I’m sorry, sir, but this was all we could muster. The Six Nations are currently applying pressure on all fronts, and we are stretched thin.”
Boom!
The leader violently smacked the table and roared, “If it weren’t for those b*stards from the Six Nations, this encirclement would’ve already been complete. Zero must’ve made a deal with them. We have already locked onto him four times, yet all our missiles have been intercepted by the Six Nations!
“Humph! Now that our forces are in place, the Six Nations will have to drive their troops right into the middle of my territory if they want to stop us from catching Zero. Order the troops to start closing in on him. Even if he can predict the future, he will still be forced to go head to head with our troops!”
The Germinal leader spared no efforts in taking out Han Xiao. He had already learned his lesson from the numerous times that Han Xiao had broken out of his traps so far. Now, the new group of troops were placed right around his escape route, and he had finally trapped the traitorous b*stard!
The leader believed that even if Han Xiao was able to predict this all from happening, there was nothing that he could have done to stop the encirclement from being completed. He had sacrificed the previous squads who pursued Han Xiao to direct him to this path.
The encircling forces on the plains were to be the leader’s decisive move to end things once and for all with Han Xiao.
“Zero is very strong; only the older executives can finish the job. How many of them went with the troops?” the leader asked.
“Five in total. Here are their files,” the assistant quickly replied.
The leader took a glance and nodded. These old folks could be considered the organization’s strongest force. Even he would have to be careful against them in a fight. Their strength had already reached a certain level and would be enough to take on Han Xiao.
With five of them together, even the leader would take some time to come out on top.
This time, the leader was confident that Han Xiao would finally be taken care of, and he let out a vicious glint in his eyes.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The night came, and two rays of light were moving around the plains. Han Xiao and his companions got away from the chase from the troops. The plains were quiet, and they could only hear the low humming sound of the exhausted engine.
“Pull over,” Han Xiao suddenly said.
Hila shook her head and disagreement. “We just got away from the troops. If we stop now, they will soon catch up.”
“We are heading into a trap. The path ahead has been closed off. There will be nowhere out.” Han Xiao shrugged.
Hila jumped. “What? How did you know?”
But she recalled hearing that Han Xiao could predict the future, so she took back her question. Both of them had forced their way out of the headquarters, and after the eventful and stressful days, she trusted Han Xiao with all her heart.
She stopped the jeep, and silence took over the scene.
“If the Germinal Organization has encircled the plains, they will for sure move inward and confine us in a smaller area. We now have two options. First, we fight our way through before they enclose their forces on us, or second, we wait for our opportunity.”
“If we drag this out for too long, our area for movement would be smaller, and our chance of surviving will be even slimmer,” Hila said hesitantly. “Will we have a chance if we break through the encirclement?”
“The trap they’ve set up this time is strong and secure. All the troops are close to each other, and there is no space or opportunity where we can sneak past them. Even if we head back the way we came, we still cannot escape.” Han Xiao shook his head—this was the analysis done by a player who had posted this information on the forums. [The Encirclement of the Plains] mission was the largest mission in the Germinal Organization, and it was a mission in the battle series, so more and more players came together.
“There is a chance that we can break through their trap, but the risk is too high, and we won’t be able to protect your sister. But what you said was right; waiting around is also bad for us.”
After Han Xiao analyzed the situation, Hila remained quiet and tried to think for a new method.
Even though Aurora could not understand what Han Xiao had said, she could tell that the atmosphere was serious and dense. She then grabbed Hila’s sleeve.
Hila’s serious face relaxed, and she patted Aurora on her head.
It was not the end. No matter how dangerous and challenging the circumstances were, she would never give up. When she had been the Germinal Organization, Hila was as cold as an iceberg. But after Han Xiao showed the hope that she could save her sister from imprisonment, he slowly chipped away at her cold personality and would occasionally show her care and kindness to others. Although, most of the time, she still wore an unemotional face.
Hila looked back and asked, “Do you have any idea?”
“I need to make a few calls.” Han Xiao had a plan slowly forming in his head.
…
Buzz!
The leader’s computer received a call. When he saw the notification, his pupils suddenly contracted. It was Zero.
Why is he calling me?
The leader was shocked and shouted at his assistant, “Track his location now!”
The assistant quickly called for communication technicians to track the communication system.
The leader then accepted the call. Han Xiao’s face appeared on the screen, and the leader showed a murderous intent in his eyes. Han Xiao also did not talk, and they stared at each other for a while. Even though they were looking through a screen, they could feel the intense hostility from each other.
After a while, Han Xiao started the conversation. “Long time no see.”
“Isn’t it too late for you to beg for mercy?” the leader replied coolly. He could tell that Han Xiao already knew that he was trapped in the encirclement and could not find a way to escape. That was why Han Xiao directly called his mortal enemy to try some petty trick.
From his understanding, there was nothing for them to talk about. The leader was the one in a better position, and Han Xiao was just a stray dog that he could catch whenever he wanted.
“Do you still remember our little secret, when I said I will destroy your organization?” Han Xiao asked in a slow, clear voice. “You were so arrogant, and I was never in your eyes. And now, I’ve single-handedly push your organization to the brink of destruction, and you can’t ignore me anymore. Now, you spend all your energy and resources trying to kill me. Don’t you regret it? Why don’t you try to persuade me with your little fancy ideology? Then, maybe, I will listen you and turn myself in.”
The leader took a deep breath as what Han Xiao had said stabbed right at his heart. The only thing that the leader wanted to do was punch Han Xiao right in the face. The Germinal Organization’s ideology was to overthrow the Six Nations, and the leader’s ultimate enemies were the regime and the country. Yet, all his ambition had been burned down by a mere traitor. The leader could not let go of this crying shame. “Save your breath. I know you can tell the situation you are in, and now you’ve decided to call and try some petty tricks, right?”
“Do you think you can stop me with only those few troops?”
The leader laughed in his heart. Han Xiao did realize that he was being surrounded. So, he believed that Han Xiao was just trying to act tough.
“With the power of predicting the future, you have been fooling us, but this time, your power won’t save you anymore.” The leader snorted. “When you have nowhere to run, I wonder if you will smile like you are now.”
The leader noticed the assistant on the side, hinting that the communication channel was secure, so there was no way to locate the precise location.
If that was the case, there was no need to waste time talking to Han Xiao.
Just as the leader decided to hang up the call, Han Xiao suddenly said, “So, why do you only send your men to kill me? Are you too scared to face me in person?”
The leader shivered and showed a wry smile. “You don’t want to live anymore, do you?”
“Still arrogant, aren’t you?” Han Xiao laughed. “Well, you only look powerful on the surface, but deep down in your heart, you are a coward, and you will never face me by yourself.”
“Want to fight with me, huh? You’ll die before you get a chance to see my face again.” The leader snorted and hung up the call.
…
“I didn’t get anything useful.” Han Xiao turned off the tablet computer and let out a sigh.
Other than trying to scout the intention of the leader, he also communicated with the Six Nations’ escort team.
The good news was that the backup from the Six Nation had arrived on the east side of the plains. They had infiltrated the defense line of the Germinal Organization without being detected. They would arrive at the encirclement by the next day to provide combat support for Han Xiao.
Han Xiao suddenly regained confidence and scheduled a time to meet up. With the reinforcements as the ace up his sleeve, the operation became much safer.
Even if he and Hila failed to escape the encirclement, at least they would receive support. So, it would not be a waste of time and resources.
The reinforcements consisted of superhumans who were the best of the best in the Six Nations. One could not underestimate their capabilities.
“We will start the operation tomorrow afternoon, but we cannot bring your sister along with us. We won’t have the energy and awareness to protect her safety. If we can hide her in the encirclement, we can fight without worrying about Aurora,” Han Xiao said.
Surprisingly, Hila agreed. Bringing Aurora along would only increase unnecessary risk, and the encirclement could actually be a temporary safe space without any battles.
If they could break through the encirclement, then they could attract all the attention.
Of course, they had to find a way to bring Aurora back, and it would pose a lot of trouble in the future, but under these circumstances, Aurora would only hold them back, and this was the best option they could go for.
“Sister, am I to stay here?” Aurora looked up and her big eyes looking at Hila.
“We are only leaving you for a moment. This is safer for you.” Even though it hurt Hila to leave Aurora alone, she knew that this was the only way to keep her safe.
Aurora looked down and covered her eyes. “I’ll do what you say.”
“I’m sorry.” Hila felt a needle pierce through her heart, and she pulled Aurora into her hug.
After searching for a while, they found a natural cave. Han Xiao dug out the dirt to create a bigger space and fortified the structure. Then he covered the cave with camouflaged material and closed off the entrance to the cave, leaving eighty percent of the food and resources with Aurora.
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“The food we left you should last you for around five days. Try save as much as possible. If you hear any troops from the Germinal Organization, do not make any sound,” Han Xiao said.
Aurora nodded quietly. She culled up and buried her face in her knees as she looked at the back of Han Xiao and Hila. “Sister, I’ll be waiting.”
Hila stopped for a second, took a deep breath, and started walking forward again.
Han Xiao finished covering up the cave and noted the location. He let Hila drive as he sat in the back and cleaned the car tail, making sure that the Germinal Organization could not follow the track to where Aurora was hiding.
After they reached the main road, Han Xiao got back into the passenger seat. Hila looked at Han Xiao and asked, “Do you believe that we will pull through?”
Han Xiao nodded. “I would never use my life to bet on something that I am not confident about.”
Hila stayed quiet for a while, then she replied, “If I die in the battle, please help me take care of my sister. With your strength, the chances of you surviving are much larger than mine.”
“If you talk more in this tone, I think you will see death right around the corner,” Han Xiao said with his dead eyes, which he had not shown in a while.
Even though Han Xiao teased her, he understood Hila’s feelings. For Hila, every step that she took was lurking with danger. She was not as strong as Han Xiao, and the future was uncertain. Her sister was the sole reason that she had the perseverance to go through all the hardship, and she cared for Aurora with all her heart. She was even willing to sacrifice her life for Aurora, and that was why she had started to develop a pessimistic view on her own destiny.
But Hila’s statement also showed her complete trust toward Han Xiao, and this was the original objective that Han Xiao had before he intervened in this event.
“I contacted the Six Nations’ reinforcements. They are already nearby, and we decided on a place to meet up tomorrow. If we fail the breach tomorrow, we will still get back up, but if everything goes well, we can probably get out of here before we meet up with the reinforcements.”
“I hope so.”
Hila glanced at Han Xiao and never spoke again.
…
An hour later, the vehicle stopped on an obscured hill.
“There’s still around ten hours until we meet up with the reinforcements. We will breach the encirclement on the east. This is the plan…” Han Xiao took out Viper and put it in front of Hila. “You will wear this suit in the battle tomorrow. In these ten hours, you must master all the controls and weapons on the suit.”
Hila was stunned. “What about you?”
“In order to get through the encirclement, we must create chaos. I will go and blow up their vehicles and ammunition. They will be prepared for my ability to change appearance, but I also have an invisibility power.” What Han Xiao said was naturally Dion’s character card, which he had used once in the headquarters.
Hila understood. “So, I will use the mechanical suit to act like it was you and attract the attention of the enemy because you are the target they want to kill.”
Han Xiao nodded. This strategy took advantage of the mentality of the Germinal Organization. Even though it was just a trick and in no way genius, the plan would be effective.
He adjusted the mechanical armor, opened access for Hila, and helped Hila put it on.
It was a brand-new feeling after she wore the mechanical suit. Through the display, she observed the outside world as if she had stepped through the door of the new world. Hila tried to move around in the armor, but she soon felt the dense weight of the armor. She listened to Han Xiao and tried to learn the confusing controls of the suit.
“What a complex design. Did you make all this?” Hila had a slight surprised tone in her voice.
“What, did you think the suit fell from the sky?” Han Xiao replied.
Han Xiao walked through the maneuvers of Viper with Hila. She knew that she only had ten hours to learn, so she was extremely focused.
Han Xiao did not need Hila to actually master the controls. He only needed Hila stand her ground for a while in front of the enemies.
The darkness faded as the sun rose from the east. Time flew as they wasted no time training for the battle.
Neither of them got any sleep that night.
As Han Xiao realized that it was daybreak, he said, “It’s time. There’s no need for you to take off the suit. Remember the plan and don’t make a mistake.”
…
The encirclement around the plains was like a fishing net that covered all routes. The security was deadly, and the troops were scattered in every direction, awaiting the command from the headquarters. As the encirclement enclosed, the defense line was even denser, making it harder to break through. On top of that, there were mobile reinforcement troops that could quickly provide assistance to any engagement.
On the east side of the encirclement, a large number of vehicles stood by and slowly marched forward as soldiers stood outside the cars, scrutinizing every movement on the plains.
Devin was the executive officer for this troop. He was not a senior executive officer, but he has Esper powers that strengthened his muscles. During combat, his bones would surface and cover his body. His whole body would grow and become a two and half meters tall with skeleton armor, greatly boosting both his Strength and Endurance.
Even though this Esper ability was powerful and threatening, the enemy was the notorious Black Phantom. Devin had no confidence in stopping him.
I hope that guy doesn’t try to breach on my side. I will never be able to stop him,Devin prayed in his heart.
The executive officers in his team also felt the same way. As the Germinal Organization shattered, some people lost part of their loyalty to the organization, and they started to slack during their mission and protocol. This was the vicious cycle on the side losing the war. Only people who viewed the Germinal Organization as their religion and savior had not lose their loyalty, and these groups of people were from the old era that wanted to overthrow the Six Nations. All they wanted was to go to war with the Six Nations while sacrificing their lives. The deadlier the war, the more relieved their hatred would be.
Suddenly, the scouting soldier shouted, “There movement on the southeast side! A vehicle is approaching at a very high speed!”
The entire troop looked over, and they saw a jeep charging through the sand and dust. They quickly realized that the driver was wearing the dark black mechanical suit.
“Attention! An enemy has appeared!”
Why did they choose to break through here‽
Devin was nervous and kept on thinking about how unlucky he was. He even thought of running away. Han Xiao had already killed more than a dozen executive officers, and he did not want to be the next victim.
Suddenly, a tank fired a shell right at the jeep!
Bang!
The sound was louder than thunder, and the smoke and blaze exploded around the jeep.
The jeep jerked violently and dodge the shells and explosion.
After the jeep was five hundred meters away from the enemy, it finally got hit by a gun shell, and the jeep exploded into pieces.
At the same time, Hila jumped up in the mechanical suit, activated the Electromagnetic Hover-boots, and charge forward with an even higher speed. Hila was more agile in the new suit. She dodged all the bullets coming her way and sprayed her machine guns right at the enemy.
Clashes, explosions, screams, and cries—the battlefield was in chaos.
The battle became more intense!
The situation was instantly reported back to the headquarters, and the battle was clearly shown right on the display. The leader jumped up after waiting desperately for intel.
“He finally showed up!” the leader yelled. “Send the rapid response team as reinforcements! Tell everyone else to close up the encirclement with the east side being the center!”
The other troops received the command and started moving. The leader stared closely at the changing formation, and the encirclement quickly closed in onto the east side as if it was a bird cage closing off all escape routes.
Victory is mine!
On the east side of the plains, Hila kept on fighting with the suit on, creating a lot of destruction.
In order to pretend to be Han Xiao, Hila did not use her Esper power and only fought with the suit.
She was not a mechanic, and Hila could not unleash the true power of the suit. There were still a lot of abilities and weapons that she could not use, so she only fought with the basic battle mode. She got exhausted really fast.
The common soldiers could not stop her, so it was time for the executive officer to stand up.
Crack! Crack!
The sound of the cracking bone exploded as Devin started to expand. The bones spiked out and formed his skeleton armor, and he was as tall as a small giant. Devin suppressed his fear and anxiety as he swung his fist at ‘Black Phantom’. Their fists clashed and set off an explosive wave.
Bang!
Such power. Hila held her breath and barely stood still. She did not have enough strength or machinery affinity with the suit. With only the basic combat stats, she could barely hold back Devin’s power.
Devin was prepared to die, but he was surprised that he was still standing, and ‘Black Phantom’ seemed to have suffered damage from his punch.
Why is he so weak? Devin questioned in his mind.
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Devin carefully probed his opponent with feints at the start of the battle. However, ever fighting for a while, he found out that ‘Black Phantom’ was not as overwhelmingly strong as he had been led to believe.
The legendary Black Phantom is nothing much. I was worried for nothing.
Devin got a confidence boost and started to attack without reserve.
The battle between the muscular giant and the armored mechanical suit caused a constant sound of clashing fists to be heard. The other Germinal executives that followed behind Devin started to realize that Devin was actually starting to gain the upper hand in the fight, and they were all surprised.
“When did the captain become this strong?”
“No, look! It’s Black Phantom that grew weak!”
“Even someone as strong as him can’t fight in his peak state after escaping for so long. He is at his weakest right now!”
The group of executives were then also bolstered and were no longer afraid. They stepped up one after another to gang up on Black Phantom.
Based on how much attention the leader paid Han Xiao, capturing him would definitely count as a great achievement!
Get him while he’s weak!
The battle between this group of superhumans wreaked havoc on the surroundings, creating massive ditches everywhere. The troops were not just watching either as they open fired whenever Black Phantom showed an opening.
Hila was fighting for her life, and she was losing ground every second. She could only clench her teeth as she received blow after blow from all directions. If she was using her usual fighting style, she never would’ve let her enemies gang up on her like this. If not for Viper’s defensive capabilities, she would’ve long since bit the dust.
The Germinal leader’s eyes lit up. “His condition is getting even worse. Now we definitely got him!”
The leader originally only wanted to use the five senior executives to stall Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao’s strength was now deteriorating by the second. It must have been caused by the built-up pressure while escaping.
“Who is this executive? He’s got potential,” said the leader.
The assistant hurriedly searched up the information and answered, “His name is Devin, and uhh… no notable achievements so far.
The leader scoffed and replied, “We are at war, and every single strong soldier is an important asset. Missing out on him would be a true misstep on our part!”
…
_____________________
Character Summon card has been used.
Current Usage: 2/2
The card will soon disappear.
_____________________
When Hila had all the Germinal forces’ attention, Han Xiao sneaked into the midst of the troops and was busy planting explosives underneath every single Germinal vehicle.
The ability gained from Dion’s character card was extremely effective, and not a single soldier noticed what he was doing. It was as if he had disappeared off into thin air right in front of them, but Han Xiao was still being as careful as possible, as entering combat would immediately cancel the concealment effect.
This is such a suitable Esper ability for thieves. No wonder Dion was able to steal classified information with ease. He probably even went to some good places with this ability. Damn…
Han Xiao was a little envious. He had also coveted some sort of invisibility skill when he was young. It had even been one of his thirty-three life goals at one point. It had only been scratched off the list afterward when he had already gained a decent amount of experience.
Under the cloak of invisibility, Han Xiao’s senses toward his surroundings were completely different. It was as if a thick cloud had covered everything around him, and it felt quite surreal. The feeling of being invisible reminded of an old film that he had watched. He remembered that it was called the Lord’s Ring or something.
This surrounding troops had a limited number of vehicles, and Han Xiao quickly finished planting all the explosives. He only left a few cars to be used for escaping later.
There’s still two minutes left on my invisibility. I just need to wait for the explosion and steal a car to escape.
Everything up till now had progressed as planned.
Han Xiao returned to the edge of the battle and saw that Hila was getting beaten up from all directions pitifully. The suit that she was unfamiliar with was not able to offer much help in holding out against all those executives.
Han Xiao took out a communicator that was connected to the earpiece inside the armor and said softly, “I am about eighty meters to the north of your position. A big explosion will occur in a few moments. Run toward me immediately after and switch out of the suit with me. There’s an armored car here for us to escape in!”
Although Hila could not see him, she had heard his instructions.
Han Xiao started counting down. Ten… five… three… He pressed down on the button.
Boom!
It was as if the ground shook for second!
Like a volcanic eruption, flaming pillars rose up high into the sky as all the armored vehicles blew up one after another.
A wave of heat rolled over and brought with it a dust storm. Countless ordinary soldiers were instantly knocked off their feet.
The Germinal forces were shocked stiff!
Why did it all suddenly explode‽
Using the brief moment of chaos, Hila rushed over to Han Xiao’s position through the clouds of dust. She quickly got out of the suit and swapped with Han Xiao. Han Xiao ran along as he put on the suit. The whole process only took about three seconds. Han Xiao had already accomplished his mission with the invisibility, and continuing to let Hila wear the suit would just be a waste. The last time that Han Xiao had modified the suit, he had added an assistive device to help with equipping it and taking it off, making it much more convenient.
Hila got into the driver seat of the car and turned on the engine. However, the dust and smoke cleared at this moment, and the Germinal forces once again saw Black Phantom’s figure. However, no one knew that, this time, it was the real deal.
“Don’t you even think of running!” Devin roared furiously and swung his fist. His big and muscly form bounded over and shook the ground briefly. His talent allowed him to strengthen his skeletal structure, making it as strong and heavy as steel. The might of his talent was combined with an active skill as he threw a fist at his foe. Based on the previous exchanges, he had already found out that ‘Black Phantom’ could not break his defense at all, and he did not even bother guarding his body this time.
It’s fine if you thought you could bully Hila, but now you want to do the same to me‽
Han Xiao’s eyes focused, and he activated both [Surging Mechanical Force] and [Overload]. The Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace on his back burned bright red and started to make turbine-like sounds as the suit’s power rose exponentially. A piece of machinery would only truly become powerful in the hands of a mechanic.
As Devin swung his fist out, full of confidence from his previous fight with ‘Black Phantom’, he suddenly realized that his current enemy was releasing an unbelievable amount of murderous pressure. He instantly felt a gust of cold wind up the back of his head. This Black Phantom was drastically different from the one that he had fought against just a minute ago!
Danger!
Extreme danger!
Devin was shocked and felt goosebumps rising all over his body. The next second, all he saw was a sudden flash before an arm that travelled so fast that it left behind after-images slammed into his head. What followed was an explosive force on the top of his head before his whole body was smashed onto the ground like a bag of trash!
Bang!
His skull, which was as strong as solid steel, cracked into pieces as if it was made of glass.
Han Xiao’s left hand firmly held Devin’s head and locked him on the ground. The muscular giant could not break free no matter how much he tried. Just like a chef holding down a fish on the chopping board, Han Xiao’s right hand bulged up with the suit’s muscle system, and he slammed another fist onto Devin’s back as he activated the repulsion device, causing a wave of smoke and dust to spread out with the two at the center.
Crack!
Devin’s skeletal structure exploded apart, and blood splattered everywhere before his whole body sank to the ground. The Germinal executive had long since fallen unconscious. The battle interface showed that Devin had received critical damage and was currently in a stunned state.
“Boy, you came after the wrong opponent.”
Han Xiao shook his arm a few times as he observed the pieces of bone and skull scattered everywhere.
This talent is rather interesting. Was he able to strengthen his bones?
Devin was only level forty-something, and his strength meant nothing in front of him. It took Han Xiao less than three seconds to put him down. The others who had been prepared to rush up just a moment ago slowed their steps in confusion.
Just half a minute ago, Devin had still been going blow for blow with him, yet now he had been taken care of in just a single exchange!
Why was there such a huge change? It was as if this was a whole different person!
The ‘Black Phantom’ from before had been fighting like a newbie compared to this current one whose presence alone dwarfed those around him.
The group of Germinal executives had wanted to rush up earlier to take advantage of Black Phantom’s weakened state, but now, no one dared even take another step forward.
The leader saw all this unfold through the screen, and he could only feel a ball of fire clumped at the back side of his throat. It was as if someone had poured ice-cold water on him as he was just starting to get excited.
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Viper worn by him was the true Black Phantom!
The drastic change in their opponent’s strength caused the Germinal forces to sink into temporary chaos. Han Xiao took this chance and jumped onto the car, and Hila immediately stepped on the gas and took off. The car was like an unleashed bull, and it just slammed its way out of the encirclement.
The Germinal soldiers were still wary of their leader’s orders and tried to give chase. However, Han Xiao had already armed the car with long range weaponry, and they were able to shoot off all the pursuers.
As most of the vehicles had been blown up by his explosives, there were only a few who managed to give chase while the rest were all soon left behind.
The journey ahead was smooth, and this raised Hila’s spirits despite her fatigue.
“We made it out!”
The moment Han Xiao heard that sentence, he knew that something was up.
Just as he thought, just as Hila finished the sentence, three black hawk helicopters appeared on the horizon and made a beeline for them.
“This is Germinal’s instant response taskforce!” Hila’s expression became grave. “Thankfully, there are only three of the helicopters. With their limited firepower, we can get close enough for me to take care of the pilots directly with my powers!”
Buzz!
Viper’s built in radar suddenly sounded an alarm as it picked up five extremely strong life signals in the helicopters. These individuals were all well over LV 50 and were Germinal’s strongest military force. All three of these helicopters were built to carry combat personnel, and now that they were being chased by the five similarly high-level people, there was no way that they were going to escape easily. Han Xiao suddenly felt depressed.
“Is something wrong with you? Please stop speaking already! Do you want to die that bad‽” Han Xiao shouted toward Hila, then without a single delay, pulled out his Ghost sniper rifle and took a shot at the closest helicopter.
A ray of faint blue accompanied the bullet as it shot out of the barrel and drew a line in the sky like a horizontal streak of lightning!
However, the always trusty sniper rifle did not find its mark this time!
The charged bullet was stopped short in front of the helicopter as if an invisible hand had grabbed it midair.
Force-field type. At least LV 50! Han Xiao’s heart dropped as he knew that things were not looking good.
A middle-aged female soldier in combat uniform then poked her head out from one of the helicopters. Han Xiao zoomed using Viper’s interface and saw that she had average looks, a nasty scar that cut through her lips, and short hair. She raised her hand and pointed it at the car on the ground.
Han Xiao then felt the car shake.
No, that was not right. It was the ground that was shaking!
The ground within fifty meters of the car started to vibrate as if waves on the ocean, and suddenly, a large chunk of ground rose up in front of the car, forming a ramp. Hila was not able to avoid it in time and drove right on top of it. The mini platform was too narrow for the car’s wheels, and so the car was stuck upside-down as the wheels slowly stopped spinning. The two people in the car almost flew out from the sudden stop.
At the same time, the helicopters did a fly-by and released their missiles toward the stranded vehicle.
Han Xiao and Hila hurriedly abandoned the car.
Boom!
Both the armored car and the surrounding rocks were blown to smithereens. Metal parts and dirt flew out in all directions.
Five people jumped down from the helicopters—the senior executives!
They instantly rushed toward the duo. Each of the five had a drastically different appearance, but all of them gave off an intense pressure.
Han Xiao and Hila went prone on the ground have just dodged the explosions, and Hila’s eardrums were still ringing because of it. She struggled to get back up, glanced toward the five executives, and said through gritted teeth, “I can’t believe that Germinal has sent them. They’re the top fighting force in in the organization, and except for extremely urgent missions, not even one of them even show up. This time, all five came to stop us. We’re in big trouble. There are two Espers, ‘Soul Shield’ Jeross and ‘Earth Hand’ Ingris. The three other pugilists…”
“Shut up and start running!”
Without waiting for her to finish, Han Xiao took off in the opposite direction while firing back at the executives. However, all the bullets were all stopped short by the force field executive.
Hila followed behind. Although she had a pair of long legs, she was still no match for Han Xiao’s Electromagnetic Hover-boots. As he could not just leave her behind either, Han Xiao grabbed Hila’s hand, increased the shoe’s output, and dragged her across the landscape.
Helping Hila meant that he could not fire back at the executives as much, but since it was still able to slightly delay the executives, it was more than enough for Han Xiao.
“We have backup ahead. Just hold out for a bit longer and wait for their help,” Han Xiao said with a low voice.
Although the enemy reinforcements would also soon arrive if they were to stall for too long, it was their only option as they had already lost their car and could no longer shake off the pursuers.
Hila turned her body and shot an arc of dark-red energy toward the executives, but doing this caused her to start coughing. Her condition was not looking good. If it was not for the dire situation, Han Xiao would have already tried to make fun of her.
“Leave me behind.” Hila, with a blank expression on her face, suddenly spoke. “You have the suit and can surely outrun enemy transportation. Just escape without me. I’m only a burden to you at this point.”
Han Xiao frowned and was enraged by what she had said. “Don’t you give me that self-sacrificing bullsh*t. How long do you think you can even hold them back? Ten seconds? Twenty? What’s the point‽ If you dare let go of my hand right now to stay back to fight, I won’t even bother taking care of your sister after you’ve died!”
“You!” Hila got angry, too. Just then, she had started to loosen her grip on Han Xiao’s hand. However, just when she had made up her mind to stay behind and buy time for Han Xiao, he had stopped her with her only weakness—her sister. Hila was troubled. Although she was trying to sacrifice herself for the sake of her sister, Han Xiao was actually threatening her with Aurora. “Do you not understand the situation? If you just leave me behind, your chance of escaping will rise above seventy percent. What’re you not satisfied with‽”
“I don’t need you to teach me that. Let me tell you something, you aren’t worth that much. If things do get to that point, then I will leave you behind without a second thought. So, shut up and just follow me! I don’t need no favors from you,” Han Xiao replied without even turning his head.
Hila was dumbfounded. She gave a meaningful gaze to Han Xiao’s back, and just let herself be dragged along without saying another word while occasionally shooting waves of red energy toward their pursuers.
The five senior executives were slightly faster than them and were able to catch up with the duo after a three-minute chase. Now that there was no point in running, Han Xiao turned back to fight. His Magnetic Chain Split Blades drew arcs in the air, his Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves gave out hissing sounds as it reached an extremely high temperature, and his Ghost sniper rifle shot out round after round. Han Xiao made no reserves.
The fierce battle between this group of high level superhumans destroyed the surroundings. Jeross’ force field power was used to blast out constant cannon-like shockwaves that left craters on the ground. With him also supporting the other executives with defensive type forcefields, Han Xiao had a hard time trying to deal damage. Ingris formed the earth into numerous dragons that brutally clashed into Han Xiao and Hila, forming even more holes on the ground. The three pugilists fought as their fists were imbued with unspeakable strength, and their bodies were aflame with energy. The shockwaves from their punches were capable of doing massive damage.
Hila tried her best to muster her dwindling strength to cooperate with Han Xiao. Her unique Esper ability allowed her to directly attack her opponents’ minds. Although she was not that powerful yet, with how tricky her powers were and her experience in combat, she was able to work with Han Xiao seamlessly and significantly lessened the pressure on him.
None of the five senior executives were mechanics. Up till this point, mechanics were among the rarest among the people with high levels due to the class’s unimpressive early game attributes. Han Xiao was basically the strongest mechanic on the planet.
Fighting five people who were all approaching LV 60 simultaneously was taxing even for Han Xiao. The five worked together perfectly, and Han Xiao could barely go even with them, much less actually defeat them. Jeross’ force field abilities were like a natural counter to Han Xiao, and he could not get anywhere with his attacks.
In the middle of the fight, Han Xiao caught a glimpse of the Germinal forces that he had previously left behind. However, there were even more Black Hawks flying over from the horizon.
It was like a huge net that was slowly closing in on Han Xiao and Hila.
The enemy reinforcements were here!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
On the horizon, the reinforcements from the Germinal Organization quickly approached and surrounded Han Xiao. The situation turned south as a number of military helicopters hovered around the battlefield. The longer the fight dragged on, the more enemies would show up. Han Xiao had to fight while diverting his focus to look for any signals of the Six Nations reinforcement. His anxiety grew every second he waited for the signal.
Bang bang bang!
Han Xiao took three hits from the attacks from the pugilists, and bursts of energy exploded on Han Xiao suit. The platinum alloy armor started to show some dents and cracks. The energy of a pugilist had an armor penetration buff, but Han Xiao’s armor level was on par with that of a boss. If Han Xiao was a pugilist on the same level, under the continuous heavy attacks, he would have at least received some light injuries. However, Han Xiao acted like nothing had happened, and his movement was as agile as before.
The five senior executive officers’ jaws dropped as Han Xiao handled their attacks with ease. They thought that they could take Han Xiao’s life if it was a five versus one, and yet the battle was still in a stalemate.
“Even if we are on the same level, Han Xiao is too strong.”
Han Xiao fired back and pulled out compounded magnetic chain split blades with the skill [Revolving Slashes]. However, Han Xiao maneuvered the skill into [Blade Hurricane], as if a hedgehog protecting himself with the spikes. The pugilist would only inflict damage on himself as he punched Han Xiao.
The battle information flooded Han Xiao as the battle went on. He quickly observed the situation and thought, Ingris’ Esper power that can control earth and mud poses the most trouble to me even though it does not inflict much damage. Her health is the lowest out of everyone else, so I can use that as the opportunity to break the encirclement. If I use the Flaming Will and get a critical hit, he will at least be out of the fight. However, it will be hard to get rid of Jeross’ forcefield to attack him.
He contacted Hila using the earpieces and asked, “Do you have skills that are lethal? Only your power can get through the forcefield without much effect. I just need you to stop Jeross from using his Esper power for a second, just one second!”
“Give me two seconds,” Hila replied and stood still. Her body slowly sent out a dark red light, and she trusted Han Xiao to provide the two-second opening.
The five officers instantly noticed the action of Hila. They knew that Hila had been a powerful soldier in the Germinal Organization until recently, so even though they did not know what she was doing, they quickly switched target and threw attacks toward Hila.
Han Xiao jumped in front of Hila without hesitation. He reached out one arm, created the repulsive field, and blocked off the hail of bullets and two pugilists, and then he blocked the rest of the attacks with his mechanical suit.
After two seconds, Hila’s eyes looked like two dark red suns, she pointed her arm toward Ingris, ready to fire. Jeross quickly reacted and created an invisible force field around Ingris.
The next second, with Hila still pointing her arm toward Ingris, a red visible storm was sweeping toward Jeross, and he took a direct hit!
Jeross did not expected this. Blood shoot through his nose as he blacked out while falling on his back.
The psychic attack that Hila had released had never been directed with her hand. She could easily attack in whichever direction she wanted. Moreover, Hila’s fighting sense was sharp, and seeing that everyone was focusing on protecting Ingris, she tricked Jeross by reaching her hand out toward Ingris and inflicted great damage onto Jeross.
Now’s my chance!
Han Xiao used Moving Snipe and got away from the pugilists. With the Ghost sniper rifle in his hand, he fired a shot at Ingris while activating all his buffs.
_____________________
You used [Flaming Will]. The attack damage is amplified by 512%.
_____________________
At this moment, Han Xiao almost cried.
Oh, the lord has answered my prayers! I’ve had this skill for almost a year, and this is the first time I’ve gotten the maximum critical damage!
Buzz!
A thin and straight pierce right through three walls and shield Ingris tried to create, and her chest exploded with blood like a rose blossom.
_____________________
From your skill [Lethal Critical Hits], damage increased by 250%.
[Lethal Shot] activated, the damage is turned into true damage!
You dealt 4,346 points of critical damage!
You’ve killed Ingris (LV 58). You’ve gained 175,000 experience.
You’ve gained 32 Trial Points.
_____________________
“Holy sh*t, that damage!” Han Xiao shouted with surprise!
From LV 60 onward, one-shotting an enemy on the same level was much more difficult when Han Xiao was at lower level. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Han Xiao never would have believed that his explosive power was that strong.
All his abilities and skills made his buff higher than anyone had expected, including the preposterous skill [Flaming Will] that he had learned from Bennett. This was the first time that his own damage had scared Han Xiao himself.
Ingris collapsed and did not make a sound.
The remaining four people was stunned, and everyone’s face turned green.
They had never heard of someone who could one-shot a superhuman at this level. After witnessing the death of Ingris, fear that they had never felt before quickly swallowed their hearts.
Han Xiao pressed on while their morale was low. However, the helicopters and tanks suddenly fired at Han Xiao, providing support for the executive officers.
Bullets and bombs exploded right where Han Xiao was standing as dust and smoke filled the air. Han Xiao tried to dodge the bullets, but an armor penetrating tank shell directly hit Han Xiao, and his body flew back under the impact and rolled on the ground. The side of the suit was smoking and shattered. The durability of the suit dropped a few hundred points after that hit, and the microchip system was temporarily unresponsive.
After taking a direct hit from a powerful shell, even a Class-C superhuman would suffer injury, while a Class-D superhuman would be in a critical condition. If one were a Class-E superhuman, one’s body would be shattered into pieces, and there’s no need to talk about average human being.
Han Xiao’s enemies were not only the five senior executive officers in front of him but also the entire fleet backing them up!
“God damn it…” Han Xiao struggled to get up. Suddenly, he felt strangled around his arms and legs. Jeross snared and limited his movement. Han Xiao suddenly felt a cold shiver through her spine. He was in danger!
The three pugilist executive officers charged toward Han Xiao, and their energy was at its peak. Because of their fear of death, they used all their hidden potential and power to defeat Han Xiao.
Hila stood in front of the three officers, and her enemy blew her hair up. She bit her tongue and forcefully released the Necromastery shock blast. However, all pugilists had strong endurance, and they easily blocked off the mental shock of Hila’s power. The fists and kicks covered in energy quickly landed on Hila’s body. The sound of cracking bone pierced through Han Xiao’s ears as if it was a firecracker.
Without any delay, a dense forcefield in the shape of a spear pierced through Hila’s stomach and left a bloody wound that was as large as two fists—her organs were all destroyed.
The impact of the force field made Hila fly away a dozen meters and land on the ground. Her hair was scattered like flower blossom, covered in a pool of reddish blood.
In Han Xiao’s mind, there was no way for a LV 40 Esper to survive under that attack.
“One down, one more to go!” Jeross said with his deadly eyes.
The dark blue force exploded, and Han Xiao got away from the force field. He quickly ran next to Hila and checked her condition. After a single touch, he knew that Hila’s arms, ribs, and spine were shattered to dust. A huge hole was in the middle of the body, and all her organs were mashed together like jam.
Han Xiao took out Adrenaline and stabbed it into Hila, but as he looked at her body, Hila’s kidneys also turned into mush.
Hila closed her eyes and stopped breathing.
“Hey, you’re not just gonna die, right‽” Han Xiao could not react. Hila was going to be a superhuman capable of planetary destruction and single handedly wiping out starship fleet. How could a huge talent die here without making history?
Or did he take the battle too far?
As more and more enemies showed up, Han Xiao frowned.
During a battle, rage could never overtake his mind. He would never get overheated since he knew that he did not have that kind of personality. He quickly analyzed the situations on the battlefield, and the best option was to run away by himself.
Han Xiao glanced at the corpse of Hila, and his face froze.
Hesitation only leads to trouble…
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Suddenly, within a radius of two kilometers, all the corpses released a gray mist, which slowly gathered around Hila.
Hila opened her eyes, which were covered in mysterious gray instead of the dark red light. Her bones started to crack, and her wounds healed. Within a few breaths, she fixed her bones and the bloody wound in her stomach also closed off.
Aha, she’s still alive! Han Xiao was surprised.
Oh, doesn’t this scene perfectly resemble the words ‘What doesn’t kill you make you stronger.’ Like how Gandalf came back from the dead as a white wizard.
No wonder she’s the candidate for the goddess of death. Show them you power girl!
Hila sat up, and the gray mist faded away. Her eyes returned to the normal collar, and she started coughing intensely. She said in a fragile voice, “Go, leave me now. I’m too weak to do anything.”
Han Xiao bit his lips.
Damn it. Why did you make such a scene if you are not going on rampage? I got excited just to get disappointed. You’re still a weakling!
Oh right, I remember she had an ability called [Ignore Sudden Death], where she gained a special effect if her health points were lower than 1%. I thought she would ignore the damage from the fatal attack, but it’s actually rapid healing. What a tenacious life force, but this ability must have a cool down.
The enemies surrounded them. Han Xiao was not in a good position, and Hila had become a burden. The chance of surviving became slimmer and slimmer.
“Didn’t you say that you’ll abandon me when you have to? Now it’s the time! Run away!” Hila’s face was pale, and she used all her strength to get those words out. Her hand was on Han Xiao’s chest, trying to push him away.
“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded directly. He was not the type of person who would hesitate. Abandoning her was the best course of action, and there was no benefit to staying with Hila. He would not make a choice that made him worse off.
Even though Han Xiao really wanted Hila to be on his team, if necessary, he would up give Hila up in the blink of an eye.
Seeing that Han Xiao had already made his choice, Hila relaxed and said, “Please take care of my sis..”
Suddenly, Han Xiao heard an unfamiliar voice through the earphones.
“Hey, I see you guys, we are coming!”
Han Xiao was slightly relieved as he looked toward the south. Three black armored jeeps without any plates showed up on the side of the battlefield in an arrow formation, approaching them at high speed.
The helicopter from the Germinal Organization flew toward them. Han Xiao’s display zoomed in and clearly saw a woman’s white arm, wearing a bracelet made out of red pearls, stretched out of the windows of the jeep.
The next moment, a surge of burning flames shot out from the palm of the women’s hand, and the flame turned into a roaring flaming dragon that flew into the sky and consumed the helicopter.
Boom!
The helicopter fell from the sky.
The three jeeps drove around the burning helicopter and headed right toward Han Xiao.
“The reinforcements are here!” Han Xiao felt the boulder in his heart finally lifting. He slapped Hila’s cheeked and laughed. “Seems that you don’t have to die today.”
The reinforcements were composed of the best superhumans in the Six Nations with the best equipment that the nation provided.
The three jeeps crashed right into the battlefield and broke open the Germinal Organization’s encirclement. The female Esper released her power without any reservation, turning the battlefield into a burning sea.
This was not normal fire but the fire created by energy using special an Esper power. After the flame hit the target, it would explode. This was called the explosive flame, one of the destructive powers of the fire Esper.
With only one look, Han Xiao already judged that this woman was a Class-C superhuman.
All the Germinal Organization’s troops tried to turn their crosshairs on the jeeps, but the three jeeps suddenly released smoke similar to a smoke bomb, which quickly spread out, blocking the vision of half of the battlefield.
The Germinal Organization lost their targets, and they could not even see their own team. The visible range was only as far as one meter.
Then, the sound of coughs arose in the smoke. The smoke contained a strong irritating substance similar to tear gas.
“Where is the enemy‽ I can’t see, cough cough—”
“I can’t breathe! Cough.”
“New enemies have shown up. Please give us instructions, bleurgh… give us instructions!”
“The radar is not working. The enemy have an interference machine!”
The Germinal Organization was in chaos. However, the four senior executive officers quickly grasped the situation and recalled the view of the battlefield before the smoke appeared. Then they charge toward where Han Xiao had been, but Han Xiao had already disappeared.
“He’s getting away!” Jeross was shocked. “Can any of you track his position?”
The three pugilists stared at each other.
They knew how to punch things, but tracking enemies was not in their job description.
Ingris had good perception due through sense movements on the soil, but she had already been killed.
In the dense smoke, Han Xiao carried Hila on his shoulders like he was carrying a sack of rice. The reinforcements quickly gave the location to meet up, and he soon found the three military jeeps. One of the doors to the back seat open, and Han Xiao jumped in without a second thought.
There were three people in the jeep. The driver was a Sharnuk, wearing sunglasses, and had a buff body. The white woman with the red pearl bracelet sat in the passenger seat. She was the Esper who had the explosive flame power. There was another yellow man who was using a control panel on the ceiling of the jeep.
“Target acquired, we need to move out!” the Sharnuk driver shouted with his deep voice.
Three jeeps changed direction and left the smoky battlefield behind them.
The troops quickly recovered from the smoke and got back into formation, chasing right after the jeep. The helicopter kept its distance from the jeeps, fearing that the fire Esper would shoot them down.
“We’re saf…” Hila was about to show a sign of relief, but Han Xiao quickly covered her mouth.
Stay quiet and rest, will you?
The yellow man looked at Han Xiao and smiled. “I have heard a lot about you. We finally got you out. I am Tang Tang, a member from Stardragon’s Division 13. The director-general always mentions your name. You have done great things. The driver is Alaupog from Theseus, and the lady is Diana from the Maple.
“Okay let’s stop with the mindless chit-chat.” Diana did not even look back and said, “Now that we have the target, all the enemies are right behind us. What should we do?”
“Uhm, since they still have reinforcements behind them, we can’t afford to stay and fight them,” Tang Tang replied. “We just follow the planned route, and we can shake them off after half a day and remain hidden.”
Hila regained some of her energy and asked, “Why didn’t you use a plane?”
“How would you have wanted us to sneak into the Germinal Organization’s territory in a plane? Or do you want us to be a shooting target in the sky?” Diana’s tone was sharp and cold.
The reinforcement had three jeeps in total, and they still did not know who was in the other jeeps.
After successfully meeting up with the reinforcement team, they were still being chased by the enemy. However, it was good news that they already broke out of the encirclement, and all they had to do was to spend some time and lose the troops behind them.
Han Xiao let out a long sigh. He was providing his intel in exchange for the Six Nations’ support. It definitely felt nice to have reinforcements rather than just fighting alone.
Other than Tang Tang, the two people in front of the car kept on observing Han Xiao from the rear mirror. They were all the aces from their own countries, and this large-scale joint operation was only to save one person. On paper, they knew the incredible things that Han Xiao had done, and since they had finally met in person, they were naturally curious.
From stealing intel from the headquarters of the Germinal Organization to fighting the entire army to get away from the territory, all these people viewed Han Xiao as a superior human compared to them, and they could not help but observe Han Xiao.
After two hours, the ground became less and less firm, soon turning to sand. They had left the plains and now reached the desert. The troops behind them could no longer be seen, and they were temporarily safe.
The dense atmosphere soon relaxed. Han Xiao did not take off his suit, but he just left it on sleep mode, waiting for it to recharge.
“The east side of the plains has a small desert right next to it. The place used to be a nuclear bomb testing area, and the radiation is high, killing all plants and animals. It will take around eight hours to travel through the desert. After that, we will reach an area with complex hills and mountains. As long as we avoid any base along the way…” Tang Tang explained the escape route.
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s computer in his suit received a call.
It was from the leader.
“Well done, you actually got through the encirclement in the plains.” The leader seemed calm, but Han Xiao had expected the leader to be raging. His suspicion quickly rose.
Something is wrong!
“Hehe, do you think you safe now?” The leader laughed. “Do you think I never noticed the team that infiltrated my territory a few days ago?”
Han Xiao froze. Something bad was coming their way.
“I never tried to stop them just so that I could get this change. I really wasn’t be able to track your position, but at least I could track your reinforcements. I knew you were going to meet up with them, and from the movement of you and your team, I could at least predict the where you would meet up.
“That’s right, your reinforcements were heading to the east side of the plains, meaning that you will escape from this side. Unfortunately for you, I knew this at least ten hours ago.
“Zero, you are not all-knowing and all-powerful, right?”
The leader suddenly had murderous intent in his voice.
“Open your eyes, and be grateful for your last parade I have prepared… This will be the end, Han Xiao!”
Han Xiao looked out from the window, and the hills and valleys were filled with ambush troops with dozens of military helicopter hovering around the sky. Hundreds of machine guns were spread in the sandbag base, and soldiers holding grenade launchers and SMGs stood still near the base, awaiting orders.
The number of soldiers was more than double the previous battle.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“How can there be an ambush‽” Tang Tang was spooked. “Cr*p. Could Germinal have been monitoring us all this time and waited all this time to catch us in one fell swoop‽”
“What’s the point of saying all this now?” Diana furiously responded.
Their squad had snuck this far into Germinal territory, and everything had been smooth sailing. No one had thought that this would turn out to be a trap!
The situation had turned completely reversed!
Ten hours earlier, the Germinal leader had secretly ordered the troops that were to form the northern, western, and southern parts of the previous encirclement to make haste for this patch of wasteland to wait in ambush. The leader knew that if Han Xiao succeeded in breaking out, he would definitely pass by this area.
Han Xiao did not read about anything on this ambush in the forums. This operation completely excluded the players as the leader remembered from what Cyberlos had told him—that Han Xiao could be an Inhuman—and feared that there was some sort of a special way for Inhumans to communicate between each other. This completely blind guess from the leader paid off, and Germinal was able to set up the troops without warning Han Xiao and the rescue team.
Moreover, the leader was no longer making orders from the faraway headquarters, but rather, right there on the field.
The long-awaited moment had finally arrived!
The leader stood on the sand dunes ahead of Han Xiao’s group as his windbreaker flapped in the air, and his face was still covered under a mask. Behind him were several dozen executives who stared in front of them like hunters staring at prey who had fallen into their trap.
The two’s eyes met in this fated moment.
Han Xiao’s communicator once rang out with the leader’s voice.
“Didn’t you wanted to fight me? Now that I’m right here, do you dare come?”
Han Xiao released a breath and said, “Not bad…”
This move by the leader was outside of Han Xiao’s expectations, but in hindsight, it was not too surprising. The two’s conversation last night had not only been used by Han Xiao to probe his enemy; the leader had also used it to his advantage.
As the prey in the middle of enemy territory, it was way too hard to always make flawless plans to react to the enemy’s movements. Faced with Germinal troops encroaching from all directions, it was impossible for Han Xiao to predict everything, given his limited resources. Getting this far was already a feat in and of itself.
The Germinal leader finally got him back for being trolled so many times!
If they had not been standing on opposing sides, Han Xiao would have wanted to give a standing ovation for the leader.
How hard did he work? It was too touching!
No plan could always work. There were always unpredictable factors, and now that they had run into this situation, they could only rely on their own strength. All Han Xiao had done up till this point was help himself amass strength. Now, he was standing right in front of the limit of Version 1.0, just a step away from breaking through the LV 60 threshold.
This dangerous situation was also filled with opportunity.
Approximately ten C-class superhumans against thousands of heavily armed elite soldiers and fifty executive offices!
“What more is there to say? Let’s just do it.”
Han Xiao was calm as he turned off the communicator. There was still about half a minute before the two sides would clash, and he used the time to inspect his own status.
Viper still has 61% of energy, about 4,200 armor points, 3,800 health points, which is about 87%; about above-average form.
His mission details showed that [The Ultimate Trial] had reached 815/2000 in completion.
The enemy forces are numerous with very high firepower. Our advantage lies in our individual fighting strength, Han Xiao thought as he hoped that his teammates in the other cars who he had not met would not let him down.
A mission suddenly popped out in the interface.
_____________________
You have triggered C Class special mission, [The Traitor’s Ambush]!
Mission Requirements: Defeat the Germinal leader. Must deal at least 60% of the total damage.
Mission Award: Lottery draw on two of the leader’s skills or talents.
_____________________
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed when he saw this. At least sixty percent… This won’t be easy.
He had not fought the leader before this, and the leader was a main character on Planet Aquamarine, just like Bennett. He was certainly extremely strong. In his current form, putting aside defeating the leader, Han Xiao might even struggle to shave off a third of his health even if he went all out.
Moreover, there would be countless obstacles in his way on the battlefield. Han Xiao might not even be able to single out the leader. However, despite its high difficulty, the mission reward was very tempting to Han Xiao.
As a main character on the planet, the leader had to have some pretty amazing skills and talents. He might even have the legendary Lucky Halo. It would be like hitting the jackpot if Han Xiao were to get that. However, when he thought about Germinal’s pitiful condition, Han Xiao started to have doubts. Uhm… He should have the Lucky Halo… right?
Then, everyone was pushed back into their seats as the three cars accelerated toward the enemy.
Tang Tang said in a grave voice, “Everyone, ready up!”
…
“This is our chance to take out Zero and the Six Nation’s top fighting force once and for all.”
The leader looked down on the fast approaching cars as he stood on the dune.
He had only had ten or so hours to mobilize these troops, and the heavier vehicles like tanks had been left behind. The main force of the ambush consisted of thousands of foot soldiers who would provide cover fire along with over ten attack helicopters. The dozens of executives behind him and the leader were the trump cards.
“Fire!”
At once, gunfire exploded across the battlefield, sounding like countless thunder strikes. A hail of bullets flew in from all directions, virtually covering all the empty spaces. The rescue team was trapped in the middle like a caged beast. At the same time, a semi-transparent circular force field expanded and covered the three cars. All the attacks landed unceasingly on the energy barrier, causing it to flicker constantly. However, the cars in the center remained unharmed throughout.
The cars continued to move at a high speed, leaving a trail of black smoke as attack after attack landed on them. The large number of mines that were planted in the sands exploded upon contact with the barrier, causing yellow sand to fill the sky. The barrier was growing dimmer by the second.
This barrier came from the inside of the car on the left side at the rear of the group. Under the protection of the barrier, the Six Nations’ forces were able to approach their enemy without taking much damage.
“Ordina’s ‘Azure Protector’ Fazzad.” The Germinal leader was calm. He had an impression of all the top fighters of each nation, and he could pretty much guess their identities just by seeing their powers in action.
The rescue team was about to smash right into enemy formations, but the leader remained unfazed. He sent out some orders, and the Germinal troops repositioned themselves to encircle the cars while keeping a safe distance instead of clashing head-on. He understood that ordinary troops had no chance against a group of extremely powerful superhumans, so he had long been prepared for it.
The cars were soon stuck in the middle of the swarms of Germinal forces, and the leader’s eye flashed. “Let me see. Who else is here?”
“Go!” Diana was the first out of the car and immediately blasted gusts of flame out of her hands toward the surrounding troops. Three of the machine gun nests in her immediate vicinity were turned into raging infernos.
The driver, Alaupog, was a Sanu warrior. People of the Sanu tribe were born with patterned stripes on their skins. These stripes lit up in bright red as Alaupog entered the battle. The stripes snaked around and covered more skin, and his whole body started to grow larger, causing his shirt to rip, eventually allowing him to grow into a four-meter-tall giant. He was like a humanoid tank as he smashed through the Germinal ranks, causing bodies to fly up into the sky along the way.
Aside from these three, the other two people in the car also stepped off to join the fight. One was fully equipped with a heavily armored mechanical suit that made him resemble a rhino. His weapon was a specially-crafted two-handed hammer with rocket boosters built into one end [1. This is similar to Reinhardt’s hammer in Overwatch]. The other newcomer let out an animalistic roar before he summoned a flood of bugs out of the desert ground that tore countless Germinal soldiers into pieces. It was a genuine beast summoning skill, much stronger than Han Xiao’s half-assed [Call of The Wild]. Fazzad also continued to supply his allies with a glowing protective barrier.
The dozens of Germinal executives rushed forward to meet their foe. Although they were up against the best fighters of the Six Nations, they soon turned the battle into a stalemate due to their numerical advantage and impressive teamwork.
The superhumans went all out with their respective abilities and caused chaos in the surrounding battlefield.
Han Xiao dragged the still-recovering Hila out of the car, and he found out that these people were all familiar faces. They were all famous people on Planet Aquamarine.
Each of them was their own nation’s highest fighting force. In the past, players had to earn an astronomical amount of reputation points before they even had a chance to make contact with these NPCs. Now, these powerful characters had all come together, all for Han Xiao.
Han Xiao had truly built up a fearsome influence for himself.
In this war, at least, he was the most significant player.
All the powerful helpers that had appeared up till now had been within the leader’s predictions. He had already made plans for each and every one of them. Although the ambushing force would suffer heavy casualties, it would still be well worth it to be able to eliminate this team of elite fighters.
The leader glanced at Han Xiao, who stood some distance away, and his eyes turned sharp, as if locking on to a prey. With every single step the leader took, his life force gusted out of his body in the form of dark purple flames, and the flames were still increasing in intensity with every step.
He had even dreamed of squashing Han Xiao’s brain himself.
The Germinal leader’s power level was in an unknown territory, and the Six Nations’ forces present all showed a hesitant look on their faces when he approached.
“Can you take care of yourself?” Han Xiao did not even turn his head. If the leader wanted him, he would get him. No matter what, Han Xiao steeled himself as he would not back down from this fight.
“No problem,” said Hila through gritted teeth.
Han Xiao nodded, took a deep breath, and made sure he was in tip-top form before he started to take strides toward the leader. However, suddenly, another burst of monstrous life force could be felt from another side of the battlefield. This new presence suppressed the leader’s life force and took away everyone’s attention!
A familiar figure then stepped out of the last car with a clean-cut hair, heroic facial features, and neatly arranged clothing surrounded by raging white flames.
Bennett!
The Germinal leader was shocked, and his gaze faltered.
Why was the Dark Net’s leading figure part of the rescue team‽
The Germinal leader never would have guessed that the Dark Net leader, who had always been neutral, would step onto the battlefield himself. Bennett was completely outside of his pre-arranged plans for the Six Nations’ forces. With Bennett’s strength alone, there was now no way to know the outcome of this fight. All the previous calculations were useless.
Not only that, four more experts that were not affiliated with the Six Nations stepped out of the car following Bennett. Two of them were elite fighters of the Dark Net and were not any weaker than the Six Nations’ superhumans. The other two were Han Xiao’s acquaintances—Hannes and Vernia, whom he had previously met in Maple. Han Xiao had accepted a secret main story quest line from these two, and they were very grateful to him.
All these powerful people had come in Han Xiao’s aid!
Han Xiao stopped his steps and remarked, “Why are you here? How did you get mixed up into the rescue team?”
Bennett only gave Han Xiao a glance and could not be bothered to reply. He was still mad about Han Xiao not telling him about his secret dual identity beforehand and did not want to talk to him.
Although Dark Net started out with a neutral position when this war first erupted, Bennett realized that the information that Han Xiao had stolen from the Germinal headquarters was key to ending this war.
Bennett had started the Shelter plan to save lives, and now that he had found an opportunity to end the war once and for all, he had finally decided to change his neutrality in this conflict. The Dark Net still had not supplied any resources into this war, but he had come himself, as his own person—with some helpers, of course!
Bennett and his group truly regarded Han Xiao as one of their own! He made this risky move as he had absolute confidence in his own capability; he was publicly acknowledged on Planet Aquamarine as one of the strongest superhumans.
“Leave him to me,” Bennett said as he looked calmly at the Germinal leader. It was as if the bullets that rained down around him were non-existent.
The Germinal leader had a dark look on his face, and he was burning up out of fury from the inside.
Bennett stood right in front of him, seemingly trying to defend Han Xiao no matter what. The leader knew that he would not be able to get to Han Xiao unless he dealt with Bennett first.
“The famous Germinal leader. It is said that not a single person has seen you go all out on the battlefield. Looks like it’s my lucky day today,” Bennett said with a smile on his face, yet his words carried unspeakable strength.
“You think you can touch my people without asking me first‽”
The leader remained silent as his walk turned into a sprint and then into a streak of black afterimages. Bennett also did not show any weakness as he turned into a gust of white flame and clashed with his enemy.
From Han Xiao’s observations, Bennett had triggered [Burning Will]. From his overpowered Lucky Halo, he had definitely gotten the highest quintuple critical on that attack.
Dark purple and white flames struck each other.
Booooom!
The scene looked like hell had broken loose as thunderous explosions sounded around the fight, causing ordinary soldiers to start bleeding from their ears.
It was a showdown between the two of the Planet’s protagonists!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The shockwave created by the clashes blew sands up drifting in the sky. After the view cleared, the battle ring sank down in the ground and formed a perfect bowl shape. Bennett’s critical hit that quintupled the normal damage. However, none of them got any advantage after that exchange!
The two men danced with their punches and kicks that no one could follow, as if it was a violent battle between a snow-white dragon and a violet python, biting and tearing each other. Everyone backed off, Germinal and Six Nations alike, afraid that they would be sucked and torn in the battle.
What the hell! These two are wild beasts. Han Xiao could not take his eyes off the fight. Both of them were Pugilists with all sorts of ability and skills, making their energy as dense as concrete. Each of them followed different disciplines of the Pugilist class. Bennett was tactical as his power was an accumulation battle experience. Every move had a purpose and was used at the perfect time.
On the other hand, the leader’s style was savage, barbaric, and unpredictable, just like the color of his energy.
The two beasts were clearly stronger than other high-level superhumans. With multiple special Molding Abilities and high attributes compared to the characters on the same level, they were both boss-level superhumans.
No wonder they are the stars of this planet. Han Xiao’s eyes suddenly widened.Bennett just used Flaming Will and increased his damage by five times; the leader must have a skill that is as strong as Flaming Will to block the damage.
Remembering the reward of the mission [The Traitor’s Ambush], Han Xiao was excited. He knew that a lot of hidden missions could give out powerful skill and abilities, and this mission was simple and straightforward. As long as they won the fight, he would have the chance to get a luxurious reward without spending too much time and thought.
Han Xiao and his teammates were fighting off the enemy on the side, and he was calculating the difference between him and the leader. In the end, Han Xiao concluded that the discrepancies between their power were too high. First of all, Han Xiao had already been in many battles, and he was not in his best form. With only Viper left, Han Xiao did not have enough equipment and weapons to survive a head-on fight against the leader.
With the number of weapons I have, I can at most get an even trade between me and the leader even if I perform well. Bennett will not allow me to do that… Han Xiao sighed. Then if I try to help Bennett and get in a two versus one situation, I can’t surpass Bennett’s damage. Bennett also has Flaming Will, and the damage is more disgusting than mine…
Han Xiao thought for a second and decided that the current situation was the best position that could be. If he let Bennett and the leader continue to fight each other, even though their fight was intense, they were not losing much health since both of them could parry or block each other’s damage. It would take time to find out who the victor of the battle was, and no one on either side had the intention of intervening with this battle between Bennett and the leader.
“At the end of the day, legends are still legends. The leader is stronger than any one of us here, and only Bennett can stop him. There’s no way we can help Bennett in that battle.” Tang Tang talked through the earpiece as he controlled the battlefield with the sandstorm.
Bennett was the strongest man in the era, and no one could deny the fact, even if they were arrogant and prideful on their own abilities.
“This is a war of attrition. We are in a stalemate right now, and the most powerful fighters are fighting each other. The outcome of this battle will change the course of the war,” Fazzad said as he released an energy shield, and everyone else agreed in silence.
Han Xiao heard the words and suddenly realized that this was the best change for him to finish the other mission. If the current battle is a stalemate, then it means that they are squeezing time for me to finish [The Ultimate Trial]! As long as I get a class advancement, I will have the power to take down the leader!
With so many helpers around and even more enemies, this was the perfect chance to earn Trial Points!
Moreover, Han Xiao had found the right way to handle the battle. The bonus Trial Points were calculated after one went out of combat. From previous experience and calculation, Han Xiao could estimate the amount of bonus Trial Points he would get by looking at the number of enemies and allies. Then if he got a chance to go out of combat after killing sufficient enemies, he could reach the two-thousand-point mark with the bonus Trial Points!
The main mission was to defeat the leader and break out of the encirclement, yet it was not in conflict with finishing [The Ultimate Trial]. Han Xiao took the opportunity and executed his plan.
The battle was intense, and Han Xiao’s allies suppressed the Germinal Organization with their higher battle power. There were often executive officers that would get injured, and through the battle information on the interface, Han Xiao spotted the executive officers that were low on health and get the last hits on those enemies, even stealing kills from his own teammate at times. Earning Trial Points had never been so easy before, and the rate quickly stacked up.
If there were players witnessing this scene, they could tell that Han Xiao was just last hitting all the kills with only one eye open. However, the teammates were not players. Seeing that Han Xiao was only shooting some bullets on the side, they thought that Han Xiao was exhausted and in a bad shape.
They originally thought that that Han Xiao was a powerful assistant, but it turned out that he had no place to be there. The reinforcements felt like they were babysitting Han Xiao. Diana, whose temper was as explosive as her Esper power, shouted at Han Xiao, “Hey, Black Phantom, you are not doing anything here. Just leave the superhumans to us and go fight off the normal troops.”
If Black Phantom was in poor condition, the obvious solution was to let Han Xiao handle the minions. Diana’s suggestion seemed fine in front of everyone’s eyes, but Han Xiao ignored her command and continued his mission.
Everyone’s face switched. Their role in the battle suddenly changed from that statement. If Han Xiao disobeyed the commands, did that mean that he wanted to see the others fight with everything they had just to protect him?
We should be teammates and stand side by side to fight the battle. Moreover, we are your reinforcements, yet you act like this is a game…
All the team seemed annoyed at Han Xiao, and Diana was about to reproach Han Xiao before she was interrupted by an enemy’s attack. She grumbled in her heart, He was a traitor of the Germinal Organization to begin with. All he knows is to run around and hide, setting things up in the dark to trigger the war. He indeed is a slippery and treacherous man.
At the same time, Han Xiao could not explain anything. He had to kill superhumans to get Trail Points, and this was the only change to turn the tide of the battle. To fight off minions was just a waste of talent, yet his allies did not know what he was happening. So, he could only remain silent, focus on his mission, and take all the complaints that his teammates had.
The war slowly approached the most heated stage. Time slowly became vague in the intense battle, and additional reinforcements arrived at the stage. Jaross and the other three executive officers joined the team fight, and Han Xiao and his team felt a sudden increase in pressure from the enemy. They tried to break through the encirclement, yet the enemy’s disgusting tactics denied them to chance do so. In the end, his team was trapped in the fishnet. However, the Germinal Organization also had to sacrifice uncountable soldiers and weapons to keep holding them back. Corpses and metal scraps were lying on the sand, slowly being covered up as wind and sand blew by.
Although the enemy troops could not deal a devastating blow to the superhumans to win the war, their firepower was as annoying as a flying bug, slowly chips away at the stamina and energy of the superhumans. Water droplets could wear away stone; many a little makes a mickle. In the end, injuries started to surface on Han Xiao’s allies, and everyone soon felt worn out.
Tang Tang and a summoner Esper were the target of the enemy. One had the power to control sandstorms, while the other could summon desert bugs and beasts—both of them were excellent at providing crowd control to the battle. The Germinal Organization’s executive officers successfully separated the summoner out of the team. They broke through Fazzad’s energy shield and took him down with a round of focus fire. The summoner had broken limbs, and blood spilled everywhere. The beasts who were no longer under control quickly ran away from the battle.
Everyone was alarmed. Once fatal injuries and deaths started to occur, it meant that the momentum of the battle slowly shifted to the other side. It was extremely likely for the enemy to snowball the lead.
Han Xiao quickly calculated his Trial Points in his heart.
At first there was around fifty executive officers, and an additional twenty showed up. I’ve killed around thirty people, and from the difference between our force and their force, I just need another twenty Trial Points along with the bonus I gain once I get out of combat to reach the two thousands mark!
At the same time, Tang Tang, who was right beside him, got hit by a force field attack from Jeross. Tang Tang kneeled down and pressed his chest. All the other executive officers charged toward him and attacked.
Seeing the deadly energy that would soon consume Tang Tang, Han Xiao used his field repulsion to push away Tang Tang, and the attacks flew past his shoulder.
Tang Tang escaped from the death as he shivered out of fear. He quickly turned around and thanked Han Xiao. “Thank you for saving me.”
Han Xiao nodded and looked around to find any other target. Suddenly, he saw the man wearing full plate armor with a large mechanical hammer in his hand, charging toward a pugilist like a rhino and swashing the hammer onto his head. At the same time, the executive officer returned some punches and shattered his chest armor. Both of them fell down and spat out blood at the same time.
Chance!
Han Xiao’s calm heart was suddenly excited. He instantly sniped the pugilist with [Flaming Will] and ended his life.
_____________________
You dealt 964 damage to Tayron (LV 54).
You have slain Tayron. You gained 136,000 experience.
You received 23 Trial Points.
_____________________
I finally got it! Han Xiao tried to suppress his thrill and use all the energy on to the Electromagnetic Hover-boots and the mini maneuvering equipment. Without a second thought, he ran toward where the enemies were coming from, which was actually the weakest and safest area, without looking back.
No one would expect one would go toward the enemy reinforcements, which was why it was the most defenseless area.
Han Xiao quickly left his teammates and instantly got out of combat.
Everyone was stunned!
“Is he trying to escape by himself while leaving us to fight off the enemies?” Diana raged.
The leader was still being tied down by Bennett and could not get away from the fight. Seeing that his prey was getting away, he was pissed and shouted, “Chase after him!”
Jaross led some troops and chased after Han Xiao, and the pressure on the Six Nations’ superhuman lessened.
“Wait, maybe he is trying to divert the enemy’s forces and create an opening,” Tang Tang said quietly. “But if this fails, this will be the end of us. This is too reckless… he should have discussed with us beforehand.”
After getting away from the battlefield, the enemies were still close behind Han Xiao. Han Xiao was zooming forward like lighting while counting down the time before his status was out of combat. After running away for five minutes, he saw another wave of reinforcements in front.
He was trapped, and there was no escape.
But Han Xiao smiled with his mouth wide open. The time wasted while he was escaping finally got him out of combat status, and the interface updated the bonus Trial Points that he had earned.
_____________________
[The Ultimate Trial]: Progress 2000/2000
LV 60 Ranked class advancement mission! Endurance increase, 1 Endurance = 30 Health = 40 Stamina]
You obtained new life form evolution. Detected race: [Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)].
Proceeding to random evolution path… Complete.
Please choose one of the five options as your evolution species. Warning! The action cannot be reverted. Please choose carefully! [Appendix – Evolvement Path Guide]
– [Yete] – 78% Compatibility
– [Manu Giants] – 64% Compatibility
– [Magicka] – 81% Compatibility
– [Type-i Space Humans] – 97% Compatibility
– [Elementary Energized Life] – 31% Compatibility
Choice received… Proceeding… Evolution complete.
You gained a Race Specialty, [Adaptive Herd].
You learned a skill, [Machinery: Last Stance].
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Every class advancement was an ascendance of life status. LV 60 was provided a large upgrade to the status among all other levels of class advancement since it was the boundary between Version 1.0 and Version 2.0. The effects of class advancements were based off accumulated experience, and the life form experienced its first evolution. The path of evolution was not completely random, but it was dependent on the initial race that was chosen by the player. For example, carbon-based human evolution paths were usually all in human forms.
The chain of evolution was not always certain, and one could have millions of possibilities for one’s evolution. Compatibility determined the volatility of randomness of the status of the evolution. The lower the compatibility, the more random the evolution effects would be, similar to flipping a coin where one could get a powerful evolution, while it was possible to get disastrous effects. For example, the [Basic Energy Organism] could directly change the body structure of a human, abandon the flesh and blood, and become a body made out of pure energy.
On the other hand, if the compatibility was high, then it meant that the evolution path was the most logical. Han Xiao chose [Type-i Space Humans] had close to a hundred percent compatibility since the Space Humans were the most common human species in Galaxy. The race was famous for its fast adaptation to the new environment with the unique characteristic [Adaptive Herd]. Debuff resistance, physical resistance, and mental resistance all increased by ten percent.
All races had different specialties. Once the evolution effects took place, it would be a major upgrade in status, where every race would have a different focus on statuses it improved on. Galaxy contained thousands of races, and from this step forward, all the players started to shape their own unique characteristics that were distinguishable from others.
Compared to the other four choices, the [Type-i Space Human] was the most common one. It was an all-round upgrade, so there was not a lot of uniqueness. However, with higher resistance and adaptability, the upcoming evolutions would have a wider range of choices. The evolution process could not be reverted, which was why Han Xiao clearly remembered the evolution tree, and the [Type-i Space Humans] was the best initial evolution in his mind, so he made his choice without a second thought.
Superhumans could become strong through the process of evolution, and the same went for NPCs. However, since they did not have an interface, they could not choose the evolution path.
Han Xiao took a deep breath.
There was pain aching from his bones, his muscles, and every other part of his body. Han Xiao bit his tongue and tried to take in all the pain from the evolution. The process of evolution was gut-wrenching, and a player could feel less by lowering the intensity of pain. However, all the pain that Han Xiao was feeling was a hundred percent real.
Fortunately, the pain did not last long. It quickly faded, and Han Xiao suddenly had a new perspective of the world!
The enemies were quickly approaching, and Han Xiao did not have time to investigate the changes in his body. He frantically used all the upgrades in his interface and used seventy-four million experience points. [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] instantly went from level five to the maximum level!
_____________________
[Magnetic Ring Mechanic] Lv.15 (Max).
+180 Energy, +2 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +4 Intelligence, +4 Free Attribute points.
_____________________
A third of two hundred million experience points were spent with a blink of an eye.
As the level of skill increased, the more resources were needed to level up the skill. Of course, the benefits corresponded with the expense, and with a ten-level upgrade, his energy increased by 810, and the energy attribute point reached 3,070. The energy attribute points broke through the level eight benchmark of 3000 points, and Han Xiao obtained another additional upgrade in his attributes.
Han Xiao suddenly felt a surge of energy flowing through this body. He reached LV 70, breaking through the level upper limit of version 1.0.
He was the only superhuman on the Planet Aquamarine that was above LV 60.
The Attribute was an enhancement in jumping abilities.
_____________________
111 Strength, 185 Dexterity, 159 Endurance, 321 Intelligence, 21 MYS, 14 Charisma, 1 Luck
Free Attribute Points: 40
Potential Points: 72
Health: 7,980
Stamina: 9,580
Energy: 3,070 (Lv.8)
Energy Rank: 3,275 Ona
Grade: C
[You are qualified to be the Space Explorer Warrior.]
_____________________
The overall strength has increased by more than half my previous status. The health points were 4,300 before the evolution, and now I have almost double that number. Moreover, the exchange ratio from Endurance to Health Points has increased from 1:20 to 1:30. After all the upgrades and level ups in the status, the four important attributes all increased by around thirty or forty points.
He quickly calculated his combat power, and he did not use the forty Free Attribute Points. Under an unpredictable battle, he could quickly adapt to different situations by adding attribute points.
Han Xiao stood up and turned toward Jeross and the troops. He eyes was sharp, cold, and deadly.
Prepare for your death, Germinal Organization!
The troops arrived in front of Han Xiao, and Jeross roared, “Block all the escape routes. Don’t let him get away!”
He then shot his force field toward Han Xiao.
Bang!
The ground exploded with a pit. Han Xiao dodged the attack with ease, and he was a lot faster and agile than before. He charged in front of Jeross and used his Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades. The skill blew a violent wind with so much power that it instantly broke through the defense force field as if it was a knife slicing through cake.
Deng!
After a flash of light, Jeross suddenly lost his vision, and he felt that he had lost control over his body. The pain exploded in his body, and he felt sharp blades sink into his flesh.
He had already sensed what would happen to his body—his eyes had lost all hope.
“No…”
The nine blades pierced through the body at the same time, and Jeross’ body was filled with holes with blood splattering everywhere. The blades sliced through the muscles and tendons, and Han Xiao headbutted through the last desperate force field created by Jeross and smacked his head with all his strength!
With only one move, Han Xiao eliminated the powerful and troublesome senior executive officer.
The role of predator and the prey instantly swapped at that moment.
Han Xiao looked around at the surprised soldiers, as if he was the wolf that would hunt everyone down.
…
On the main battlefield, fight was still going on. Everyone had their attention on the area where Han Xiao had run off to, curious about the result.
Suddenly, the sounds of explosion came from that direction, and everyone looked over.
“What’s going on? Did he get away?”
“Are they fighting right now?”
Everyone tried to guess what happened. Then they saw a small dot that was coming toward them. As the dot got closer, they recognized that it as Han Xiao, and all the enemies who had gone after him were nowhere to be seen.
“If he already escaped, why is he coming back?” Tang Tang asked with confusion.
Diana shot another two explosive flame and barely caught her breath. “He probably ran back here because he can’t deal with the enemies.”
Hila, who was silent the whole time, suddenly said, “His vital sign is different from before!”
In her Esper perception, Han Xiao was as bright and hot as a sun!
She had never seen anyone with such a strong vital sign.
She also felt another subtle change, but she could not tell what it was. The subtle change was the evolution of race that Han Xiao had gone through, so Hila naturally had no idea.
“Where’s Jeross?” The leader spared some attention away from the battled. “Focus fire on Zero! Do not let him get away from my vision!”
The troops changed their targets and move their crosshairs right on top of Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao suddenly sped up and dashed through enemy force like lighting. He picked up machine guns off the ground and shot at the enemy with perfect aim. With every shot, there was at least one man that fell to the ground.
Han Xiao moved forward and attacked the executive officers surrounding his allies without saying anything.
Bang Bang!
As if meteors falling down from the sky, the executive officers were all scattered by the firepower of Han Xiao. Han Xiao fought through the enemy with a crushing force, and he was clearly a different man compared to his performance before.
The veterans of the Six Nations were relieved from pressure and stared at Han Xiao’s courageous engagement with the enemy.
There was only two words to describe this scene—complete suppression.
“I think that he tried to save some up some energy and get back to his normal condition. After he exhausted the enemy during the chase, he turned back and showed true strength.” Tang Tang thought that he understood Han Xiao’s plan. Everyone else nodded, and all their doubts toward Han Xiao dispersed like dust.
Diana also held back her hate toward Han Xiao and said, “Well… he could have told us beforehand.”
After murdering all the executive officers, Han Xiao moved toward the battle between Bennett and the leader. The leader saw Han Xiao and gave a strong attack to Bennett. Bennett fell back, and the fight stopped.
“Hey Ben, you did good, but his head belongs to me.” Han Xiao patted on Bennett shoulder and said, “This is the battle of rivals.”
“You…”
Bennett had a sharp sense on people’s strength. He knew that Han Xiao was strong, but right now, he could not see through the strength of Han Xiao as if he was looking at the lake without a bottom.
Looking Han Xiao straight in the eye, Bennett did not reply and moved away to fight in another battle. He trusted Han Xiao to win against the leader.
If Han Xiao wanted to fight the leader, he must have been confident.
This was trust that needed no explanation.
The leader’s eyes were burning with blue flames. “Bennett was protecting you, and now you came here to fight me. Just because he wasted some of my energy, do you think you can beat me now? Haha… Good… Very good. Even if I’m not in my best condition, I will still murder you with ease!”
“Let’s get into it then, haven’t you been waiting for this day for so long?”
Han Xiao lifted his arm and shot a bullet right at the leader. The leader made a claw with his hand and released a violet shockwave that slowed down the speed of the bullet.
The leader had mastered several advanced techniques in Pugilist class. With the shockwave blast and physical flame, he was strong in both offense and defense.
The leader’s information showed up on the interface.
He has eighty-one percent of his health! Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. The leader and Bennett were on the same level, and the leader had only lost a small amount of health, which meant that Han Xiao could still take sixty percent of his health.
Diana, Tang Tang, and the rest of the soldiers watched closely at the fight and worried for Han Xiao. Bennett was considered the strong man on their side, and they trusted Bennett to deal with the leader. However, their suspicion rose as Han Xiao took on the leader, thinking that Han Xiao did not have the ability to suppress the leader.
The fight was intense, and multiple pits was created by the fight. Each was the other’s mortal enemy, and every move was filled with their intent to murder, as if they were two beasts fighting each other. None of them tried to dodge the attack and only focused on landing attacks on the opponent.
Han Xiao used all the weapons and machinery at his disposal to drag down the leader’s health, including the Sunworm Flamethrower, Ghost sniper rifle, Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades, and Sonic Bomb.
The leader was a Pugilist, so Han Xiao was at a disadvantage when fighting in close quarters. However, with the rapid growth of attributes and status, plus upgrades for Viper, his Endurance and Dexterity were much higher than those of the leader. So even if Han Xiao lacked in Pugilist techniques and close combat skills, he could still get the upper hand with his stats and attributes.
There was no use for tactics!
Han Xiao took a look at the battle information and thought, He has a lot of strong skills that do armor penetration damage and also wear out the defense of the enemy. Also, he has a lot of skills that can reflect damage. He must have used this kill to block off the powerful punches of Bennett.
The two men continued to clash against each other. Han Xiao was focused, and he did not panic. He calculated the skills, health, and other battle information in his mind. He had once been a professional power leveler, so he had tons of experience. One must understand the mechanics and calculations to become a master.
The health bar for a LV 70 character was much higher than the leader, and with Viper, he knew that the best chance for him to win this fight was to use brute force to power through. Even if Han Xiao could only land an attack in exchange for three or four attacks from the leader, it was still worth it.
The leader’s health slowly decreased, but Viper was on the brink of destruction. With multiple cracks and dents, the durability of the suit was almost zero, and it would be broken after one or two more hits.
The chips carried on the suits were all shattered, and the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was bent into scrap metal. The fuel tank for the Sunworm Flamethrower was empty, and there was no more ammo for the sniper. The battle screen had cracks, and the energy was almost depleted.
In other words, Han Xiao had no weapons to use anymore, and this was the worst possible scenario for a mechanic to be in.
I finally can break his suit! Without this turtle shell, there’s no way he can fight me anymore!
Seeing that his dream had finally been fulfilled, the leader could not wait and gave a final blow to the suit as he tore it apart.
Crack!
The sound pierced through people’s ears.
The damaged Viper suddenly released a bright light and went back to full power! The originally empty durability was restored to fifty percent! The energy of the suit also replenished mysteriously.
[Machinery: Last Stance]
When a machinery’s durability was less than ten percent, by using five hundred energy points, one could make a machinery restore back to fifty to eighty percent of the status. The higher the quality and the more complicated the machinery was, the shorter the time of effect of the skill. One’s Intelligence attribute also affected the duration of the skill. After the duration, the machinery would self-destruct.
This skill was the equivalent of [Battle: Last Stance].
Han Xiao had already prepared this as his final trick. Taking the opportunity while the leader was still surprised, Han Xiao landed his fist right on the leader’s face. The leader fell back and rolled on the ground, and the mask started to crack. He tried to get up, but he suddenly felt a weakening force dragging his body down.
The leader had been in such an intense battle that he did not realize his status was dropping at an abnormal rate. He had injuries all over his body.
“Hey, you there, can you lend me your weapon?” Han Xiao looked over to the Mechanical Pugilist in the dust.
The man hesitated for a second, and with his injured body, he threw the energy hammer to Han Xiao.
“Catch!”
After he caught the hammer, a dark blue Mechanical Force covered the hammer, and Han Xiao activated the [Flaming Will], which had just come off cooldown.
Han Xiao swung the heavy hammer around, and the small boosters on the head of the hammer left a curve in the air. Han Xiao smacked down with the hammer right on the leader’s face as he tried to get up.
Boom!
Bull’s eye!
Like a baseball being hit by a bat, the leader flew away a few hundred meters and hit three vehicles along the way.
In the air, the mask broke into pieces and landed on the ground.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The sand blew in the wind as if the world was covered in a thin cloth. As the sands drifted down to the floor, the whole slowly became clear.
In the violent wind, a shadow of a man got up with difficulty, kneeling on the ground.
Tick tock, tick tock….
Blood dripped down from the corner of his lips. The leader covered his face and stood up with difficulty.
At this moment, the atmosphere froze. The entire battle looked over at the leader as if there was a temporary ceasefire.
The leader of the Germinal Organization always wore a black metal mask. Almost no one, even including people from the Germinal Organization, knew his true identity.
To have the ability to lead such a powerful force, the leader should be a man with a well-known background. All the countries had a lot of guesses on the leader’s true identity, and they thought that since the Germinal Organization had been created during the Old Era, the most plausible guess was that he was a legend in the Old Era who had changed his appearance.
Han Xiao also looked over. No players in his previous lives had been able to find out the identity of the leader, so he was as curious as the rest.
The leader put down his hand, and the face that presented in front of everyone’s eyes was a distorted face with multiple scars, as if there were bugs crawling under the skin. The scars looked like it was a deep scratch left by a wild beast.
Most importantly, it was an unfamiliar face.
Even though his looks were appalling, the outline of the face was still recognizable. Han Xiao was confident that he had not seen this face when he looked at the intel on the Dark Net. He looked over at Bennett and the superhumans from the Six Nations, and they were all confused.
No one recognized the leader.
Bennett frowned. He was a legend from the Old Era, and he still remembered numerous legends from back in the day, including those who died in battle or died of old age. Yet, he could not recognize face of the leader. There were only three possibilities.
First, the leader had also worn a mask in the Old Era. Second, he had changed his appearance to hide his identity. Third, he had not been a powerful man during the Old Era and stayed under the radar during that time.
With his appearance revealed, the leader did not show any expression as if he could not care less.
Can no one recognize him? Does that mask only try to hide the terrifying face so as to avoid decreasing the morale of the soldiers? Han Xiao frowned. Babies would cry seeing the leader’s face. If he did not wear a mask, he probably would bring a ‘-20 Military Morale’ debuff.
The battle was not over. Leaving the questions behind, Han Xiao went on the offense, swinging his mechanical battle hammer with only thirty seconds before Viper broke down.
Bang bang bang!
The fist covered with purple energy clashed with the hammer, and the sound of metal clashing never stopped.
The leader’s eyes were spicy and deadly, and he quickly saw the poor condition of the mechanical suit. As long as he can drag it out long enough, the suit would shatter, and that would be the end of any Mechanic.
Defend.
The leader switched to a defensive stance and took all the direct hits from Han Xiao. Under the heavy attacks, the leader did not flinch and was as hard as stone.
The unmovable body and the unbreakable hammer clashed more and more intensely, and the wind created by the impact blew the sands up like a wave.
Clink! Clink!
After thirty seconds, Viper suddenly made a weird sound, and pieces of components and chips shattered like a withered flower.
The mechanical suit was broken.
Han Xiao revealed his real body.
“Yah!” the leader screamed, and he switched back to the offensive in an instant. All the energy saved in his body travelled to his fist and punched right at Han Xiao’s stomach. In addition to armor penetration skill, the impact directly hit the flesh of Han Xiao.
Bang! Hong!
One attacked created two sounds. First was the fist hitting the body, then the impact passed through the body of Han Xiao and created another explosive sound as the energy left Han Xiao’s body from the back. The second explosive sound was almost loud enough to deafen everyone present, leaving a cone shaped dent in the sand behind Han Xiao.
Under such a powerful force, Han Xiao barely even moved. He did not even take a step back and absorbed all the impact.
“How did you!” The leader could not believe his eyes.
How could a Mechanic block a punch with his own body?
Then, a shadow appeared above the leader’s head, and the hammer started to smash again. The leader tried to block the hammer with his arms, yet a sudden pain shock through his arms, and his body sank into the ground until the sand covered his knees, as if he was a nail being hammered into the ground.
The leader’s pupils reflected a man’s shadow with dense energy. It was denser than his own energy as a Pugilist!
“Why…” The leader ground his teeth, then he suddenly realized what had happened. “Did you break that limit?”
The class advancement every twenty levels had always been a bottleneck for NPCs, who did not have an interface. They could not easily break through the limit as they could not finish any missions. Therefore, the only way for them to obtain a class advancement was hard work and luck.
Among the top superhumans in the Planet Aquamarine, there had not been any news where anyone had conquered the bottleneck and reached the next stage. It was nearly impossible for them to obtain the next level.
The dream and thirst for a class advancement that he desired the most happened to the person whom he hated the most at the worst possible moment.
Is this… fate?
The word kept on ringing in his ears like a broke record player.
“Eat my battle stomp!” Han Xiao randomly shouted a skill name and smashed his hammer onto the leader’s head.
Without Viper, Han Xiao lost the bonus buff and damage on to his attacks. Moreover, he had finished using all his ammunition. The only thing that he had left was the mechanical hammer, and on the surface, it seemed that it would still be a tough battle. However, with the new Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance, his status was on other level compared to the LV 60 BOSS-level Pugilist. In addition, the leader was already heavily injured with only thirty-seven percent of his health points left.
Once the health points reached below a certain point, all the debuff would start kicking in and slowly decrease his combat strength. The difference in power between the two men did not change much after the Viper broke down. Han Xiao still could handle the leader and save the world.
Seeing this, the leader was already discouraged. Along with his bad condition, he had no way to fight back. He kept on being smashed by the hammer as blood splattered around.
On the side, the superhuman from the Six Nations could not believe their eyes.
In their mind, the only person who could fight the leader was Bennett, and no one had thought that that this man would be Han Xiao.
Bennett was undoubtedly the strongest man, the only one who could stand toe to toe against the leader. Yet, Han Xiao battered the leader with ease without taking much damage other than a broken suit.
They witnessed the entire process of Han Xiao beating down the leader. It was no ambush nor sneak attack; it was an honorable and straightforward fight with nothing to hide. This also meant that Han Xiao was on other level compared to Bennett.
Who was Bennett? He was the strongest man on the entire planet.
Han Xiao’s performance could get rid of ‘strongest’ from the title.
He was now the strongest superhuman on this entire planet!
The stalemate of the intense battle was broken by Han Xiao as he took over the battlefield.
Diana’s temper was as explosive as her power. She almost threw a fireball at Bennett and asked, “Is he actually that strong? Why did he need our support?”
“This feeling… it can’t be wrong. He just broke through the limit in this battle!” Tang Tang’s eyes flickered.
Shock and jealousy slowly surface on the faces of the crowd.
Seeing that the leader was getting beaten, the morale of the Germinal Organization dropped, and soon, the enemies panicked.
Bang!
Another hammer landed on top of the chest. The leader spat out more blood on Han Xiao. The leader suddenly roared with blood in his mouth.
The violet energy became dense again and was alive like burning flames.
Han Xiao thought that the leader was going to use his ultimate skill. He held the hammer in front of him and prepared for an attack.
But the next second, the leader turned around and ran as fast as he could. He used his energy as a booster and ran like a missile being launched. After running for two hundred meters, he headed into a base, and his energy died down. His whole body was out of strength and collapsed on the sand with blooding flowing out of his nose and mouth.
With those heavy injuries, he could not take any more of Han Xiao’s attacks. No matter how angry the leader was, he had to escape.
“He ran away! He admitted defeat!”
Han Xiao quickly checked the battle information.
The leader had only fourteen percent of his HP left and was in weakened status.
Taking sixty percent of his HP had been achieved.
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The leader had sustained heavy injuries, and this caused the Germinal forces to instantly collapse.
Some troops rushed to surround and protect the leader while others were still bogged down in a battle. The Six Nations’ experts used this opportunity to concentrate fire on a single spot and created a hole in the Germinal formation.
“Get in the car!” Tang Tang yelled.
The cars were about to drive past Han Xiao, and this was the best chance to get in the car.
Han Xiao took a glance toward the leader and saw that he was blocked by several lines of bodyguards.
The leader still had fourteen percent of his health left, and with the troops surrounding him, it would not be easy for Han Xiao to kill the leader in a short amount of time. Seeing how his allies were all about to successfully escape from the Germinal forces, delaying any longer could risk them getting encircled once more.
Han Xiao himself did not really mind this. With his current strength, he could solo the Germinal army that was on the brink of breaking apart with ease. However, aside from Bennett, all other members of the team that came had sustained injuries, and casualties might arise were they to keep on fighting.
Han Xiao had once been their rescue target, but now, he had turned into someone who needed to protect them.
Han Xiao did not know whether he should laugh or cry at this, but he made the logical decision within a short moment.
[The Traitor’s Ambush] mission is already completed, and my job is done. All I have to do now is relay the confidential information to the Six Nations and let them worry about the rest.
He decided not to deal the final blow as it did not really matter to him at this point.
As the cars were just about to pass him, one of the doors opened, and Han Xiao quickly jumped aboard, leaving the troops behind in the dust.
The Germinal troops were completely left behind this time, slowly becoming specks on the horizon.
“It’s done.” Han Xiao finally let out a deep breath. The leader would no longer have any chance to stop him now.
This had truly been an exhilarating experience.
This time, he had rescued Aurora and Hila from the Germinal headquarters, stolen advanced Mechanic Knowledge from their lab, and even gotten hold of a bunch of crucial war information. Killing his way out and revealing his identity had also cemented his position as a Legend on the planet as well as further boosting his reputation among the players. He had broken past Version 1.0’s limit after killing countless high-level Germinal executives and even beaten up the leader himself, obtaining the lucky draw on two of the leader’s abilities.
Although he had faced endless danger along the way, the reward made it all well worth it!
Han Xiao thought of something and suddenly looked back at the Germinal leader from the car window.
The leader stood shakily on a distant sand dune, with his now weak-looking figure swaying in the wind.
Han Xiao and the leader’s gaze locked onto each other’s despite the long distance.
The leader was expressionless. He had mustered all his resources this time yet had ended up with nothing to show for it. However, instead of raging over it, all Han Xiao saw in the leader’s eyes were conflicting emotions of pain, dejection, and even a sense of release and weariness. It was as if he had used up all his will and no longer had the energy to let out his fury.
Han Xiao was somewhat puzzled and became curious about this character.
Leading the Germinal Organization to overthrow the mighty Six Nations. Why did he do all this? What kind of person was he?
Ambitious? Cruel? Immoral?
Despite his long-time adversity with the leader, Han Xiao barely knew about his foe.
Oh right. I don’t even know his name.
Han Xiao once again focused his gaze on the leader, and the leader also met his gaze from the distance.
In that instant, it was someone had pressed the pause button, and even time itself had stopped. The gaze between the two looked almost like a still painting.
This was Han Xiao’s first face-to-face contact with the leader…
… and also the last.
Later, the Six Nation fighters present would describe this scene and leak it to the whole world.
After the war had ended, when each nation was re-organizing, they would find out that this was the turning point in the war. The stare-down between Zero and the Germinal leader would become a historical moment and be recorded in Planet Aquamarine’s history.
…
The moon lit up the night, and stars were scattered throughout the sky. The astral sea lit up this side of the hill, and artificial lighting was not even needed deep into the night.
The three cars were parked atop a hill that was hidden in the middle of a small forest. The engines were turned off, and silence filled in the surroundings. Everyone had gotten out their cars and spread out to mind their own business. Some chewed on their rations, some tended to their wounds, and others made small talk.
After the intense combat throughout the day, they had decided to stop there for the night to rest. Driving past the plains in front of them would get them to the border between the Six Nations’ and Germinal’s warzone. Germinal had limited control over this area, and it was nothing compared to the forces that were swarming around the headquarters. The forces that had pursued and ambushed them earlier had suffered heavy casualties, and there were truly no more threats to the team.
Han Xiao finally had some time to take in the changes that he had gotten from evolving his race.
He observed his body under the gentle moonlight. His skin was still yellow, but there were some minor changes. After the minor changes to his DNA, his body became even better proportioned, and his limbs seemed to have grown longer. He also felt that he had become more handsome as he checked himself out with a mirror…
Yup. Definitely not just my imagination.
[Type-i Space Human] had high compatibility with his body. This was a race of humans who had adapted to live in space and had been exposed to a variety of different types of radiation as well as the planet’s environments over the years. This was a race that followed strictly followed the laws of evolution, and those who could not adapt naturally could not survive. The logic behind was similar to how humans on Earth had evolved into different races: Asians, Caucasians, Africans, etc. The differences all came from the different living environments. Type-i Space Humans also started as the countless normal humans in the universe—more commonly recognized by other alien races as Carbon Monkeys, Parasites, Sneaky B*stards, Prideful Creatures, Racists, Not Delicious, etc.
Due to the harshness of space, the Type-i Space Humans had much stronger bodies. They had a more perfect body structure, and their organs could function at a higher capacity. If normal humans were comparable to thin sheets of paper, they would be like rubber, much harder to break.
Of course, the body still looked more or less like a normal human. There was not anything such as green skin or longer teeth.
Each race and species’ evolution paths were very much traceable. Carbon-based organisms could not suddenly become mechanical lifeforms. Those that evolved or mutated into having potential to utilize life energy were commonly known as True Soul Carriers. Most thought-capable species had the potential to develop this power.
Although a normal human has a lot of evolution paths to choose to follow, the more one evolves, the harsher the requirements will become to evolve again. A Space Human has less of an option in evolving as there is usually only one main pathway, but with more evolutions, the compatibility will also increase. Those extremely powerful races all require high compatibility and also have the most potential.
Han Xiao nodded. Evolution was a step-like process. Gaining massive power early on would naturally mean that one would mean losing out later on. Only by walking on a wider road would he have more options in the future.
It was also important how well the evolution pathway worked with his class. As he did not need to go for those all-brawn-no-brain races, the [Type-i Space Human] evolution was very suitable for Han Xiao.
I might as well finish dealing with [The Traitor’s Ambush] now.
Han Xiao rubbed his hands and was full of expectations like an old gambler.
Ahem. It was more like the excitement one felt from getting their pay.
_____________________
[The Traitor’s Ambush] has been completed.
You have obtained: Lucky draw for two of the Germinal leader’s abilities.
Commencing lucky draw… Draw complete.
Please choose two out of the five following abilities:
1. [Advanced Martial Arts] – Talent: Decrease energy consumption by 30% when using pugilist skills and increase damage output by 15%.
2. [Venomous Attack] – Skill: Assassin-type skill. Strike fast like a snake, and deal 4 – 7 consecutive blows to your opponent. The first hit will deal 41 – 59 bonus damage, and each following blow will deal 5% less.
3. [Repel – Thorns] – Skill: Use your energy to absorb 30% of all incoming attacks. If it’s a melee battle, reflect the same amount of absorbed damage back to your opponent. Uses 300 energy, 500 stamina, and cools down in 110 seconds.
4. [Iron Fist] – Talent: Bare-handed attacks increase in damage by 7% and block chance increases by 3%.
5. [Steel Body] – Talent: Immune to true damage.
_____________________
Unfortunately, the Lucky Halo was not one of the draws.
Does he not have it, or is my luck just too bad? Han Xiao shook his head.
The leader had several dozen different abilities, and the chances of getting something good with only five draws was truly too low. So, Han Xiao was not that disappointed.
The leader was a pugilist, so most of the drawn abilities had something to do with martial arts. He was able to choose two out of the five abilities for himself.
“This is great! It’s a Molding Ability!” Han Xiao’s eyes lighted up.
Molding Abilities were unique in that they were very powerful, specific, and absolute—as in the case of damage immunity. This was exactly what Han Xiao was looking for.
[Steel Body] was basically a BOSS template. It would make him immune to attacks that dealt true damage. This would greatly reduce the chance of accidents from happening, and he would be much hard to be killed in one-shot. For example, without this ability, someone with a skill similar to [Flaming Will], which could do true damage, would have posed a huge threat to Han Xiao. However, with [Steel Body], that danger was completely negated. As Han Xiao himself did a lot of explosive attacks, he knew the pros and cons of true damage very well.
He chose [Repel – Thorns] because he did not have any other better choice out of the remaining draws. The others were all pugilist skills.
When he thought back on the previous fight between Bennett and the leader, the leader must have used this ability to tank Bennett’s broken quintuple damage punch.
When Han Xiao thought about the leader again, he could not wipe away his interest in this main storyline character.
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You have obtained [Repel – Thorns]!
You have obtained [Steel Body]!
_____________________
A paralyzing feeling passed through Han Xiao’s body, and it made him much more focused. When he stretched out his arms, he found out that his body had become much tougher. His chest even gave off satisfying echoes when he gave it some test smacks.
Looks like I’m progressing well on the road to become a true meat shield. Han Xiao was in a good mood as he was very glad about the mission reward this time around.
He had obtained his second Molding Ability. True damage was damage that directly reduced one’s health regardless of other defensive stats. For example, when a normal attack with a hundred attack power landed on someone, it would be reduced by a certain amount depending on the armor that the assailant wore. On the other hand, true damage would be able to do a hundred flat damage without reductions.
With this ability, he was much harder to kill and was starting to look more and more like a BOSS character.
After maxing out his [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] class in the interface, Han Xiao still had 125,000,000 experience points left, which he used to directly max out [Machinery – Last Stance] and [Repel – Thorns]. After spending another 13,000,000 exp, he gained two additional Potential Points.
Both of these abilities were very useful. [Machinery – Last Stance] was self-explanatory—it was basically like combat Viagra for Mechanics. [Repel – Thorns] was a very powerful defensive skill as it could directly mitigate a portion of all incoming damage.
Maxing out [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] also unlocked the new class change requirements.
_____________________
Class Change Requirement: Reach LV 80, obtain 400 Intelligence Points, learn five advanced mechanic knowledges.
_____________________
Well that’s surprising. Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.
Several of the class change requirements for main classes were the same for everyone. Han Xiao had class-changed four times and had [Mechanic Novice], [Novice Technician], [Mechanic Trainee], and [Magnetic Ring Mechanic]. All Mechanic players who went with the Magnetic Ring class change tree would have to complete the same requirements.
Only when they had learned enough advanced knowledge and leveled up intelligence enough would they be able to move onto the next level.
My intelligence stat has already reached 321 points. With 40 free points, I now only need 39 stat points to meet this requirement. So, the important thing now is to look for a sub-class to max to obtain LV 80 overall.
Even someone like Han Xiao who basically only assigned points into intelligence did not have enough to do the class change. It was even worse for the Mechanic players who did not know any better and put points randomly into different areas. These players would have no other choice but to arduously look for more subclasses to gain stat points from.
The cap on Version 2.0 was LV 90. The higher the overall level, the higher the required experience to level up one’s sub-classes. This was why the later one fulfilled one’s class change requirements, the higher the cost would be.
Eventually, when a player’s sub-classes’ levels made up most of their overall level, their actual strength would then be laughable.
In the past, some Galaxy players had only been able to meet their class change requirements once they got to LV 80. Before they could level up their main class after the class change, they soon ran into the Version’s level cap. Unsurprisingly, these players were the weakest when it came to PVP.
Han Xiao threw in all forty of the unassigned points into intelligence and muttered, “I also need to find a subclass. My strength has already far surpassed the Version cap, so I don’t need to focus on leveling up anymore for now. Hmm… I should try to look for one of the rarer sub-classes. Those tend to give more free skill points per level, so I will be able to class change without leveling up too much.
He was not worried about obtaining advanced mechanical knowledge. It seemed hard because the rate of his growth had already surpassed the norm in the current Version. Advanced knowledge was something that would come by sooner or later.
“Hey, Black Phantom. Can I have my weapon back?”
Someone called Han Xiao from behind him. Havalen had walked over as he asked Han Xiao.
He was the mechanical pugilist who owned the rocket-boosted hammer. The hammer was still with Han Xiao at the moment.
Han Xiao turned and replied, “Oh this! I gave it a small check before, and it seemed like your weapon wasn’t functioning properly. Let me help you repair it first.”
Or in Han Xiao’s mind… You can have it back after I’ve figured out the blueprint for this thing.
Havalen had a face full of suspicion. “There’s a malfunction? But it worked fine when I was using it.”
“Oh, you know, damaging weapons is often unavoidable during intense battles.”
“Uh, this weapon was developed by Theseus’s military factory, and I was ordered not to let anything about the technology leak out…” Havalen was troubled. He knew that Han Xiao was a Mechanic, so he was naturally concerned.
“That’s not right,” Han Xiao replied in a righteous voice. “Do I look like that kind of person? We’re teammates right now, you and I!”
Han Xiao was not feeling guilty about this at all. Teammates were supposed to be used, or what difference would they have from fish in the market?
Havalen hesitated for a few seconds before finally relenting, and he returned to where was previously.
He did not believe a word Han Xiao said, but the thing was, this dude was much stronger than every other person present.
What could he do?
The Six Nations’ agents were busy reporting the current situation to their higher ups. All the nations had their full attention on this issue. Han Xiao did not really mind. He might as well let the Six Nations people know how strong he was so as to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.
Han Xiao saw that Bennett was huddled up and talking with a small circle of people, so he walked over. He noticed that they were clamoring over a wheel that had fallen off and asked, “What’s this about?”
“I’m not sure if you have noticed, but we’re trying to fix this wheel,” Bennett said in a salty voice.
Han Xiao looked at him weirdly. “I have eyes. Are you taking the piss with me?”
The two stared at each other before Hannes could not stand it anymore and butted in to explain, “This wheel had been shot. There are some tools in the trunk. Do you think you could help us fix it? You’re a Mechanic, right?”
“You should’ve said that earlier.” Han Xiao pulled up his sleeves, took out his tools, and started fixing the wheel while making a bunch of clanking noises. The group of people just stood around him and gawked like a bunch of fools.
After Han Xiao was done, Hannes reattached the wheel onto the car. Bennett then finally looked at Han Xiao and signaled before he walked off to the side. Han Xiao shook his head a few times before he followed behind helplessly.
The debt collector was finally here.
Once they were a distance away from the campsite, Bennett stopped, and so did Han Xiao.
“Humph!” Bennett turned before staring at Han Xiao and said, “Explain yourself.”
Obviously, he was talking about Han Xiao’s double identity. Bennett still could not get over it.
Han Xiao was delighted upon hearing this. Bennett sounded just like a pouting daughter-in-law…
“So, you don’t want to talk about it? Do you see yourself right now? Oh… you think you’re so tough?” Thinking back to what had happened over the past few days pissed Bennett off. “Why not tell us that you’re an alien as well?”
Han Xiao was speechless.
You might’ve guessed right…
However, Han Xiao was extremely thick-skinned, and no matter how much Bennett whined and complained, Han Xiao only gave off an occasional “huh” to let the other person know that he was still listening. When he saw how Han Xiao was not willing to speak at all, Bennett also felt helpless about it and sighed before saying, “Whatever, it’s all in the past anyway.”
Han Xiao was a friend and someone who had made great contributions to the Dark Net. He had also devoted himself to the Shelter plan, and Bennett trusted him completely. He would not fuss too much over something like this. Moreover, Bennett secretly respected Han Xiao for his accomplishments.
Bennett coughed a few times before saying in a muffled voice, “You… how did you break past the limit?”
As a superhuman, he also wanted to become stronger. Bennett wanted to ask about Han Xiao’s experience in hopes of gaining some enlightenment for himself. He actually did not care about being surpassed by Han Xiao or any of that. Bennett had never been one to not care about these small things, and he had always lived life by trusting his friends. Han Xiao was one such friend. Although this youngling would irk him from time to time, he was still a likeable helper.
Han Xiao thought for a bit before replying with a straight face, “Like the old teachings… First, take in a deep breath but wait. You also need to start circulating energy around your nether region. You know where I’m talking about, right? So basically, your bladder. You will then start to feel like energy is slowly leaking out of you, but don’t worry, this is common for all beginners. Once you can control this feeling and hold the energy from leaking on will, you will be able to break through your limit. It’s as easy as that.”
“… You’re bullsh*tting me again, right?” Bennett was shocked. He had a mouthful of inelegant terms stuck in his mouth, waiting to be spit out.
Why do you never change! Do I look that gullible to you‽
At that moment, the two suddenly quieted down as they noticed that someone was approaching—it was Hannes.
Hannes swept his eyes across the two and said in a grave voice, “I have something to tell you guys. I might’ve found the Germinal leader’s origins.”
The duo was shocked, and their expressions drastically changed.
“He is as powerful as me,” Bennett said. “This kind of character definitely can’t just be some random hooligan, but I have no impression of him at all. It’s very odd.”
“So where is he from?” Han Xiao asked curiously.
“Black Phantom… Oh, I will just call you Han Xiao. Do you still remember the mission we left for you?”
Han Xiao nodded. The hidden A-rank main storyline mission [New Ear – Origin]’s objective was to dig up the buried past of Planet Aquamarine. He had broken down the mission into different portions and assigned pro Galaxy players to deal with the mission. The first part of the mission had already been completed, but Han Xiao just had not turned it in.
He never would have thought that the leader had something to do with the hidden main storyline, and this instantly piqued his interest.
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“The intelligence you found has given us new clues. And several various investigations, we’ve found traces of the Germinal Organization’s origins from a dead country’s sealed confidential scroll…”
Just as he finished his sentence, the notification appeared on the interface.
_____________________
[New Era – Origin] First Round Complete
You have received 350,000 EXP
Completion Grade: Good
You have received 280,000 EXP bonus.
You have received Lv.45 Rare Large Dungeon Crystal – [Gollum Protection Warfare] x 5.
Listen to Hannes
_____________________
“In the old era, there was a small country called Gollum. Their government went through many changes and revolutions throughout history. In a year during the old era, a terrorist group targeting Gollum appeared, going by the name ‘Mimok’. They attacked the nation of Gollum many times and created terror in society. The government took action.
“However, it was as if the members of Mimok were everywhere. The repeated attacks destroyed the sense of safety of the people of Gollum. They demanded the government take stricter measures, and the government did. They came up with all sorts of strict laws. The regulations in the nation became tight, and the people of Gollum were under constant surveillance and management. They called it ‘protective measures’. After that, Mimok seemed to have disappeared in just a night. There were no more attacks. The measures seemed to have worked.
“However, Mimok was actually an organization that was created by Gollum’s government secretly to inflict violence upon their people. For safety, the people of Gollum willingly accepted the strict ‘protection’. The government took the rights back from the people one after another. All media sources and any platform that could give the people a voice were under the government’s strict control.”
Bennett nodded and said, “That is ruling through terror. You create an enemy for the people, and you will be on the side of the people. They will feel the danger themselves. And when there’s no guarantee of safety, terror will push most people to give up freedom in exchange for safety, accepting strict regulations.”
“That’s right.” Hannes nodded and continued. “There’s no way of knowing why the government back then chose this way of ruling the nation. Maybe they didn’t want to make the same mistake that was made in history. However, some people discovered the truth about Mimok. The tricks of the government were exposed—it became a scandal that could bring them down. The people of Gollum were furious. They paraded, protested, and created a civilian resistance organization. It led to one violent conflict after another, wanting to overthrow the government.
“When the internal conflict in Gollum was most heated, the galactic civilization came. They brought along knowledge that could change the world. At that time, chaos appeared everywhere around the world. Then war broke out, Gollum got invaded by their neighboring country. Gollum had focused too much on the internal conflict. With the threat from both inside and outside the nation, the government fell. The nation was invaded and taken over. Gollum died.”
“So, the Germinal Organization is Mimok.
“The current Germinal Organization leader was a citizen of Gollum. He was once a member of the Gollum Civilian Resistance Organization.”
“Oh? The Gollum Civilian Resistance Organization should be an enemy of Mimok,” Han Xiao said in surprise. “What’s his actual identity? What’s his name?”
Hannes shook his head and said, “That era was too long ago; the detailed identity can’t be found anymore. What we know for sure is that the leader of the Germinal Organization was once just a nobody. Gollum died, but Mimok survived. After getting out of government control, the leader of the Mimok was ambitious. He turned the organization into a starving wolf looking for an opportunity in the war.
“They were once active before the Old Era war. However, one day, Mimok suddenly disappeared. Then only appearing again after a few years. And when they reappeared, they were called the Germinal Organization. Their power expanded dozens of times; they became a shark from a shrimp. The original Mimok leader was nowhere to be found. This is all the intel I could find.”
It got quiet, and they stared at each other.
“Seems like the leader took Mimok away,” Han Xiao said in a low voice.
Bennett was more concerned about another problem. “What happened to the other people of Gollum?”
“Some were killed by the nation that invaded Gollum, some changed their nationality, and the rest became wanderers.” Hannes paused before saying, “Also… the nation that invaded Gollum is now called Raylen.”
“So that’s what happened. Now we know the motive of the Germinal Organization leader being hostile toward the Six Nations—revenge.” Han Xiao nodded.
Everyone had hope in their life. Hope would become a wish, and that wish would become a belief. Different beliefs led to different paths that would clash with each other, resulting in conflicts and possibly even war, the ultimate form of conflict.
The Germinal Organization was created from the Old Era. They had been at the front lines of the conflict, yet not only did they still exist, they had even become stronger and stronger. The leader’s past sounded legendary. From an ordinary person that no one had heard of, he became the leader of the organization that could fight against the Six Nations. He sure did match up as one of the main characters on Planet Aquamarine.
However, only the leader himself knew his actual thoughts and experiences.
At this time, the second round of missions of [New Era – Origin] appeared on the interface. It was the same type of mission as the first round, consisting of many small missions to find clues around the world. There was a total of nine missions. Han Xiao decided to use his old method, splitting them up and giving to the players.
This hidden storyline is about digging through the history that was buried. The introduction says it will have unknown impacts on Planet Aquamarine. Will something so astonishing appear and change people’s knowledge of the entire world? Han Xiao guessed.
The basic reward of the second round was 800,000 EXP, and the grade reward was still unknown. The first round of the mission had given the reward of five Dungeon Crystals of a large twenty-man dungeon, the type that had save points and could go on for days. Large guilds would definitely be interested; Han Xiao felt he could make a fortune from this.
After some chit chat, they went back to the convoy.
Han Xiao sat at the side and ate some dry food. Suddenly, he smelled a fragrance.
Hila came beside him, then said with a serious face, “We have already escaped. When are we going to fetch my younger sister? I’m very worried about her.”
Han Xiao ate the last piece of biscuit, wiped his mouth, and said, “We have to go back there in order to fetch your sister. These people of Six Nations definitely won’t agree to us taking the risk.”
“Then we can go ourselves,” Hila said without hesitation.
Han Xiao shook his head. “If I go back, the leader might fight back again, and there will be more trouble.”
Like Han Xiao had said at the start, fetching Aurora was very troublesome. However, splitting up was a must—bringing Aurora along would have meant taking care of her and not being able to fight all out. There would have been many restrictions, and Aurora might have faced danger, leaving openings for the enemy. If the enemy had realized that the two of them were protecting Aurora and decided to focus their attacks on Aurora, the two of them would have shown more flaws in the fight. They might not even have made it out if they had brought her along.
Hila scowled at Han Xiao but did not say anything. They had been through life and death situations together, so she believed that Han Xiao would not go back on his word.
Hila and Han Xiao could be considered comrades.
The Hila now was younger and more sentimental compared to the goddess of death in his memory, who was ice cold and unpredictable. Han Xiao felt very joyful seeing the sentimental side of the person that would become one of the strongest in the future.
Friends made during hard times would definitely be closer than those made after being successful.
He stood up, tapped Hila on her shoulder, and smiled. “Don’t worry, I have someone better to do the job.”
Hila frowned. Honestly, she did not want an outsider to fetch her sister, but Han Xiao definitely had his reasons for saying that. “Is that person trustworthy?”
Han Xiao touched his chin and nodded. “We are in a trading relationship; he has no reasons to be my enemy, and his abilities are most suited for this task.”
Hila nodded. She chose to trust Han Xiao and stood to the side. Han Xiao took out his laptop and dialed into a communication channel. After a few seconds, a voice came out of the laptop.
“Black Phantom?”
“It’s me.” Han Xiao smiled and said, “How are you, Dion?”
“I didn’t think you would find me at this moment. Aren’t you on the battlefield? News about you is all over the place.” Dion was surprised. Han Xiao now had an astonishing level of influence, so his tone was also a little gentler.
“Then you need to wait for the latest news,” Han Xiao said. “How’s business recently?”
“Quite good, many big customers are willing to spend at times of war.”
“I wanted to buy something from you,” Han Xiao said. “The Bonfire Reaction Furnace, PE0 Nanotechnology Fiber, and so on. I want to buy a few more units of these; money is not a problem. I will give you a list later.”
Viper was done for, and Han Xiao wanted to build a new one. His skills had improved, so he wanted to make an even stronger version.
As a Mechanic, he just had to build another one if the previous one was destroyed—that was how life was.
“Sure,” Dion agreed immediately. “I’m in Andrea, too. As you know, war is a business opportunity. You decide on a location, and I will send the things. It’s best not to be anywhere near Ordina.”
“You’re in Andrea? In that case, I have a small favor to ask of you.”
“What?”
“Help me fetch someone.”
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It was dark and damp.
The rotten smell filled the air. The dark and cold air pierced into the bones.
In a pitch-black cave, a petite person cowered and shivered.
Aurora carefully tore open a bag of military use biscuits slowly, stopping after every bit of tearing, worried that the sound might attract enemies. After opening the packaging, she took small bites on the hard biscuits and took her time finishing them.
These sounds actually would not get out of the cave, but she kept Han Xiao’s reminder in mind and did not dare to make any noise.
This is already the thirteenth meal, Aurora thought.
The passing of time could not be felt in the cave. She ate as soon as she was hungry and calculated the time based on the number of meals she had.
A pair of bright eyes hid in the shadow, always looking toward the cave entrance.
In the cave, there was only a pile of resources, the sound of breathing and her beating heart, and the wait in complete darkness.
…
A few days later, in the front lines of Stardragon camp on the South Battlefield of Andrea.
The convoy stopped inside the camp, and people waited in boredom.
Diana played with the fire sparks between her fingers for a while, then asked impatiently, “We have waited for twenty-two hours, how much longer are we going to wait?”
“Be patient. Probably not much longer,” Han Xiao said with a cigarette in his mouth.
After breaking through the leader’s ambush, they went smoothly through the Germinal Organization’s territory and came to the Six Nations’ territory. Their original destination had been a temporary base on the southern battlefield, but Han Xiao had suddenly requested to stop at this place, saying that he had to wait for someone.
Since they were already safe, the people of the Six Nations did not have any objections. They did not leave because they had a mission, which was to monitor Han Xiao and give the intel to the Six Nations. Since it was a very important matter, the Six Nations had to make sure of it.
At the side, Hila walked back and forth anxiously, continuously glancing at the entrance of the camp.
The soldiers passing by looked at them with admiration. They usually did not have the chance to see so many high ranked people.
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance of the camp.
Hila stopped in place and looked over nervously.
The guards opened the gate, and man in a hoodie held the hand of a little girl and walked in slowly. The face of the little girl was pale and filled with curiosity. She looked left and right, and when she saw Hila, she could not take her eyes away.
It was Dion and Aurora.
Hila walked forward with wide strides, hugged Aurora tightly in her arms, and only let go when Aurora almost could not catch her breath. She squatted down, touched Aurora’s face, and looked at her carefully. Seeing that Aurora was unhurt, she felt relieved immediately. Then she looked at Aurora’s pale face and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I will never leave you again.”
Aurora wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled brightly.
The smile seemed to have lit up the entire world.
“I knew you would come to fetch me.”
Seeing that her younger sister was safe, Hila was so relieved that she suddenly felt that the wind was so gentle and the sunlight was so warm.
It was the feeling of freedom.
At the other side, Dion looked for Han Xiao and said, “I didn’t disappoint.”
Dion’s invisibility ability was most suitable for sneaking into all sorts of dangerous places. He had found Aurora with the coordinates that Han Xiao had given and brought her out. Ever since the ambush for Han Xiao failed, the alert level of the Germinal Organization had dropped tremendously, so they had escaped safely.
“Thanks.” Han Xiao nodded and smiled. “Sorry to let you take the risk, I owe you one for this.”
“Don’t have to. You saved me once—count this as my payback. It was not a big deal.” Dion waved his hands. “Compared to you infiltrating the Germinal Organization’s headquarters, this is not considered a risk at all.”
Han Xiao chatted for a while and started to get down to business. “Have you prepared the things I asked for?”
“I have already ordered my subordinates to withdraw them from the warehouse according to your request. They will be directly shipped to the Southern Continent. You can get them as soon as you go back there.”
“Okay. I will pay you whatever’s needed by then.”
After they chatted for a while, Dion left. Diana said impatiently, “Can we go now?”
“In a bit.” Han Xiao walked toward Hila and Aurora. They were still talking. After he got closer, he heard Aurora ask a question.
“Sis, where do we go now?” Aurora asked with anticipation on her face.
Hila suddenly paused.
That was right; they were free. Where should they go?
They did not have to work for anyone anymore. Where should they go in this big world?
Hila was lost.
“If you have nowhere to go, how about you come with me? My territory is very safe.” Han Xiao walked over.
“With you?” Hila hesitated. She touched Aurora’s head.
She wanted to bring her sister to explore the world.
“Your sister was imprisoned for so long; her health is in very bad condition,” Han Xiao said. “Even if you want to take her to places, at least her health condition needs to improve first.”
“You’re right.” Hila’s face tightened. She agreed with Han Xiao’s point immediately. The priority now was to improve her younger sister’s condition. She felt heartache every time she looked at how weak and skinny Aurora was. Although she still had immeasurable hatred toward the Germinal Organization, she was now focused on her younger sister and did not have any thought of taking revenge. She just wanted to settle down with Aurora first.
She respected her younger sister’s opinion and asked Aurora, “What do you think?”
“Sounds great,” Aurora replied joyfully. After such a long time being imprisoned, everything in the outside world was new and exciting to her.
Aurora suddenly thought of something. She said to Han Xiao timidly, “Thank you for saving me.”
Han Xiao smiled and did not say anything. He reached out his hands and pinched Aurora’s face, and Aurora did not resist.
Hila looked at Han Xiao complicatedly.
Never had she thought that her younger sister would be saved by him. She did not know how she could pay back for something so huge.
We’ll follow him for now then…
…
After a few days, they passed through a few camps and came to the temporary base in the southern battlefield. The representatives of the Six Nations gathered in the meeting room and waited for Han Xiao’s arrival.
After he settled Hila and Aurora down, the guards led Han Xiao into the meeting room. The focus immediately turned to him as he entered.
The guards closed the gate.
These representatives were mostly strangers. Han Xiao only knew the Stardragon representative—Gu Hui.
“Yo, everyone is here.” Han Xiao greeted casually. He pulled a chair with his leg and sat down casually like he knew everyone.
The people present could not help but size him up. This was the first time that many of them had seen Han Xiao with their own eyes. Thinking of the things that he had done, many felt admiration and fear.
The person in front of them was the one who had provided intel secretly all along. He had used the hostility between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, rode along the waves, and become the mastermind behind everything.
People like this were very dangerous.
Furthermore, according to the latest reports, Han Xiao had broken through the power ceiling and should now be the strongest superhuman on the entire planet. From the Six Nations’ viewpoint, they definitely feared someone so strong that belonged to another organization.
Dark Net had both Bennett, who was previously the strongest, and Han Xiao, who was now the strongest. They had become a worrying organization no matter how the Six Nations looked at it.
Luckily, the Dark Net had always stayed neutral. At least that was good news.
Gu Hui knocked the table and said seriously, “Han Xiao, we fulfilled our side of the deal. It’s now your turn.”
“Come on, don’t we know each other? What’s with the formal tone?” Han Xiao said jokingly. “We haven’t met in a long time. How have you been recently? Have you been promoted? Although it is easier for you to be demoted rather than promoted in your position…”
Veins appeared on Gu Hui’s forehead. He knocked the table heavily. “Get! Down! To! Business!”
“Sigh, people nowadays don’t even want to chat. All they have in mind is serious talk—business, work, and the future.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Life is about more than that.”
“That’s not the point. Why do you have so many things to talk about?” Gu Hui was frustrated.
Please respect the formal occasion!
The representatives of the nations’ mouths twitched. Han Xiao gave them a completely different feeling compared to what they had imagined.
Shouldn’t the mastermind be ferocious, mysterious, and a man of a few words? What’s with the chitchat with the Director-general of Division 13? What kind of mastermind is so friendly?
They could not see through him.
As they talked nonsense, Han Xiao was secretly observing the structure of the room. After he confirmed there was no ambush or bug, he stopped talking nonsense immediately, took out a portable hard drive, connected it to the computer, and showed the image on the big screen in the meeting room.
The secrets of the Germinal Organization were exposed one after another. All of their plans, deployments, military power, and trump cards were exposed.
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The intelligence included the location of all the nuclear warheads that the Germinal Organization possessed. The Hand of Death system would be of no use once these nuclear warheads were broken down; the Germinal Organization would not even be able to make the Six Nations die with them.
His goal had been to give this intelligence to the Six Nations when he stole it from the Germinal Organization Headquarters. The earlier the Germinal Organization was destroyed, the sooner he could complete his A-grade main storyline mission, [Fall of the Germinal]. The progress at the moment was at 36.2%. His impact in the war to destroy the Germinal Organization would further grow after he provided this intelligence, and the progress would likely increase once again.
The only intelligence he kept to himself was the class advancement knowledge. Han Xiao planned to sell that to the players and make a large of profit. He was familiar with monopolizing.
The representatives of the Six Nations stood up in excitement.
“This os all classified information!”
“With this intelligence, the war can be ended early!”
“Amazing job!”
This intelligence brought unimaginable convenience to the Six Nations; it was like knowing all of the enemy’s card when playing poker. The entire war was going to change with this intelligence.
The source of all this was Han Xiao, who sat at the end of the meeting table, picking his ears.
The representatives exchanged looks, and the atmosphere became quiet.
Han Xiao was very understanding. “Alright, I have already provided the intelligence. What you do with it is up to you. I shall leave you guys to it.”
He stood up and left. After pushing the door open, he suddenly stopped, turned his head around, and saw that the expressions of the people present were unchanged. Disappointed, he said, “There really isn’t an ambush…”
The representatives’ mouth twitched.
Ambush? Do you not have any damn idea how strong you are?
We still want to live, damn it!
Gu Hui wiped his cold sweat. “The intelligence you provided is very important—it has helped us a lot. We need to have an emergency meeting… so you should leave quickly.”
…
The situation of the expedition war changed drastically within a few days. The troops of the Six Nations marched forward and defeated the enemy easily like they were on steroids. The Germinal Organization was at a disadvantage on every battlefield. Then it snowballed, and they started showing signs of collapsing, their territory becoming ever smaller.
The entire planet was paying attention to the war and got shocked by the sudden change. After some research, they came to know that Han Xiao had given the intelligence that he stole to the Six Nations.
When Han Xiao’s real identity was exposed some time ago, he had been surrounded, so it had become the focus of the battle between the Germinal Organization and the Six Nations. Being in the center, it was like Han Xiao was in the eye of the storm, surrounded by stronger winds. At that time, the head-on battles all over Andrea had all reached a climax. The large number of troops of the Germinal Organization had been stalled by the Six Nations with all their might, so they did not have enough troops, and their ranged missiles were all blocked by the Six Nations.
The organizations could already tell at that time that, if Han Xiao could escape, the entire situation would be changed.
As expected, he became the turning point of the entire war.
The person who triggered the war secretly was him, and the person who was going to end the war was also him. The organizations were all astonished.
His legendary status is indeed well deserved!
Having the upper hand in the war, the Six Nations started to report the situation of the war within the nations, spreading the word that the war was going to end and comforting the civilians. The civilians of the nations were relieved, and the nations felt the pressure on them lessen.
Of course, the media undoubtedly exaggerated the negative things that the Germinal Organization had done. Although the name of the Germinal Organization was already bad enough, they still made it worse out of habit, emphasizing that the expedition was an act of justice, and it was to protect the homes and the nations.
The players in Planet Aquamarine felt the change of the war themselves. The most obvious and direct impact was that the missions became fewer.
With Han Xiao’s influence, the conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization had broken out ahead of schedule, so the impact of the players on the storyline was minimized. What they could do was negligible, but at least they had things to do. However, as the war became more one-sided, they did not even have the chance to do anything at all anymore; the players could now only watch as things happen.
The players belonging to the Germinal Organization were the exception. They had more missions… and they failed them more often.
Even with the increased number of missions, they still seemed to be at a loss considering how often they failed.
The players of both sides fought many times. The players of the Six Nations were gloating, and the players of the Germinal Organization were crying.
Why! Why does Black Phantom keep hurting us?
You are full of love toward the other players, but we have no benefit at all!
Why were we born in the Germinal Organization!
The piece of sh*t Germinal Organization, give me back my youth!
Han Xiao’s activities in the war were all exposed, a passionate player edited these videos into a short film and shared it on the forums. It received very positive feedback.
However, the last battle was not in the short film. No players had been present during the leader’s ambush battle, so there were not any recordings. The players could not help but feel that there was something missing.
Therefore, Bun-hit-dog, who was the source of ‘first hand Black Phantom information’ was affected as well. His personal page was raided by the players.
“What happened to first-hand information? Shame!”
“Lousy host, subscribed!”
As words spread all over the outside world, Han Xiao had already boarded the return plane and left Andrea, returning to the Southern Continent together with Hila, Andrea, Bennett, and the others.
…
Stepping out of the cabin, the warm air of the Southern Continent blew against his face, brushing away the feeling of war in his chest. Han Xiao squinted with comfort and took a deep breath. The exhaustion in his mind was eased.
He had spent the most time in the Southern Continent, so it had a sense of familiarity like he was returning to his home. He felt very relaxed.
Hila held hands with Aurora and walked off the plane. Aurora was full of excitement and kept looking around. Everything in the outside world was fresh to her, and she could not get enough of it.
“I shall go back to Sanctuary One first. There are some matters that need to be taken care of,” Bennett said and left with his people.
Hannes and Vernina nodded at Han Xiao and left together as well. Only Han Xiao, Hila, and Aurora were left.
Coming to the Southern Continent, Hila suddenly remembered, when the Germinal Organization retreated from the Southern Continent, she had fought with Han Xiao before and was hurt. She had even decided to get revenge.
She had never thought that things would turn out to be how they were now.
“Where’s your territory?” Hila asked.
His territory was none other than the sanctuary. Han Xiao remembered that the early stage construction had been completed when he left, so he wondered how things were progressing since he had been away for so long.
…
At night, Sanctuary Three was still bright as day.
A group of tough looking man dressed like refugees crossed the alleys in the residential area. They seemed to be up to no good.
These people were robbers and entered Sanctuary Three disguised as refugees.
As Sanctuary Three became larger, its name spread further, so some robbers had malicious ideas. After they knew that the Sanctuary Three had a large amount of resources, some people got greedy and decided to take the risk.
As they passed by an intersection, they heard people having a conversation. These people hastily hid in the alley, waited for the group of players to pass by, and then started to move again.
“There are too many Inhumans here. It’s better to be more careful,” one of them said.
The leader of the robbers was a rough man with a crooked mouth. He spat thick phlegm onto the floor as he heard what the other man said. “Inhumans are all disgusting monsters.”
A part of the locals of the Planet Aquamarine spurned the Inhumans and looked at them as a different species, but of course, their deepest emotion was that they envied the fact that Inhumans were undying.
“We just need to rob a few resources from the warehouse, and we will be rich.”
A few tens of meters behind these robbers, Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Maple Moon, and Bun-hit-dog were following them discreetly. They had discovered these suspicious ‘refugees’ by chance, triggered an urgent mission that required them to track these people, and followed secretly.
“They have thirty-four people, average LV 10, only one small BOSS, and the rest are minions,” Bun-hit-dog said quietly.
“They all have yellow names. Not sure if they are enemies,” Maple Moon said.
If they killed residents of the sanctuary by mistake, their relationship with the sanctuary would drop. They followed behind patiently and came to near the warehouse.
The warehouse was heavily guarded, and armed men of Dark Net patrolled the place. These robbers hid in the dark. The man with a crooked mouth looked at his watch rapidly and said quietly, “When the guy that bombs the power plant succeeds, all the electricity in this area will be cut off. We will grab the resources in the chaos then.”
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It was ten minutes past the planned time, but the power plant still did not explode, so the robbers were getting anxious.
“Did the guy bombing the power plant get caught? It’s been so long, and there’s no update.” The crooked mouth man called many times, but no one picked up.
The others wanted to back away.
“The plan is exposed. We should quickly leave. If the guy bombing the power plant got caught, he will give us up.”
The crooked mouth man’s eyes were vicious. “What are you panicking for? We have to take risks if we want to be rich. We can’t come here for nothing!”
These robbers were obviously very weak yet daring… in short, suicidal.
They waited a while more and finally found an opportunity when there was only one patrolling guard at this side of the gate.
The crooked mouth man pointed at one of his subordinates and said, “You, go assassinate that guard!”
The guy who got pointed at stepped forward unwillingly and approached the guard cautiously on tiptoes. His hands held onto the handle of the dagger at the back of his waist, shivering nervously and sweating continuously.
Although the enemy was just one patrol guard, he was armed.
The guard turned and saw a shadow sneaking into within twenty meters. He immediately yelled, “Who’s there!”
The subordinate was shocked. He hastily stood up straight and nervously stammered, “I—I’m just passing by!”
He then ran back and said sadly, “Boss, I was discovered.”
“Useless!” the crooked mouth man angrily said. He pulled out a self-made humble handgun from his waist, passed it to another subordinate, and yelled, “You go! The effective range of this handgun is twenty-five meters. Kill that guard!”
The subordinate swallowed his saliva and headed over sneakily with the handgun.
When he was at about twenty meters away, the guard discovered a shadow again.
“Who’s there this time‽”
The subordinate was shocked. “I—I’m out for a walk!”
The guard saw the outline of the handgun and, alarmed, asked, “What’s that in your hand?”
“Th—This…”
The subordinate suddenly had an idea. He looked up and put the handgun near his eyes then said with panic, “This is a pair of binoculars fo—for me to watch the moon.”
Then he ran back, too.
On the other side, Frenzied Sword and the others were confused. What were these people going back and forth for?
The crooked mouth man was furious. “Useless! All of you are useless! Give me the gun. I will do it myself!”
The crooked mouth man snatched the handgun and walked quickly toward the guard. The guard was already alert because of what had happened. He immediately yelled, but when he had only said one word, the crooked mouth man fired. The bullet hit the guard’s shoulder. The guard yelled in agony and fell back onto the ground. The crooked mouth man fired two more times. The guard was severely injured and had no ability to fight anymore.
“Quickly, go in and take the things,” the crooked mouth man said. The subordinates all rushed over. This time, the names of these robbers became red in the eyes of Frenzied Sword and the rest. The mission requirement changed to catching these robbers alive and giving them to the guards of the sanctuary.
It was easy to deal with now that they were enemies—players were most familiar with fighting.
Hao Tian led the way, Frenzied Sword was right behind, and the other two followed—the four of them all dashed out. The robbers were all shocked. They hastily wanted to take out their weapons to fight back, but half of them were defeated in an instant.
“Inhumans, they are all Inhuman!”
The four of them defeated those robbers with ease. The crooked mouth man was the last one left. He held his handgun, shivering, and acted tough. “Don’t come here, or I will shoot… I really will shoot!”
Suddenly, the ground started shaking. More than ten red dots appeared in the dark and closed in quickly, showing themselves. It was six Generation 2.5 Rangers. They surrounded the scene, their black muzzles locked onto the people present.
In important locations like warehouses and power plants, the true protection was the Rangers that Han Xiao had built, which were on standby at all times. As soon as they detect a gunshot or anyone unauthorized entering the area, they would activate combat mode, striking instantly like awakened beasts.
Sanctuary Three was Han Xiao’s territory, so it was heavily guarded, not a place that just anyone could mess with!
The change was sudden, and the people were stunned.
Frenzied Sword recognized that the Rangers had been built by Han Xiao, and Bun-hit-dog said hurriedly, “Don’t shoot, we are allies…”
However, as soon as the Rangers were activated, they would kill everyone within the area. Furthermore, the Rangers did not have a voice recognition function.
The next second, bullets rained upon them, and all of them were killed in an instant.
The chips of the Rangers were connected to the alarm system of the sanctuary. A patrolling team arrived at the scene shortly after the Rangers stopped firing. They cleaned up the scene and sent their injured ally to the hospital.
Frenzied Sword and the others revived at the square and looked at each other, upset.
Not only was the mission requirement of catching them alive failed, but they had also died.
The square was a lively area. The players set up stores and requested to team up, and tens of thousands of players gathered there, day or night.
“Sigh, there aren’t any good missions to do. Han Xiao’s not been here for so many days. I miss him.” Frenzied Sword shook his head upset.
“Exactly,” Bun-hit-dog said with a bitter face, “I don’t even have any material for new episodes of my show and have been receiving tons of complaints on the forums. It would be even worse if not for you and God Hao being my guests.”
Hao Tian was a man of few words; he nodded as a reply. Maple Moon had already gone to the fair to shop. The passion for shopping in women was the same even in the game.
This time, the four of them realized something and looked up at the same time.
Whoosh!
The sound of a helicopter came from the sky far away, getting louder and louder. The searchlight showed the location of the helicopter, and it landed on the helipad in the sanctuary. Very soon, a commotion started in that area, and players headed over continuously.
The players in the square closed their stores one after another and rushed over in excitement.
The wave of people headed toward the helipad.
Black Phantom had returned!
…
As soon as he walked down the plane, Han Xiao noticed the countless players standing in the streets near the helipad, all looking at him with curiosity and welcoming him.
Wow, the treatment is not bad at all.
Han Xiao was surprised. He wondered if he should thank them for their efforts but decided not to.
The players were so welcoming it felt like he was back home, he really liked this place.
The heads of the sanctuary had all been notified of his return long ago. Huang Yu was waiting, and he immediately walked over to report the situation. “Following your plan, more areas of the sanctuary have finished their construction. The war made quite a number of wanderers join the sanctuary. There are now more than 23,000 residents.”
“Tell me something that I don’t already know.” Han Xiao raised his palm and stopped him. He could see the construction progress in his mission log, so there was no need for any further elaboration.
“There were not any accident overall, but we just discovered a small group of thieves just now that seemed to want to rob our warehouse,” Huang Yu immediately replied. “They were killed by the guard robots.”
“Okay, strengthen the selection process of refugees. Don’t let just anyone enter, anything else?”
Huang Yu hesitated and said, “One more thing, Inhumans have been fighting each other regularly, damaging public property. Shall we…”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
What Huang Yu referred to was PVP (Player vs Player). This was something that the players loved to do, and it definitely could not be banned. The Great Mechanic Han had a flash of an inspiration.
“Get some men and build a large arena in the next few days.”
Huang Yu was stunned.
Arena?
This is a sanctuary. What’s the use of an arena in a sanctuary? To have performances for the refugees? They might not even have a filling meal. Isn’t that a waste of space and resources?
Huang Yu could only hold himself from giving his suggestion, but Han Xiao shook his head and said, “Your thought process is too rigid. The Inhumans have too much energy. The arena will give them a place to use that energy. We can sell tickets and earn back what we spent on it. Not only are we building the arena, but we are also going to encourage the Inhumans to fight in the arena, then create a fair betting system with our guarantee and earn handling fees. Won’t that gain us profit?”
Huang Yu opened his mouth and said in confusion, “Then why don’t we just dedicate an area for them to fight?”
Han Xiao’s face turned serious. “Damn it, are you in charge or am I in charge? Trying to revolt on the first day I return? Tsk tsk, you’d better be careful, or I will…”
Huang Yu was covered in sweat
Okay, you’re the boss, whatever you say.
Making profit was not the main reason to build the arena. What was more important was that it was another step toward the Players’ Main City plan; it was a function that it must have. The more the players enjoyed PVP, the more they would like the arena. The players would also have a stronger sense of belonging to Sanctuary Three.
Furthermore, the long-term goal of this action was to host the future Galaxy Pro League!
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The pro league consisted of many competition modes. The arena would of course be most suitable for Challenges, which was a contest where the winner remained on stage and the loser left, and Singles, one-on-one battles. According to Han Xiao’s experience, with an already built arena, there was quite a high chance that the pro league would be hosted there. After all, the arenas for the planet divisions of the first pro league in his previous life had been built last minute by the players themselves. Although it sounded very pathetic, the players had enjoyed the DIY process.
If the pro league were to be hosted in his territory, the position of ‘Main City’ would become firmer. It would also bring in a large number of people, and these were all potential customers in Han Xiao’s eyes. He was aiming to make a huge fortune during the pro league, and the temporary enhancement drugs that he had would definitely sell very well in such situations.
However, there was a small problem—the pro league would only be hosted around the time when the first batch of players reached LV60. He had to stay on Planet Aquamarine for quite some time if he wanted to wait for the pro league to start.
I shall consider it as preparation for heading into the galaxy. Plus, I have to wait for opportunities as well.
It was not easy to leave the planet. None of the novice planets in Version 1.0 had an official route into the galaxy. He could think of many simple ways to leave one of those novice planets that had more contact with Galactic Civilizations, such as Planet Winterfrost—the Space Devil Species had galactic battleships, and Han Xiao was confident that he would have been able to wrangle one of these.
On Planet Aquamarine, on the other hand, the nations could not even build a spaceship, so his chances were extremely low.
However, it was not completely hopeless. When he decided to leave Planet Aquamarine in Version 1.0, he had started searching for clues in his memory, and after thinking for very long, he did discover a few extreme cases that might give him a chance. However, he had to wait for these events to occur naturally—only then would he have a chance.
Therefore, he did indeed have time to wait for the pro league to start.
By then, the highest-level players will mostly have reached LV 60. I should still be LV 70 if I can’t find any suitable subclasses.
Han Xiao was not worried at all. His strength had exceeded the version, and he had the BOSS model. If the players had any malicious intent, he could easily defeat a forty-man team.
The other organizations would be stunned once the players became stronger. They would see ‘Inhumans’ as very dangerous, and the situation of Planet Aquamarine would change again.
Only he would remain steady.
Aurora hid behind Hila timidly. It was the first time that she had seen so many people at once. She was shocked and could not get used to it.
“This is your territory?” Hila raised her eyebrows. She was a little surprised. She had not expected there to be so many Inhumans there, and it seemed like Han Xiao was very influential to the Inhumans, but she could not understand why.
The players crowded around because Han Xiao had attracted way too much attention recently. The Planet Aquamarine panel in the forums was very popular, and the players in the sanctuary all wanted to look at him closely.
There were players all along the path looking at him from all directions with passion and thirst in their eyes. He almost felt like he was being paraded. He felt that these players might all have pounced at him at once if not for the guards opening a path.
It was finally quiet when they returned to the areas for high-ranked officials of the sanctuary.
Han Xiao settled Hila and Aurora down and said, “Huang Yu, arrange two rooms for them. They will be staying here from now on…”
He then rethought it and said, “Never mind, one room is enough.”
“Please follow me.” Huang Yu brought them away.
After they left, he was the only one in the room. Han Xiao lay in bed and rested for a while. He then closed the door and windows, locked himself in the study, took out a pen, and wrote the focus of the upcoming plans.
Since he was preparing to leave the planet, he had to list down all sorts of opportunities on Planet Aquamarine. He even wrote down the details of the opportunities for him to leave the planet. He edited and added details again and again to prevent missing any details.
“… therefore, I need to get more EXP from the players in Planet Aquamarine as, for a short period after leaving the planet, there won’t be any chances to meet players. Also, for me to maintain my influence, I have to improve the Players’ Main City as much as I can, filling in more functions, improving transportation, so that the players in the main city will be reminded of me every once in a while. I might as well build a statue to remind them…”
He then burnt the paper to ashes, not leaving any clues behind. It was already late night, but Han Xiao headed toward another building. This was the special residence that he had given to Frenzied Sword and the other three players. No other players received such treatment.
Frenzied Sword was the only one in the room. He has been waiting for Han Xiao, and when he saw Han Xiao, he bounded up to him immediately with joy.
“Only you?” Han Xiao looked around, then casually created a simple mission with rich rewards and gave it to Frenzied Sword.
Finally!
Frenzied Sword was overjoyed.
It was better to follow Black Phantom after all. The mission requirement was so fun. He just had to sing and dance to get EXP. The other missions were so much more boring in comparison.
The pro league was going to happen, and Han Xiao planned to raise these players that he was closer to so that they would perform better in the league.
Han Xiao was very generous to them since they helped him as well. At the same time, if they had more stable achievements, the other players would have a stronger belief that following him was beneficial.
His mission reward quota increased too, so it could satisfy the needs of more players.
_____________________
Single Mission EXP Reward Quota: 115,160
_____________________
The daily quota was seven times of the single mission quota—which came from the basic multiplier of five and two from his Legendary Points—about 800,000 EXP. It was very high, and even Han Xiao himself was tempted. It would be great if he could give the EXP quota to himself. In that case, he would not have to worry about EXP at all. Sadly, it did not work that way.
Sigh, still have to get EXP from the players.
After spending a day settling several cumbersome issues, the resources from Dion arrived. Han Xiao locked himself in the workshop right after to go on a building streak and arrange what he had earned.
The Mechanic class advancement knowledge from the Germinal Organization is [Nerves Connection]. This is knowledge that is very important to the Mechanic class; it revolutionized the control mode of machinery. By inputting programs into the chip, orders can be made by reading the signal from the brain. The process of thinking is much faster than talking or hand signs.
By spending eight Potential Points, he maxed out [Nerves Connection] to Lv.5. Basic knowledge required one Potential Point to level up, advanced knowledge required two, and it increased as the knowledge became more advanced, requiring more and more potential points. Therefore, Han Xiao had been keeping his Potential Points and only spending them to level up important knowledge.
The first task was to build a new mechanical suit. Han Xiao did not plan to duplicate according to the [Viper] blueprint. He wanted to innovate freely from that basis and create an enhanced combat suit. He already had some ideas.
A large number of parts and resources were placed near the workstation. Han Xiao counted them, rubbed his hands, and showed a confident smile.
Let’s begin.
…
On the seventh day…
Whoosh!
With the sound of leaked cold air, the metal cooling box opened. Inside was a strong transparent cylinder box filled with a light-blue liquid. Han Xiao got rid of the liquid used to cool down the temperature and sped up the fusion process. A brand new combat suit could be seen, still giving out cold steam.
It’s finally complete. That was tiring.
Han Xiao was excited. He rubbed his cheeks strongly to ease the slight exhaustion from not sleeping during the previous nights.
The new combat suit used the same inner core concept as Viper, with PE-0 Nanotechnology Fiber and muscle in between, still providing enhanced Strength and Dexterity, and he did not miss out on any of the original weapon modules.
The outlook had the same style as Viper—dark black with flashes of blue light from the energy pipes, a complicated, precise streamlined shape—with some changes. Its size was bigger, and it had more obvious edges, like protruding scales, giving off an entirely different feeling.
If Viper felt like a hunting small venomous snake, the new combat suit felt like a black mamba stalking its prey in the dark, waiting to unleash a lethal strike.
Ferocious!
Sinister!
Han Xiao would only have needed three days to duplicate Viper, but he spent seven days this time.
The remaining four days were all spent on enhancing. The performance, armor, energy source, and modules were all improved!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The energy core was still the Bonfire Reaction Furnace, placed around five centimeters below the neck. His Machinery Affinity and machinery skill both improved after the class advancement, so he enhanced the Bonfire Reaction Furnace.
He made a few hidden recesses at the back of the mechanical suit that were connected to the energy core. Energy blocks could be embedded into these recesses. If the energy of the Bonfire Reaction Furnace was finished, these would be the backup energy source. There was also another function—extra power output. It could largely increase the performance of the mechanical suit, comparable to [Overload].
The energy blocks would of course be the [Low Class Energy Crystal] that he had extracted from the radiation crystals from the Shadow Stalker Viper nest. Emerald Grass was currently trying to domesticate the Shadow Stalker Vipers and make the crystals into a renewable resource. It had yet to succeed, but the hundreds of pounds of crystals Han Xiao had were enough.
The armor was made with the new alloy that he had fused from [Advanced Materials], Ellie Iron Alloy. It had a better defense than the Platinum Alloy. The control mode used the newly learned [Nerves Connection]. The helmet had a module that could read nerve signals. It was embedded on the inner side of the helmet like a metal plate, and the functions of the suit could be controlled with just a thought. The weapon modules were the ones that he spent the most effort and time on, all of which were largely enhanced.
The most important new module was a large mounted part that was almost six meters wide when extended fully!
This was a mounted mechanical wing that was embedded onto the back, shoulders, and arms. Its original model was the Sky Swallow Glider, and the surface of the wings was wide. It had a seventy-centimeter radius circular triple fold propeller on both sides and a pistonless rotary turbo engine that could turn 360 degrees!
The Electromagnetic Hover-boots to run-up, Mini Maneuvering Equipment to take off, the wings to glide, providing continuous mobility.
He gave the new combat suit the ability to fly!
Which man did not dream of soaring through the skies? Men’s romance is the stars and the seas!
_____________________
You have successfully enhanced [Light Mechanical Suit—Viper], do you want to give it a new name?
_____________________
With a flash of insight, a suitable name appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.
_____________________
Named Successfully, you received customized blueprint [Light Mechanical Suit—Amphiptere!]
_____________________
I definitely have great naming skills.
Han Xiao was very satisfied. Amphiptere is a flying serpent, so it really conveyed a clear image.
_____________________
Amphiptere
Type: Light Single-Unit Mechanical Combat Suit
Grade: Dark Green
Basic Stats:
– Armor: 8950/8950
– Defense: 164
– Power: Level 818
– Energy: 4300(+800)/4300(+800)
Height: 1.87m
Weight: 176 lb
Control Method: Low-Class Smart Chip + Nerves Connection (Extra +10 Dexterity)
Power Source: Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace (Enhanced) – Self Charge
Recovers Energy at 35/min
Energy Conversion Rate from User: 24 to 32
Energy Storage: Low Class Energy Block x 4 (Exchangeable anytime)
Energy Storage: 800
Stationary Mode Energy Usage: 22/min
Combat Mode Energy Usage: 40/min
Core Power Capacity: 787/850
[Bone Structure Module: PE-0 Nanotechnology Fiber]
– Biological Muscle Inner Bone
– Strengthens muscle when the user moves the body
– Hardens muscle under attack
– Increases Attributes: +38 Strength, +25 Dexterity, +12 DEF
Power Output: 70
[Armor Plating Module: Ellie Iron Alloy Plate (Green)]
+2550 Armor
+48 DEF
Power Output: None
[Armor Plating Module: U9 Colloidal bulletproof Membrane (Green)]
+2400 Armor
+45 DEF
Power Output: None
[Exterior Module: Optical Camouflage]
– Reflects light to achieve invisibility to a certain extent
– Power Output: 20
[Exterior Module: SUI Anti-Radar Coating]
[Exterior Module: Electromagnetic Interference Coating]
[Reconnaissance Module: Vulture Tactical Scanner]
– Smart fire control
– Aim assist
– Includes Tactical Hologram Screen
– Power Output: 25
[Palm Module: Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves (Purple)]
– Produces a high amount of heat and deals continuous damage
– Energy Cost: 1.5/s
– Damage Level: 101
– Power Output: 60
[Backhand Module: Thermo-Electromagnetic Incisor Blade (Green)]
– Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades with thermal technology
– Energy Cost: 1/s
– Power Output: 80
[Wrist Module: Directional Field Repulsive Machine (Blue)]
– Releases repulsive energy in an arc of 150° and 20m.
– Cooldown: 30s
– Energy Cost: 15 per use
– Power Output: 70
[Arm Module: Sunworm Mini Flamethrower (Purple)]
– Energy Cost 1.5/s
– Damage Level: 104
– Power Output: 60
[Leg Module: Electrical Hover Boots (Purple)]
– Energy Cost: 6.2/min
– Power Output: 55
[Advancing Module: Mini Maneuvering Equipment] * 9
– Energy Cost per unit: 1.4/min
– Power Output per unit: 18
– Power Output: 162
[Survival Modules]
– Body Status Monitor
– Thermostat
– Gyroscopic Stabilizer
– Air Storage
– Filtration Device
– Total Power Output: 80
[Ejection Modules]
– Sonic Bomb * 24
– Mini Split Drill Bullet * 16
– Power Output: 60
[Chip Modules]
– Database Analysis
– Battle Trajectory Prediction
– Battle Assist
– Power Output: 30
[Chip Module: Nerves Signal Recognition]
– Power Output: 20
[Subsidiary Module: High-Speed Injection Needle]
– Equipped: Pain Killer, Stimulant, Healing Agent
– Power Output: 10
[Subsidiary Module: Mini Spider Detector] * 12
– Power Output: None
[Subsidiary Module: Electromagnetic Pulse Controller]
– Applies [Excitement]
– All Stats +5%
– Duration: 15 mins
– Energy Cost: 5 per use
– Power Output: 10
[Subsidiary Module: ‘Poison Ivy’ Body Part]
– Creates suction force, allowing the mechanical suit to hold onto objects
– Power Output: 20
[Subsidiary Module: Mini Detection Radar]
– Power Output: 30
[Mountable Module: ‘Ironfist’ Heavy Mechanical Arm (Purple)]
– Power Output: 91
[Mountable Module: “Bat Wings” Turbo Engine Flying Device]
– Power Output: 326
[Additional Ability: Strong Capability]
– During combat, distributes energy to Biological Muscle Inner Bone,
– Increases stats: +40 Strength, +20 Dexterity
[Additional Ability: Snake Devil]
– The mechanical suit uses up all energy at once, entering a special status
– Duration: 2–7 mins
– Cooldown: 7 days
Effect:
– Doubles additional attributes (+156 Strength, +110 Dexterity)
– All modules can be used without any energy cost
[Additional Ability: Absorbent Armor]
– Made with Ellie Iron Alloy, this alloy can disperse applied forces
– Damage Reduction +22%
Remark: “Surprise! I can fly!”
_____________________
With all the purple modules, Amphiptere’s attributes were at the standard of Version 2.0. Han Xiao stood with arms akimbo and appreciated his own product.
With the attributes of me and Amphiptere, no one on Planet Aquamarine poses a threat to me. This mechanical suit can be taken into the galaxy to use—it’s some early preparation.
Han Xiao thought far ahead. In the eyes of the players, this was godly equipment in the early stage. Even pigs could fly by wearing this mechanical suit—it was overkill for a novice planet.
Amphiptere was locked onto his nerve signals, so only he could control it.
The class advancement knowledge [Nerves Connection] was a foundation for controlling more complex machinery. The speed of thought was much quicker than the usual means of control, and if there was an injury involving a missing body part, [Nerves Connection] could be used on these biological body parts as well. Of course, Han Xiao hoped that day would never come.
Furthermore, [Nerves Connection] had another key use in his eyes. The players entered Galaxy with a VR-Capsule, and the core principle of the VR-Capsule was the transfer of the players’ mind.
Therefore, if the mind of a player was transferred into an NPC clone, what would happen?
Would the players be locked in ‘Galaxy’ just like him? Would they revive after they died? If they could revive, was the body the original player body or a new body? Or… would something else happen?
From his perspective, he could feel that everything there was real, but he never stopped having doubts. He always paid attention to the forums, anxiously wanting to see if his account in his previous life would appear, and it did not.
How did this happen? Is it butterfly effect, the ‘me’ once changed account? That makes some sense. I did create my account casually back then… or are there other possibilities?
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. In all honesty, he kind of wanted to communicate face to face with ‘his old self’. It would definitely be a fresh experience.
To figure out the truth, I still have to start from the players. A mind transferring device like the VR-Capsule can’t be created with just [Nerves Connection]. More knowledge is needed.
Han Xiao kept the doubts in his heart.
What was most important at the moment was to make himself stronger. The stronger he was, the safer it was. He did not want to be killed by someone or some disaster before he figured out the truth, so every new version update would mean danger.
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“You have been losing blood very frequently, causing your body to be weak, stunted, and your organs recessed. Optimistically, you have three years left to live…”
In the medical room, Emerald Grass wore a pair of rimless glasses and checked Aurora’s body like a doctor, coming up with this pessimistic result.
Without waiting for the expressions of the people present to change, Emerald Grass then said, “Of course, that’s the case for a normal person. Although your body is weak, your cell activity level is something I have never seen before.”
As she was speaking, Emerald Grass took out a few microscope photos, then said excitedly, “Usually, the self-healing of a human body is very slow. Undamaged cells slowly split into new cells to repair damage. In comparison, superhumans have stronger self-healing abilities. Energy or other sources of energy can be used to seal-heal, I, for one, can extract life forces from plants to recover from injuries. Whether it is a normal person or superhuman, self-healing requires energy and nutrition.
“However, your cell is like a drop of extremely concentrated life energy. It could multiply one’s self-healing ability by hundreds and even thousands of times. Your hair, blood, and all your body structures are like extremely strong potions, and to give you an idea of how strong your level of cell activity is… For example, let’s say the cell of a normal person is a bowl of water, the cell of a superhuman is a flame, and your cell is the sun. It’s completely incomparable!
“There are even self-reaction signs inside your cells. Every cell is like a concentrated mature Fixed Star, increasing in activity level automatically every second, yet such a horrifying level of cell activity has no corrosive property at all, only giving life forms a positive impact. Unbelievable…”
Emerald Grass was very tempted. She looked at Aurora with sparkles in her eyes.
The passion in her eyes made Aurora shrink toward Hila.
She knew that look. All of the people wearing white coats in the Germinal Organization had looked at her this way.
“I want to acquire some of your blood as an experiment material. Is it possible that…”
“No!” Hila rejected without hesitation. She looked at Emerald Grass hostilely and seemed like she was going to act at any moment.
Aurora was her sensitive spot; she would not allow anyone to violate her.
Han Xiao crossed his arms and sat on the table to the side. He cut in the conversation and said, “I admire your attitude. Science is all about non-stop improvements and the everlasting ambition of wanting to know the core technology… However, this is a sick person, not your test subject. Also, I guess you can’t beat the redhead.”
Emerald Grass curled her lips, turned away to keep her diagnosis tools, and said casually, “She didn’t need to be diagnosed at all. Her power has just been suppressed for too long and can’t fully take effect. As long as she doesn’t die, her power will slowly recover, and so will she. It might even… Never mind. Anyway, she just needs to rest for a while, then her body will recover, and her scars will disappear.”
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He understood what Emerald Grass did not say, and it made him think.
Aurora became a liquid in his previous life. There had not been a chance to see the exact effect of her power, so he wondered what it would be like once it got stronger.
Since she’s the younger sister of Hila, Aurora will definitely not be much weaker. Could it be controlling life forms? Han Xiao guessed randomly.
For him to know Aurora’s status, he had to get in combat with Aurora, and the bottom line of that would be to slap this pitiful little girl. With his power, the result would not be very optimistic. Of course, Han Xiao would not do that, and Hila would definitely fight him with her life.
Hila heaved a long sigh of relieving. She stood behind Aurora, placed her hands on Aurora’s shoulder, and pinched lightly.
As long as her sister was okay.
“By the way, she was brainwashed once, and another personality was created. She will become a puppet that only follows orders once it’s triggered by the keyword. Do you have a way to solve that?” Han Xiao repeated what Cyberlos said.
“I’m a Pharmacist, not a Psychiatrist—you should find a professional,” Emerald Grass said casually without even turning around. “However, from my experience, if it was just a normal brainwash method, as long as it is not triggered and strengthened for a long time, the effect of the brainwashing will gradually fade as time passes till it disappears. Therefore, the guards in Bell of Death Island would mass brainwash the prisoners every once in a while. However, as you know, the people in that place are all very strong, so the brainwash didn’t have much effect. Instead, there were always some prisoners that killed a few guards in such occasions.”
A professional? Han Xiao contemplated while touching his chin. Suddenly, he looked at Hila. Aren’t things about the mind Hila’s strong point?
Upon noticing his sight, Hila waved her hands and frowned. “My power is too invasive. I’m scared of making mistakes, and the risk is too high.”
“Then you’d better discover and enhance your power more.” Han Xiao felt helpless. In his mind, Hila at her peak could play with the soul of a life form like playing with plasticine without hurting the fragile soul.
“Leave if there’s nothing else. I’ve asked a few Inhumans to test my drugs, don’t disturb me.”
They looked at her. Emerald Grass took out a transparent container filled with a weird and dark green liquid that was still bubbling, holding a syringe and flicking the tip of the needle.
Emerald Grass was what was known as a Pharmacist in technological civilizations.
In magical civilizations, Pharmacists were called Witches.
Han Xiao paid a silent tribute for three seconds for these players testing the drugs.
To sacrifice themselves for technological advancement, how noble.
They left the pharmacy room and walked slowly on the street. Suddenly, Hila turned to him and asked seriously, “What are your thoughts about this?”
Hila only showed interest for things that involved Aurora and did not have the cold face like she always did. She only asked for an opinion from Han Xiao because she trusted him. Han Xiao had saved Aurora from the sea of pain, and they had no friends or family in the world, so only Han Xiao was trustworthy.
Han Xiao pinched his chin and said in a low voice, “It’s best to rest more. I will build a special wheelchair for her. Also, your sister was imprisoned for so long, so it’s better to let her connect with the outside world, make some new friends. If you are worried, I can introduce a few lawfully good teenagers.”
Hila nodded solemnly. “I owe you one.”
“You already owe me.” Han Xiao picked his ears.
Hila was struck speechless. She shook her head and remembered.
Her personality was indifferent. She was a cold and proud person in her blood, so she did not like to accept friendliness; she did not like accepting pitiful help that felt like charity. However, once she owed a favor, she would never forget it. She was a doer, and she would not say too many words of appreciation. She only remembered the kindness she received when things seemed hopeless, waiting for the day when she could pay Han Xiao back.
After a period of silence, Hila asked the question she had been wanting to ask. “Why did you save my sister?”
“Foresight, of course.” Han Xiao gave the mighty reason.
“So, what did you foresee?” Hila frowned.
Han Xiao bullsh*tted and said, “I saw that your sister’s power will save my life once in the future, do you believe that?”
“That would make sense.” Hila understood.
At this time, a small hand pulled his shirt. Han Xiao looked down and saw Aurora was looking up at him with a serious face.
“Uncle Zero, I will definitely save you.”
Aurora took what he said seriously.
Han Xiao pinched her face and laughed. “Zero is in the past. Just call me Han Xiao.”
“Okay, Uncle Han.”
“You can use a younger name…”
“Understood, Uncle Han.”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes.
I still dislike kids!
…
The next day, Han Xiao built a wheelchair and gave it to Aurora.
“Real leather armrest and seat with stretch cotton inside, giving you comfort like your mother’s embrace, and the best part is…” Han Xiao flipped open the anti-dust cloth and said, “This wheelchair is powered by a foot pedal, but inside is a mini engine, and there is a gearshift beside the armrest. It can go up to 40 km per hour!”
“I just wanted a normal wheelchair…” Hila’s eye corner twitched.
She had never heard of a wheelchair powered by a foot pedal, then what is the wheelchair even for!
40 km per hour? Are you hosting a wheelchair race‽ Are you crazy‽
“What kind of Mechanic am I if I didn’t make any modifications?” Han Xiao picked his nose and glanced at Hila. Hila felt the look known as ‘despise from a professional’ from Han Xiao’s eyes.
Aurora, however, quite liked the wheelchair; it was like getting a new toy. At this time, Frenzied Sword and the other three approached. Han Xiao called them over to play with Aurora and gave the four of them a pile of missions.
He was just worried about not having suitable missions to give them. He could not have all of them dance and sing like Frenzied Sword. It was better to make them play with a little girl.
The four players felt novel for these missions. The rewards were unbelievably high. They thought that this was some sort of hidden mission and did it with joy. Aurora connected with Maple Moon the best, and not long after, Bear Cub was on Aurora’s legs with its belly facing up and rolling around, making Aurora laugh.
The scene was filled with warmth.
Hila’s eyes became gentle. She stepped back to the side and watched her sister play with her new friends.
…
For many days, Aurora smiled brighter, and her health improved at an obvious rate.
Hila and Aurora settled down. The situation of the expedition war was getting better, and the arena in the sanctuary was also completed. Han Xiao immediately focused on important matters.
He had set two focus points for the things that he was going to do. One was to make early-stage preparations for leaving the planet, getting resources continuously.
Another was to improve the ‘Players’ Main City’ plan, strengthening his impression for players and indirectly increasing his influence. The plans that he had for the pro league was a huge business opportunity in his eyes.
What these two focus points had in common was to gain benefit from the players.
“He he he…” Creepy laughter echoed in the closed room.
It has been so long!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The new battle prohibition law in the sanctuary was created. Like litter prohibition, guards and rangers patrolled around, and those who disobey would be captured and detained for an amount of time. The players’ main city had to be safe for the players to feel secure, so Han Xiao told Huang Yu to work throughout the night for a proper set of laws.
If the players wanted to PVP, they could only leave the city or go to the arena.
The arena was built near the square, very close to the reviving point of the players. Sometimes, the players could hold back during PVP; other times, they might kill the other accidentally, and the person might lose some EXP. Even then, it could not prevent the players from their thirst for blood. As it was a long journey to leave the city, the arena became the top choice.
The basic structure of the arena consisted of an enormous square, and at the heart of that square was the highest and biggest ring, surrounded by smaller rings. Further outside were spectating seats in the staircase style like a sports stadium. The players could only PVP in the square for free. The rings were all closed, and after some inquiry, they knew that the rings were only for gambling battles where the arena was the dealer, only open to those who paid the fee.
Although this function was fresh, it was a paid function, and most of the players were broke, so nobody used this function for the time being, only battling for free in the square. The arena was very lively and crowded, and it soon became the official PVP location.
Huang Yu felt this was a huge waste of resources. Nobody wanted to pay! Not only did it make them no profits, they even had to pay for the repairs. He felt that Han Xiao’s decision was very problematic; it was much better to just let the Inhumans battle outside the city.
He felt building the arena was useless, but he did not dare disobey Han Xiao, so he could only grumble in his heart.
The situation surprised Han Xiao a little, but he understood why.
The players are still exploring at the moment, and obviously, only the players who are confident in themselves will dare participate in a gamble battle. Battling in the ring would attract audiences, and with that will come exposure, so the guilds and pro players will most likely be the ones to pay for the rings.
The ring functionalities required the players to explore, so it would take some time. However, he was not someone who would just wait.
I shall start the fire to help them understand the use of having gamble battles in the ring.
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
…
Every few days, Han Xiao appeared before the players to teach them his abilities and earn EXP. The abilities that he placed in the ability shop were mostly basic abilities that the players had already learned—spending experience in his shop could largely increase their ability levels, and it was much more worthwhile than spending the EXP directly on leveling up the abilities.
This was the main EXP income that he had from the players.
He did not teach any core abilities because he had to maintain the difference between himself and the players after all. However, he did selectively teach some not so important abilities that the players would learn sooner or later, like the Mechanic abilities [Electromagnetic Energy Extraction] and [Meticulous Repairs], improving the strength of Mechanic class players, acting as the Mechanic mentor, and attracting more players to choose the Mechanic class. Only Mechanic players had such a good mentor like him on Planet Aquamarine.
The players went through the [Energy Training Technique] incident, so they roughly knew they would naturally learn the strong abilities that Han Xiao taught at higher levels, but most of the players were still willing to learn high-level abilities when they were at a lower level as increasing their current strength had greater benefits in the long term.
As for the Esper and Pugilist class advancement knowledge, Han Xiao did not plan on selling them for the time being. These were like a trump card; he wanted to earn a large profit once the players had greater purchasing power.
Every time he appeared in front of the players, he would have a stable income of more than 10,000,000 EXP throughout the day, many times faster than doing missions. The tens of thousands of players in Sanctuary Three accounted for five percent of the total player in Planet Aquamarine—many new players entered the game. The market potential was very high, and the Players’ Main City plan had a bright future.
That day, Han Xiao appeared at the corner of the square as usual and was completely surrounded by the players. After he farmed some EXP, he saw a large group of guild players with a prefix on the name. They were the players of Sky Territory, and the leader of the group was called ‘Rebels Shall Rule’. He was the vice-captain of their core team one.
Here comes the opportunity.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. After he finished teaching the abilities, he suddenly acted like he was talking to himself and said, “Sigh, I’ve been quite unlucky recently…”
Rebels Shall Rule immediately noticed. As an experienced player, usually when an NPC talked to themself, it meant a new mission could be triggered.
“Mr. Black Phantom, what are you troubled with?” Rebels Shall Rule asked. “Maybe we can help you to solve it.”
Han Xiao looked at him and shook his head. “No, no, there need to be at least ten people to help me.”
The people of Sky Territory suddenly felt energized. It was a mission indeed, and it was a team mission!
This was a mission given by Black Phantom himself, when did he ever scam them?
Large guilds always had a lot of members. Rebels Shall Rule created a ten-man team on the spot. Seeing this, Han Xiao said slowly, “Sigh, one of my robots malfunctioned, and I can’t control it anymore. I hope you can bring its chip back to me…”
He set a mission as he was talking.
___________________
[Finding Malfunctioned Chip – 1]
Mission type: Team Chained Mission
Mission Introduction: Due to unknown reasons, a guard robot has malfunctioned and gone out of control.
First Round Requirements: Defeat Ranger X204 and bring the chip back to Black Phantom
First Round Rewards: 25,000 EXP, +1 Relationship Point with Black Phantom
___________________
“Chained mission?” Rebels Shall Rule was surprised. Just the reward for the first round was already decent, so the reward would definitely be richer in the later rounds, and it could even increase Black Phantom’s relationship points. The relationship points of Black Phantom would not increase after ten no matter how much money they gave.
As for his relationship points, all the players had the desire but were helpless. He placed quite a few strong machines in his item shop. There were ones that had blue and even purple grade. However, the relationship point requirement to buy these were all more than ten. They could only look at them—these were all Han Xiao’s ‘bait’.
Relationship points were worthless alone, but he made it worth something, and this was how the currency system was created.
Sky Territory accepted the mission and left joyfully. The surrounding players saw this and also created teams, but Han Xiao did not bother about them.
Now the players wondered, why could the Sky Territory trigger the mission but not them?
However, they were used to the random triggering mechanism for Black Phantom’s missions, so they did not hang onto it—they only were jealous of those lucky Europeans.
Suddenly, a group with familiar ID and guild name entered his sight, Han Xiao only then spoke again and repeated what he had previously said.
“Hmm? Hidden mission?”
The members of the Guild of Gods were surprised.
These were the players from the official guild of the renowned e-sports Temple of God Club, Guild of Gods.
Han Xiao was very familiar with them; they suited the target he was looking for.
After Han Xiao’s identity was exposed, the people of Guild of Gods only then knew that the Zero they were looking for was Han Xiao, and they had missed Han Xiao time after time. Of course, they had failed the mission.
The guild leader, Jupiter, was furious. He could not enjoy meals and could not sleep well; he was so frustrated that he almost had constipation.
However, it was too beneficial to stick with Han Xiao, and to not lag behind other guilds, the Guild of Gods had no choice but to come to the sanctuary no matter how frustrated they were. Every guild had teams gathered in the sanctuary.
“This is quite a good mission.” Jupiter was overjoyed. He had met a hidden mission just by walking on the street—luck was finally with him!
With a wave, the Guild of Gods created a team on the spot and accepted the mission.
…
An hour later, in the North City Side of the sanctuary, a chase was underway. The ten-man team gasped for breath as they chased behind an extremely fast ranger.
“Fas—faster, don’t let it run away!” Rebels Shall Rule gasped for breath.
They came to this construction area, following the mission requirement, and chased after this out of control ranger. The ranger had very strong firepower. Many people in their team had died, and only then could they damage the ranger till it had very little armor left. But when that happened, the ranger suddenly started running.
“Damn it, why is it so agile!”
The people of Sky Territory had bitter faces. “It’s more familiar with the environment and the terrain than us, has it developed consciousness‽”
At this time, in the high-rank room at the center of the sanctuary, Han Xiao half-lay on the sofa, holding a laptop in his hands. His fingers were moving across the screen casually, and the image was the vision of that ‘out of control’ ranger.
This ranger was actually completely under his control. He limited its strength, only letting it out after he took out a huge amount of its ammunition and weaponry yesterday. It was a downgraded version, aimed to give the people of Sky Territory a tough victory. If it was a complete Generation 2.5 Ranger attacking freely with full firepower, more than half of these players would have died in an instant. Of course, the Sky Territory players did not know this—they thought that they were cooperating very well and only through that they were able to almost destroy this ‘out of control’ robot. This was exactly what Han Xiao wanted them to think.
Out of control? Doesn’t exist.
“We’ve almost caught up!” The distance got closer, so Sky Territory forced themselves to focus and prepare for the final attack.
Han Xiao looked at the radar map. Suddenly, he smiled evilly, and he controlled this almost dying ranger to speed up suddenly, distancing itself from Sky Territory after many turns and dashed toward the Guild of Gods, which was searching for the target.
Jupiter and the rest were shocked when the ranger showed up, then they were overjoyed.
“That’s the target. Quickly, focus fire!”
After just one round of attacks, the ranger broke into pieces, and parts were scattered on the ground.
The Guild of Gods was confused. They had hardly done anything, so why did this robot explode?
Putting the doubt behind, Jupiter picked up the mission item from the pile of broken parts, [‘Out of Control’ Ranger’s Chip].
At this time, Sky Territory arrived late, and they were enraged upon seeing what had happened.
“Damn you, Guild of Gods, you dare to steal our monster!”
Rebels Shall Rule was furious.
The target that they had chased through more than a dozen streets had been stolen—anyone would have been angry.
Furthermore, the Guild of Golds and Sky Territory had always disliked each other.
…
The screen turned black.
Han Xiao threw the laptop to the side, lighted a cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and started laughing.
The players did not have a demand for gamble battle, so he created a demand for them. This has always been Han Xiao’s business belief.
I’m a professional in creating trouble!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Turns out you guys accepted this mission, too.” Jupiter finally understood why the robot had been like paper—they had stolen the kill.
Rather than apologizing, Jupiter gloated. The Guild of Gods would never step back when facing other guilds. Furthermore, it was their old rival, Sky Territory.
“So what if we stole the kill? Suck it up.”
The argument turned into a conflict very soon. After a group fight, Sky Territory, which was in a sorry shape, was annihilated.
“Jupiter, I fu*k !^&#@&*@&… just you wait!” Rebels Shall Rule private messaged Jupiter.
Jupiter closed the chat window straight away.
Are you kidding me? Why even play the game if you don’t steal kills?
They had the mission item, so the people of Guild of Gods returned to complete the mission immediately, and as long as they completed the mission, Sky Territory could only suck it up no matter how unhappy they were.
However, Jupiter and the people came to the high-rank area but were stopped.
“We have completed what Mr. Han Xiao told us to. Why aren’t we allowed to enter?”
“We are ordered to not allow any outsiders in.”
No matter what they said, the guards did not back off a single step. The people of Guild of Gods had no choice but to leave helplessly.
They could only wait for Han Xiao to reappear in order to complete the mission.
The team left, and after walking for a while, their sight was suddenly blocked. A group of rough men surrounded them, led by Jade Green Sky. They had brought the people of Sky Territory to demand an explanation.
“That’s pretty immoral of you, Jupiter. Our men got the mission first, and the target was also damaged to the last health by us, but you stole the kill out of nowhere. You’ve got to give an explanation,” Jade Green Sky said with a long face.
“You’re overreacting. If anything, you should blame yourselves for being unlucky.” Jupiter had no fear. The sanctuary was a safe zone; no one could attack, and they were unafraid of being surrounded.
The eyes of the two clashed midair.
The guild leaders of the large guilds in China knew each other privately. Jade Green Sky and Jupiter never got along, and there was a reason for this. Their conflict started in the pro scene. Li Ge was the pillar of the Temple of God Club, Hao Tian was the representative of Sky Territory, and Hao Tian lost to Li Ge more than he won. He lost to Li Ge many times during crucial battles.
Therefore, the contradiction was very strong—they disliked each other.
This stolen mission became the fuse. Although it was just a small conflict, it might become bigger, more so that they were already rivals.
The surrounding players saw this and gathered to spectate. It was livelier than the market, and the middle of the road was completely obstructed.
They argued with each other for some time before Jupiter said impatiently, “Jade, what do you want?”
“Give the mission item back to us.”
“Keep dreaming.” Jupiter rejected it immediately.
Why did they have to give it back when they stole the kill? Furthermore, he represented the name of the guild; if he backed off, would others not say that he was scared of Sky Territory?
Of course, Jade Green Sky would not suck it up either. Both sides not wanting to back off meant the conflict could not be settled; therefore, they had to talk with their strength. However, he did not want to have a large-scale public fight. The results of both of them losing would mean to be exceeded by other guilds.
Jade Green Sky pondered, and suddenly, he remembered the gamble battle function of the arena. Was that not the most suitable place to settle their conflict?
“Okay, since you’re not willing to return it, we shall go to the arena and have a gamble battle.”
“What, why do I have to fight you? There’s no benefit in winning, and I have to give up my thing if I lose. If you lose, you can only give up on what I already have.”
“Humph, we shall make a bet, too, money, equipment, item, anything at all,” Jade Green Sky said provokingly. “I’m officially inviting you to a battle—accept it if you have the guts.”
He really wanted this chain mission as Black Phantom’s mission rewards were always rich, and it could increase Black Phantom’s relationship points. It was a good deal.
However, Jupiter was not provoked at all. He pushed the people of Sky Territory aside and left.
Anyway, he had the item, and as soon as he completed the mission, he would be the one getting all the benefits—there was no point in taking the risk and fighting a gamble battle.
The people of Sky Territory were furious. Rebels Shall Rule furiously demanded, “Leader, are we just letting them go like this?”
“Provocation! Force them to accept the challenge,” Jade Green Sky said angrily. “I’m not going to tolerate this. Ask the members to all publish posts in the forums, provoke them as much as you can!”
…
As the Sky Territory started their attack of words, scandalous posts about the Guild of Gods appeared rapidly, painting an image that Guild of Gods was unreasonable and immoral, that they were scared to accept the challenge, that they picked on the weak and feared the strong. As only those with a VR-Capsule could post or comment on the forums, there were few sh*t stirrers, but this time, Sky Territory had evidence and reasons—they made all the members publish posts and started the trend.
The rumors were very condescending, but Guild of Gods did not panic at all.
The way Jupiter saw it, he just had to wait for Han Xiao to appear and complete the mission. By then, Sky Territory would not be able to do anything no matter how much noise they made.
However, many days passed, and Han Xiao had yet to appear.
Jupiter started to get anxious. He asked the guards time after time but could not get any information on Han Xiao’s whereabouts.
Han Xiao could see the forums, too. He did not appear on purpose, and it was like putting Guild of Gods in a fire. As long as the Guild of Gods did not complete the mission, the mission item would only bring them trouble.
Before the start of the mission, he had already prepared the plan to force two guilds to have a gamble battle in the arena, attract public attention, and make more players know what the use of gamble battling in the arena was.
As long as someone did it first and showed the players the purpose of the gamble battle, people with potential demand would realize their need.
Guild of Gods and Sky Territory took it as an accident or coincidence; it was impossible for them to guess it was the ‘NPC’ Han Xiao who gave out the mission that was causing all this. It was completely outside their expectations.
Seeing that the rumors were becoming worse to Guild of Gods, Jupiter started to get stressed.
Finally, after another day of Han Xiao being ‘missing’, Jupiter could not take it anymore. He officially accepted the gamble battle in the forums on behalf of the Guild of Gods.
“On behalf of Guild of Gods, I accept the gamble battle with Sky Territory. Our chip is the mission item [Out of Control Ranger’s Chip], and Sky Territory shall provide an item of the same value. The location will be the in the Arena, Best of Five, winner stays, loser leaves. Win or lose, both parties shall accept the result with dignity and no longer find trouble with the other party.”
Jade Green Sky replied very shortly after.
“Sure!”
The battle between two large guilds had all the players in the sanctuary excited.
…
The fairness of the gamble battle service in the arena was guaranteed by the sanctuary officials. The betting chips were collected before the battle and were guaranteed to be given to the winner. To enjoy this fairness guarantee, one had to rent a ring.
Renting a ring incurred fees, contributing to the arena’s turnover.
The two large guilds were rich. As they wanted the other players to judge the fairness of the battle, they rented the largest ring in the center; it was very high profile.
On the day of the battle, players in the sanctuary gathered in the arena, and it soon became crowded.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Guild of Gods definitely. Sky Territory is no match for them.”
“Guild of Gods actually has the moral low ground this time.”
“Are you kidding? What’s wrong about stealing kills in a game? Don’t exaggerate the issue.”
“There’s a dealer opening a bet over there. I’m going there to bet on Guild of Gods.”
“There’s betting‽ Let’s go together!”
The scene was very noisy, almost like a live concert. The audience waited for quite some time until the competitors of both sides showed up late to the scene. When the audience saw the IDs of both sides clearly, they were all stunned.
The competitors were not just guild members—they were all pro players of both of the clubs!
Many players cheered in excitement; their passion was going through the roof.
Originally, most of the audience was just there to check it out, but when the pro players appeared, all the audiences became interested right away.
The Pro League had not started yet, so normal players had yet to see how strong pro players were. Thus, they were very thrilled.
“Temple of God really does have a strong foundation. Everyone that came is a top tier player or not far behind. Sadly, Li Ge is not here, heard he went to take part in the expedition.”
“Exactly, in comparison, Long Sky is a little bit behind. Most of them are second tier players. First tier players Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice went to the war too… Wait a minute, is that… Am I hallucinating? God Hao Tian‽”
Hao Tian stood in the Long Sky team expressionless. The audience looked at him in disbelief and admiration.
Everywhere he passed by, the audience lowered their voices. It was like he had an unshakeable aura.
As a pillar of Long Sky, Hao Tian had been requested to attend by Jade Green Sky. His name and skills were much higher than the first-tier players, so he was the pro player that received the most attention in the scene. The contestants felt the pressure when they saw him.
The clubs that both large guilds belonged to requested their pro players to attend the battle without any agreement.
Seeing the members of the other party, Jade Green Sky and Jupiter were both covered in cold sweat. They thought at the same time, Luckily, I got the pro players here. Damn, almost got deceived by that fraud sh*t.
The hexagonal center ring was very wide and spacious. The square in the middle was the battleground, and the triangles on the sides were the waiting areas. The people of both Sky Territory and Guild of Gods waited in the waiting areas in the ring.
The audience chatted among themselves and waited with anticipation.
Some of the players were thinking of something different.
Having a gamble battle in the ring seems to be able to increase exposure… some spectating guilds thought.
If I do a Challenge, there will be chances to spar with players of all sorts of styles, and at the same time, I can profit from betting, some PVP passionate players thought.
The spectating pro players nodded too. Not only will Challenge gives exposure, one can hone one’s skills too. It’s quite a good function.
Seeing the impact and popularity of the gamble battle of the arena, many players saw its benefits and entertainment value. The reason Han Xiao had triggered the battle between the two large guilds was indeed to make the other players realize what this function could bring, then use the players’ own creativity to improve and expand on this function, fulfilling various demands.
The renting fee earned was not the most important—what was more important in Han Xiao’s eyes was to raise the players’ demand and usage for the arena. That way, the impression of a ‘main city’ would be stronger.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As the star player of Long Sky, Hao Tian was a god player much stronger than the first-tier players. His PVP skills were amazing, and his level was much higher than average. With these advantages, he was the first to step into the ring. His attacks were ruthless and strong like a storm, defeating three Guild of Gods contestants in a row.
The combat ability of the Pugilist class was shown perfectly. The audience had originally expected a tight battle that would go back and forth, but it turned out to be a one-sided annihilation. The entire battle had lasted for more than five minutes!
The people were astonished.
After they stunned for a few seconds, deafening cheers and yells erupted all around.
“Impressive!” cheered the ordinary spectators.
“God Hao Tian! God Hao Tian!” yelled the passionate audience members.
“I love you, Hao Tian!” shrieked Hao Tian’s fans.
Hao Tian’s performance refreshed the audience’s knowledge of the upper limit of a player’s strength at the current stage, and he immediately gained a lot of new fans.
Although this was a private gamble battle, the excitement and passion from the audience almost felt like it was a pro competition.
“I won.” Hao Tian’s expression changed slightly—he had not expected to win so easily.
It was like walking down a path for a long time, and only when he turned around did he realize how much ahead he was of the people behind him. It turned out that, without noticing, he was so much stronger than normal pro players.
In the beginning, Hao Tian had just taken Han Xiao’s ‘hidden storyline’ as a lucky opportunity, and when he made it, he did not really treasure it, only taking it as a short-term opportunity. Hao Tian’s pro instinct habit made him always look far ahead to plan for his growth. Black Phantom was a Mechanic, and he was a Pugilist, so he felt he would not follow Han Xiao all the way. He had to look for a new mentor somewhere else just for his abilities.
However, at this moment, it finally occurred to him how much he benefited from this, and he began to take Han Xiao more seriously.
Black Phantom’s EXP reward would still be plenty even at max level.
Black Phantom’s mission reward really were very rich. It was not a big deal to tolerate weird missions for it. As a pro player, having strong will power, endurance, and a good pair of lungs was fundamental.
Seems like I can walk on this Black Phantom path for much longer than I thought.
The match was Best of Five, Hao Tian won three matches in a row and ended the battle, so other Long Sky contestants did not do anything except stare at Hao Tian like fans. In the Long Sky Club, Hao Tian, who had battled in the pro scene for many years, was everyone’s idol. A man of few words, always honing his skills, earning Long Sky one champion after another, he was Long Sky’s hero, and his name was tied tightly together with the words ‘Long Sky’.
Guild of Gods was obliterated, and the pro players whom they had invited were all in shock.
We are all pro players. Aren’t you showing off too much? At least leave us some face!
The contestants knew how strong Hao Tian was long ago. Not to mention his skills, the biggest problem was how ahead he was in terms of level, attributes, and abilities. They immediately thought of the fact that Hao Tian had triggered Black Phantom’s hidden storyline and were jealous.
“I wonder what kind of missions he has been getting from Black Phantom that made him level up this fast.”
The Temple of Gods contestants were jealous and envied. They wanted such treatment too, but Black Phantom did not care about them at all.
“Everyone’s level is relatively low, so the difference seems huge. When the pro league starts, everyone’s level will be much higher, and he won’t be able to beat us this easily by then. The difference will shrink sooner or later.” A Temple of Gods contestant attempted to lift his team’s spirits.
The pro players were just there to help—winning or losing was not important to them—but Jupiter was filled with rage. He almost wanted to smash Jade Green Sky’s arrogant face.
With the official guarantee, the mission item was given to Sky Territory.
The audience left the scene and continued to discuss Hao Tian’s amazing performance.
Conflicts between guilds were always a more popular topic, and Guild of Gods would only lose face temporarily for losing the gamble battle—their position was still one of the top.
Many people in the guild complained.
“If our boss Li Ge was here, Hao Tian would have thrashed.”
“Long Sky just got lucky. What are they even happy about?”
When things were settled, Han Xiao appeared the next day. Sky Territory completed the mission immediately, and seeing this, Jupiter was filled with regret.
If he had known that Han Xiao would appear that day… if he had just endured for one more day, none of this would have happened.
Of course, that was just what Jupiter thought.
As long as the conflict did not become a gamble battle, Han Xiao would not have appeared in front of them. He was very patient—he had once hidden and endured for half a year before he caught the opportunity to escape that secret Germinal base.
Han Xiao had actually prepared even dirtier backup plans. If the two large guilds had end up making an agreement privately, resulting in them not having a conflict… Han Xiao’s belief was to repeat things till he succeed. At most, he would get even more guilds involved and make the situation even more chaotic.
If even that did not work, he would simply distribute a mission that required the guilds to rent the rings. However, that was too obvious, and the Great Mechanic Han preferred to be discreet.
“What a horrible loss.” Jupiter wanted to cry.
At this time, he heard the sound of private message notification. He looked at it, and it was shockingly a call from Li Ge, so he hastily answered it.
“Boss Li Ge?”
“Hmm, I saw what happened recently. Do you have the recording of Hao Tian’s battle?”
“It was all recorded.”
“Send it to me.”
“Sure, of course.”
Upon receiving the recording, Li Ge said with satisfaction, “With the recording, I can analyze his battle style to prepare for the league. Good job.”
Hearing that, Jupiter felt much more energetic.
It did not matter how much they were at a loss—as long as the pro players benefited from it, it was one of their responsibilities.
…
The battle between the guilds showed people the effect of the ring. Many people were tempted, and guilds and players started to rent rings for Challenges or events. The functionalities of the ring started to show. Not only could the players in the arena PVP for free, but they also could join a Challenge or some events, so it became more boisterous.
Galaxy had more than game functions—it also had socializing functions, and the boisterous arena was obviously a very great place to socialize. Some player even spent all their time in the arena.
As a place with a lot of exposure, people who wanted to make a name for themselves had a demand for the ring—guilds hosted events, pro players took up Challenges to interact with normal players, and many others. Like some sports stadiums being rented out for a competition or concert, they were all getting what they needed.
According to Han Xiao’s experience, not only guilds, even some companies would rent rings to host some small events, like ‘Random Company Name Cup’ and other competitions that were not officially accepted by the E-sports Association, giving prizes to the winners to advertise for themselves. Even some pro players took part in such small competitions for the prizes.
How did he know about all that? Don’t ask. Anyway, there was a time in Han Xiao’s previous life when he was very rich, and he could even splurge on buying instant noodles in cups.
Also, the events that companies hosted might not be just PVP competitions. It could also be an art exhibition, sports event, or something else.
Mini-games always had their popularity in games. Since Galaxy was extremely realistic, other than not being able to excrete, the players could be as creative as they wanted and play other sports with their superhuman bodies, such as superhuman basketball, Pugilist soccer, Mechanic rally. These things mentioned were all real in Han Xiao’s previous life, and these casual and fun events were very popular among casual players.
Because of that, Galaxy started to have a virtual, vibrant society on its own.
The players now had only just started Galaxy, so they were still following things more or less strictly and did not have any weird events, and Han Xiao gave them a platform to do so. He guided the players to explore the entertainment possibilities of the game themselves, and there would always be someone who rented the ring that would think of something new to attract attention.
The ring was an event and show, attracting players to watch. Normal players could watch the events when they were not participating in free PVP, which would build a habit and culture.
Think of it like this, you take a stroll outside every day, and the park that you pass by always hosts all sorts of events. After a while, even if you do not take part, you will eventually be curious and guess what the event will be next time you take a stroll.
Therefore, when the arena became a common facility, it would increase the sense of belonging that the players had toward the sanctuary, as interest could be developed and cultivated.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The benefit that Han Xiao really wanted was to have the players spread the word of how attractive the arena was as a part of a main city, leading to more people coming to the sanctuary for it, bringing in a large number of immigrants and, more importantly, customers.
The Great Mechanic Han had quite a few more ideas, such as opening official bets and creating a PVP ranking system, both of which would attract more players. However, he thought about it and decided not to do that as neither of those were easy to operate and would only be official if they were made by the game developers. If an NPC like him did it, he felt that there might be some risks and negative impacts.
Most importantly, if he could give these rewards ‘officially’, he could make these studios and actors lose all their business. Han Xiao would never do that since one of his businesses in his previous life included that.
Although he was benefiting from the players, the players benefitted from him as well, so it was a win-win. Therefore, the safest and most comfortable position for Han Xiao was to be neutral, only providing the venue and justice, letting the players explore the rest. It could also be considered ‘guiding the Inhumans to use their extra energy’.
Once the position of the main city was firm and had a high population, in Han Xiao’s plan, the next step would be the sinister real estate!
As the overseer in charge, other than the places to protect refugees, the rest of the areas in the sanctuary would all be for him to make a profit!
Suckers… ahem… large customers would, of course, be those large guilds.
“Sigh, business…”
Seeing the moving people in the square, Han Xiao stroked his chin and sighed.
…
Huang Yu was totally convinced.
He used to think the arena was a total waste of resources, but after more than ten days of observation, he gradually realized the potential benefits. Huang Yu could not understand what Han Xiao’s long-term plan was, nor did he know the concept of ‘players’, but when he was drawing the accounting reports, he noticed the fees that they charged for the Inhumans largely exceeded what they incurred for repairs. In the long term, the cost would be earned back sooner or later, and whatever else they received would be pure profit, and this was only one of the benefits.
The Inhumans were the main manpower for the construction of the sanctuary, but they were weird and difficult to manage. Huang Yu did not want the Inhumans to have too much contact with the refugees, so he drew out areas for the Inhumans to use, yet the Inhumans still looked for refugees very often. Although their motive was to help, it did result in Huang Yu’s management measures failing. After the arena was built, Inhumans actively used the arena as the center of their activities. The square and the arena naturally became ‘Inhuman Communities’, which saved him a lot of management effort, and the entire sanctuary became more organized.
This time, Huang Yu was adulating Han Xiao in the office, complimenting on how farsighted Han Xiao was, how he was wise, and any other cringeworthy compliment that he could think of. These words came out from Huang Yu’s mouth non-stop and jumped into Han Xiao’s ears, making Han Xiao feel so disgusted he had goosebumps.
After he finally chased Huang Yu away, Han Xiao started to think of the next step for the Players’ Main City plan. Most of the benefits that the arena could bring would only happen in the future, but he was not satisfied with that.
To make the sanctuary more attractive as the main city, the arena is just one factor. There is another way, to have some recurring events. Other than the festival events from the official game developers, if I want to attract the players to participate in the events, I have to show them actual real benefits…
Han Xiao knocked on the table with his fingers and pondered. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration, and an idea came to his mind.
The morning in Karst wasteland was full of sand and fog, giving a feeling of damp and dry at the same time—it was very uncomfortable. However, the areas near the sanctuary were clean and refreshing, so the haze was blocked. The sanctuary already had a rough foundation, and it was equipped with enormous air filtration devices. The sanctuary placed importance in preventing radiation, pollution, and deterioration of the air quality.
The players were taking part in building the sanctuary. On the rebar of the protective wall, a group of players was welding. This job was tedious and dangerous, and the players stepped on the rebars wobbly.
“Be careful, don’t fall down.”
Just as this person said that, another person beside him slipped. The people looked at him as he fell while the sorry scream that person made descended further and further.
The protective wall was very tall. It was the most dangerous mission in all of the construction missions, and players died accidentally very often.
“Told you to be careful.”
On the other rebar, a player with the ID ‘Half A Cigarette When Lonely’ said resentfully, “Sh*t, those safer and easier missions with rich reward are all controlled by the large guilds. Us normal players can only do these worse missions.”
Whenever there were people, there would be conflict. There were many types of sanctuary construction missions, and the easy missions with rich reward were all divided between the large guilds. Most of the solo players could only take the leftovers. The majority of players were just playing casually and were not bothered, but there were also players who did.
Filled with contempt, Half A Cigarette When Lonely complained, “These large guilds possess the resources, so we’ve already lost on the starting line. How can we even fight them in the future?”
Someone beside laughed and said, “It’s just a game. Why so serious?”
“Playing a game means being the strongest is the best. If not, what’s the point of playing?” Half A Cigarette When Lonely rebutted. “That’s why all of you are so weak—you don’t have any dreams.”
“If you’re so jealous, why don’t you just join a guild?”
“Humph, only the weak stay in groups; the strong play solo,” Half A Cigarette When Lonely said. Of course, he was not going to tell them the miserable experience of him getting rejected after applying to join a certain guild.
They looked down from above, and suddenly, they realized that on the sanctuary square, players that looked like the size of ants to them were gathered. This was the signature sign of Han Xiao appearing. Suddenly, announcements from other players appeared in the area channel. It seemed like Black Phantom had introduced a new function. The people who were building the protective wall put down what they were doing and went down the wall hastily. Some impatient ones even jumped down directly, died, then revived in the square, saving themselves the time it took to climb down.
Half A Cigarette When Lonely ran to the square, but it was already full of people. Han Xiao stood in a corner of the square, behind him was a large truck. Like other players, Half A Cigarette When Lonely also extended his neck and looked over curiously.
Looking at the crowd, Han Xiao coughed and said loudly, “Recently, there has been a lot of backlog that I need to get rid of. All of it is packed into boxes. If anyone wants to buy a box, I can sell it for a low price.”
The players in the square exchanged looks.
Packed into boxes, what does that mean?
Since it’s backlog, is it worth buying?
“Give me ten,” Jade Green Sky said immediately.
With the thought of ‘Black Phantom only sells high-quality products’ in mind, he was willing to be the first one to try. No matter what new function this was, they would know once they use it.
“3,000 Aquamarine Dollars for one box.”
“So expensive‽” Jade Green Sky was astounded. He braced himself and bought it, spending all the money he had. Although he was the guild leader, it did not mean that he could just bring the guild funds everywhere with him—this was all his own money.
After Han Xiao took the money, he took out ten boxes from the truck. Jade Green Sky opened nine consecutively, and his face instantly turned black. The boxes were all filled with broken parts and cheap materials. The players on the side shook their heads as they saw this.
“What backlog? This is all just trash. I wouldn’t want any even for free.”
“Only morons would buy such a thing.”
Jade Green Sky turned around and gave a vicious stare, then opened the last box without any expectations. However, as soon as he opened the box, Jade Green Sky’s eyes froze, and he stared into the thing in the box.
A retractable knife was lying in the box.
In his vision, the name of the knife was shockingly purple!
This is a piece of purple equipment!
The crowd saw his expression and were curious as well. They stood on tiptoes to look into the box, and all inhaled deeply after they saw what was in it.
The exclamation of shock expanded outward like a wave.
Up till this moment, the players had yet to see any purple equipment. This was the first one to appear before the players’ eyes!
Jade Green Sky’s chin almost hit the floor. He looked at the ten boxes before him and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity… then it occurred to him.
“Wait a minute! This function… isn’t this opening loot boxes‽”
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“Isn’t this a loot box?”
This idea was contagious like a virus, and the players became interested straight away. Some gambling passionate players were already trembling in excitement and could not wait to do a ‘Ten Draws of Faith’—buying ten loot boxes at once and opening them consecutively.
Loot boxes, also known as the Sinister Path of Cashing In or Ultimate Hand Chopping Method, are a classic move for the game developers to earn money. Han Xiao, of course, was very familiar with this. Not only could it awaken the players’ inner gambler and suck them into an inescapable hole, but he could also make a profit from it.
And he had just the right resources and demand to do it; he could make it into one of the recurring events to attract players.
Every planet had their own currency, and after the three largest Universal Civilizations created regulations, to improve convenience for the communication between civilizations, they invented the general culture, general currency, and general language. The Galactic Civilizations’ unique currencies could be exchanged into the general currency. However, a planet civilization like Planet Aquamarine of course did not receive such treatment—the Aquamarine Dollars had almost zero purchasing power and could not be used in the galaxy at all. In fact, it was even too rough to use as toilet papers.
Therefore, if he wanted to go into the galaxy, he first had to turn this money into resources and make those resources into machinery. Resources had different values in different civilizations, and it could be considered a currency in the galaxy. Even in the worst case, it definitely had a much higher value than Aquamarine Dollars. In Version 2.0 [Mutation Disaster], the novice planets would come into contact with the galactic civilizations in different ways. The local currencies would then be able to be exchanged into other currencies, and the players would not have to worry about this problem. However, Han Xiao wanted to leave the novice planet in Version 1.0, so he had to consider the difference in currency, language, culture, and many other things.
All of his assets were in Aquamarine Dollars, which was as good as scrap paper outside Planet Aquamarine, so he spent all of it to buy materials and build machinery, and building machinery gave him EXP as well, which also aided in his growth.
Because of that, he had piled up a lot of useless machinery; using them as prizes for loot boxes would be a great way of waste utilization. The rarity chance of the loot boxes was completely under his control. Most of them were filled with waste parts and trash; only a few had very good items. It was impossible to incur a higher cost than profit, which meant it would definitely be profitable.
He claimed that he was getting rid of backlog and that there was no guarantee they had good things in them, but although the players knew that there was a chance their money would go to waste, they would still spend the money and bet on their future. Everyone felt lucky before they saw a pile of trash.
Even the players who did not have much money would clench their teeth and buy one to try their luck. If they did not get lucky, after some time, they would convince themselves that they would definitely get lucky the next time, and the cycle would repeat itself.
Most of the players like this kind of lucky draw event. There is a small chance of gaining huge profit with a very small cost, similar to the lottery. At the moment, there’s no lucky draw anywhere else. There are two types of lucky draws—one is the official game store, and the lucky draw in the game store has yet to happen. This type of lucky draw consists mostly of special VR items, like Dungeon Crystals, Genetic Healing Agents, health and mana potions, EXP potions, cosmetic items, and others. There is no equipment—it is a supplementary type of lucky draw.
The other type of lucky draw is between the organizations and characters. This then is the right path to gain benefits directly. For example, some organizations and groups have a contribution points system that can be used to lucky draw strong items or equipment. Some mysterious sellers have gambling games, and some organizations make the players buy off their old inventory. When the organizations and civilizations understand the players more and use them as mercenaries, only then will some characters have lucky draws. This could be considered the organizations trying new ways to motivate ‘Inhuman mercenaries’, with profit.
The players’ impression of me is most likely around the lines of ‘planet main character’, ‘Mechanic Mentor and businessman’, ‘handsome’, and ‘important legendary NPC’. The players will be more accepting if I’m the one doing the lucky draw event. Furthermore, the first lucky draw event should be able to attract the most attention.
3,000 for one box was not cheap, but the players had some spare cash at their current level. Thus, it should not be a big issue to buy one or two. Furthermore, if they got purple equipment, they would become extremely rich. There was no purple equipment on the market at all, which meant that the seller would be able to set the price. What’s scarce is precious, so it would definitely have an outrageous price.
All the eyes were focused on the truck full of boxes. The players’ eyes were flashing with all sorts of different meanings, and when they saw Han Xiao standing to the side, all of their tiny malicious thoughts extinguished.
It was better to be honest and pay the price. No point looking for a horrible death.
In the ten boxes, nine were trash, and only one had a piece of purple equipment. It was unclear whether Jade Green Sky was lucky or the ratio was this high.
The players started to buy the loot boxes. The boxes were opened one after another; some were content, and some were upset. Other than trash, there were also other things, such as some useful materials and some green or blue equipment. Overall, the response was quite positive; however, there was not a second piece of second purple equipment.
“Could it be that the purple equipment only appears with ten consecutive draws‽” a player said, all fired up and unable to control himself.
“Not likely. I feel that the rarity chance is a little weird and cannot be looked at with common sense. Firstly, we have to understand one thing, which is whether this action of Black Phantom introducing loot boxes is part of the storyline. ‘Galaxy’ is extremely realistic, and every character seems to have an individual mind, almost like the real world. A character’s actions definitely have its unique reason or motivation. So, is this lucky draw an official function from the game developers, or is he really cleaning his warehouse?” A guy at the side pushed his glasses, and a glint of wisdom flashed in his eyes. “If he really is cleaning his warehouse, why didn’t he just throw away the backlog but sold it to us instead?”
“Yo, you’re quite familiar with this brother.” The people’s attention was attracted by this guy’s speech, and they looked at him. Then, they saw this guy’s ID—King Of Single Draw.
The surrounding players’ mouths twitched.
No wonder he made so much sense; he clearly was experienced, given that ID.
“That makes some sense, so how can we know?” someone asked.
The inventory in the heavy truck became lesser and lesser. King Of Single Draw’s eyes sparkled. He shouted across the crowd and asked, “How many more boxes are inside?”
Han Xiao waved his hand and said, “There is a total of 786 boxes, 530 left now.”
The players were stunned and surprised. They had thought that the boxes were unlimited, but that was not the case. Now, some spectating players could not wait anymore. They held onto their money and joined the queue.
King Of Single Draw changed his style. With one arm around his chest and one arm holding his chin, like a contemplating detective. “That’s right. Since it’s limited, it’s impossible for it to be an official function. Black Phantom really is clearing his backlog. However, he chose to pack it into boxes and sell them instead of just throwing them away. Hmm… also, there was even an undamaged rare purple equipment in the backlogs. This wouldn’t make sense for it to be waste utilization. Therefore, the only explanation for this would be that this isn’t really backlog clearing! Black Phantom is actually giving out benefits by doing this. That’s right, we ‘Inhumans’ helped him to build the sanctuary, so he wanted to reward us!”
King Of Single Draw concluded his thoughts quite loudly, and the players in the square heard and understood instantly.
It sounded logical and was quite believable.
“If it is an official loot box function, the chances would be announced for sure, but if it’s part of the storyline, then us players will have to experience it ourselves and conclude the hidden rarity chance…”
King Of Single Draw’s eyes kept sparkling.
“The game developer will make sure you never win anything too strong from a lucky draw for balance purposes, but Black Phantom’s rewarding lucky draw is a different case. There might really be something good, which means these machinery boxes might really have some god equipment that will make the entire world tremble!”
The crowd turned wild upon hearing that—they were extremely excited.
Han Xiao was stunned as he listened from the side, and he was very confused.
I don’t remember hiring an actor. Where did this guy come from?
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Some people drew once, some people drew ten consecutive times, but there was no difference. Han Xiao only controlled the overall cost of the boxes and did not bother when selling them off. It all depended on the players’ luck. There was no manipulation behind the scenes—he wanted the players to feel the warmth of being home.
If there was a guaranteed prize every ten consecutive draws, it indeed would attract more people to make consecutive draws, but he was using the limited selling mode. There were only so many boxes every time he sold them, so they would definitely be sold out. Not only would guaranteeing a prize every ten consecutive draws not give him a higher profit, but it would also increase his costs.
If there was a guaranteed prize every ten consecutive draws in combination with the limited purchases, there might be some rich guilds that would bulk purchase, suppressing the normal players with their resources, and that would not be good.
There was only one purple equipment in the first batch of boxes, the one Jade Green Sky got, and only this one had been given out purposely by Han Xiao to grab the players’ interest. The rest of the boxes had a few blue pieces of equipment, about a dozen green pieces of equipment, and some useful parts and materials.
This rarity chance was acceptable to the players for the most part.
The first batch had more than seven hundred boxes, but only a small group of the players out of tens of thousands of player bought one. The rest were watching on the sides.
“This batch of backlog is finished. There will be scheduled backlog cleaning in the future,” Han Xiao said.
“Ah, that’s it?”
Players had not gotten enough yet—they were still tempted for more.
However, they could not do anything about it no matter how much they wanted more; the players could only watch as Han Xiao drove away.
The players who benefitted from it were content. Half A Cigarette When Lonely was jealous, and he touched his wallet. 3,000 for one box, so expensive. I definitely can’t get anything good with my luck, should I buy it?
…
3,000 per box. I sold more than 700 boxes this time, so it’s roughly… a lot of money.Han Xiao calculated as he drove.
After deduction of cost, the net profit was tens of thousands. His funds formed a cycle, supporting his expenses in buying materials to build machinery with ease. It was even more stable than selling items and more profitable. He placed suitable high-quality items in the boxes that suited the player levels, not giving anything that was too strong.
The players in the sanctuary discussed a lot about the first loot box event; their interest was sparked. Han Xiao grabbed the opportunity and started the next loot box event a few days later.
After four times, finally, all the players in the sanctuary got used to this recurring event. At fixed intervals, the players would wait for Han Xiao in the square in advance, rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Every batch had hundreds of boxes. It took twenty minutes to be sold out at the start, and by the fourth time, it only took six minutes. This clearly reflected the player’s acceptance and passion for this event.
Han Xiao’s initial goal of hosting this event was achieved.
The message spread out from the Planet Aquamarine panel in the forums. The players had almost never seen a purple equipment before, and they did not know where to get them. At this time, Han Xiao’s loot box event appeared out of nowhere, being the only way to acquire purple equipment at the moment. It received well-deserved attention, and the influence was growing.
Han Xiao saw how rowdy the forums were. The few players who had won the purple equipment made posts to show off, with a lot of envious and jealous comments below.
“Here to see the purple equipment boss.”
“Suck…”
“Another round of ten draws! Don’t hold me back. I didn’t lose my mind! I will definitely see purple this time! My intuition is never wrong!”
“I thought this game is different from the other lustful sluts, but you betrayed me!”
“The content has made me uncomfortable, reported!”
“Music lyrics: we are different, different—”
“No guarantee in ten consecutive draws, a miracle in a single draw—I’ve learned something new.”
“Guild of Gods buying purple equipment, negotiable price, private message if interested.”
“Sky Territory buying purple equipment, a higher price than Guild of Gods, private message if interested.”
“Got trash for all nine draws, watching post owner show off.”
“Passing by with trash in all thirteen draws.”
“Trash in all eighteen draws. Damn, I’m going to rob Black Phantom’s warehouse tomorrow!”
“You have my admiration. I will take care of your wife and daughter. Rest in peace. Salute!”
“Salute +1! keep the formation.”
“Salute +2!”
“Salute +2333!”
All sorts of comments came from the players. They gave Han Xiao’s loot boxes a name.
Black Phantom’s Machinery Box!
Always leading the trends, never to be surpassed.
…
A large amount of funds had come into his pocket, so Han Xiao bulk purchased materials and parts without caring about the price at all. He spent most of the time in the workshop and built machinery continuously, turning Aquamarine Dollars into valuable materials and machinery, at the same time acquiring quite a lot of EXP. Also, he built low-level purple equipment as prizes for the loot boxes. He was way ahead of the players, and the machinery that he did not need was rare equipment to the players. Finally, all the time that he had spent growing himself now was paying off.
The sanctuary was on the right path. Huang Yu took care of the cumbersome and small issues, and Han Xiao just had to sign the documents.
Hila was accompanying Aurora for her recovery exercises. Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, Bun-hit-dog, and Hao Tian all received missions to play with Aurora with rather generous rewards. Han Xiao was currently giving them space to grow themselves.
At the same time, Han Xiao did not forget to look at the war’s situation. The Six Nations had the complete upper hand. The Germinal Organization was basically at the breaking point, and he estimated that the Germinal Organization would soon be defeated, ending the war completely and liberating the entire Planet Aquamarine from the shadows of war.
The last time that he had browsed intelligence on the Dark Net, the number of wanderers had reduced by thirty percent compared to before the war—they had joined organizations for protection. Han Xiao felt weird about this; it was like people gave up their freedom due to fear in exchange for safety.
The situation was getting better as time passed, but Han Xiao believed in Murphy’s Law. He did not want to pay too much attention to the battlefield before things were settled. In case, there might be an accident.
However, he had done whatever he needed to do. He had given the Six Nations all the intelligence and killed a few Germinal Organization’s Executive Officers. The Six Nations had the upper hand in military power, intelligence, and almost everything. If they could not even win, they might as well eat sh*t.
Thus, Han Xiao was temporarily focused on the players’ main city plan.
This day, Han Xiao drove another truck of boxes, and the players swarmed in.
Every [Black Phantom’s Machinery Box], King Of Single Draw didn’t buy anything. He was patient, and he observed like a hunter, recording the results of other players, calculating the rarity chance. Some players were influenced by him. They sat beside him and tried to do the same thing.
At this time, a voice full of confidence appeared within the crowd.
“Give me a hundred boxes!”
The people were shocked. They followed the voice and looked over as a player with the ID ‘So Poor I Only Have Money Left’ walked out swaggering.
‘So Poor I Only Have Money Left, is this a true rich person‽”
“A hundred boxes, that’s 300,000 Aquamarine Dollars. Good god!”
“He really is a truly rich person! Can we be friends?”
“Indeed, only the large guilds have done consecutive draws before, and the highest was only fifteen boxes at once. A hundred is way too much, I have never seen anything like this before!”
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Such a boastful ID… it was like a pile of large leeks walking in front of him.
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One hundred boxes were stacked neatly like a hill. It was a rare scene, and the players paused from buying and watched curiously.
So Poor I Only Have Money Left took a deep breath and opened the boxes quickly. The surrounding spectators extended their necks, and their expression changed from anticipation to shock and finally to mockery.
All one hundred boxes had been opened, but the best was only a blue assault rifle. The waste parts stacked like a hill. So Poor I Only Have Money Left’s face turned green.
“One hundred boxes and got blue equipment, nice.”
“You have my admiration, chief.”
“Money can’t change your fate, bro.”
“New documentary: Galaxy—Fall of a Rich Man”.
“Why do I feel so… good?”
So Poor I Only Have Money Left grabbed his hair in frustration. As his ID suggested, he was rich indeed, and he was used to spending a lot of money, which brought him profit most of the time. He was rich, so he could do anything he wanted.
Lucky draw events were his favorite. He did not care about whether he profited or lost money—he just liked the moment of pleasure when he won something. However, he did not win with Han Xiao.
[Black Phantom’s Machinery Box] did not guarantee anything no matter how many one bought at once. Like the lottery, it was completely about luck and probability. So Poor I Only Have Money Left bought one hundred boxes because he thought there was a higher chance of winning something, but he had been very unlucky this time.
Although it was good to have a rich customer, Han Xiao did not give him any special treatment. No guarantee meant no guarantee, and he did not want to break the rules because of rich people. His target customers were all the players. He wanted to turn this into a main city specialty and have more people take part in the event, not turn it into an event just for the rich. The number of boxes was limited after all, and not having any guarantee for consecutive purchases was to avoid a single person buying too many boxes.
If there was a guarantee for consecutive purchases, the other rich people would also do the same. Every batch of limited boxes would be snatched away by a few rich people, and the chances for the other players to take part would be much lower. It would make the event less attractive—long term growth was more important.
Anyone would be somewhat affected by the majority, and as soon as this evolved into a mass hobby, demand, and habit, its influence on the entire player base would be different.
So Poor I Only Have Money Left wanted to buy again, but the other players were now unhappy about it. They took the previous one hundred boxes opening as a form of entertainment, but the number of boxes was limited; it would have crossed the line if he bought even more.
Seeing that the crowd was unhappy, So Poor I Only Have Money Left could only scratch his head awkwardly and step aside.
On the side, King Of Single Draw was full of disdain. He told the people around him, “See? Throwing money has no technicality at all. The best method is to calculate the rarity chance through a lot of observation and research.”
As he was speaking, he smiled confidentially, and light reflected off from both his teeth and glasses. “Now, watch my performance!”
Bringing a group of people, King Of Single Draw walked toward Han Xiao, he paid close attention and calculated in his heart, after a few players finished buying, he suddenly yelled very loudly and shocked the crowd, then squeezed into the front line of the queue and bought the next box.
“Hehehe, according to my experience, there’s definitely something good in this box.”
King Of Single Draw was full of confidence. He opened the box with looks of anticipation from the crowd.
_____________________
Congratulations, you have received [Waste Part] * 18
_____________________
The crowd suddenly turned silent and looked at him weirdly.
The atmosphere was very awkward. King Of Single Draw’s mouth twitched. He coughed and said, “You guys should know that this is a matter of probability. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. There’ll definitely be something good!”
However, his next single purchases were all trash. His followers looked at him with more and more doubts.
“Can you even do it?”
“Bullsh*t! Next time, purple will definitely appear next time!” King Of Single Draw’s eyes were red. Like a gambling addict, he bought one more box. He closed his eyes and mumbled, “God, please give me luck this time.”
After he repeated that more than a dozen times, he felt his palms heating up, like an unknown force had just descended into him.
Famous words of many people flashed through his mind.
“This time, surely!” King Of Single Draw opened his eyes suddenly. With a gush of confidence, he yelled and flipped open the box!
A pile of trash.
King Of Single Draw froze in place, lost.
“Why… why is this happening? Are all the trends I’ve been researching fake? The loot boxes are fake; the world is fake; everything is fake!”
In the crowd, Half A Cigarette When Lonely touched his wallet. It was finally his turn. He hesitated and said, “I’ll have one.”
This was his first time buying [Black Phantom’s Machinery Box]. He had been spectating hesitantly until then. Although 3,000 Aquamarine Dollars was not really a lot, he was just a normal player, and his money had all been made through hard work of doing missions here and there, so he treasured his money a lot. However, seeing that many players had won good equipment in this event, he was a bit tempted.
Then, he finally decided to just buy one box.
Half A Cigarette When Lonely had very low expectations. He would be satisfied with just green equipment, and he did not even dare to think about blue or purple equipment.
After running to the side, Half A Cigarette When Lonely held his breath and opened the box.
Purple light surged into his eyes!
“P—Pur—Purple equipment‽”
Half A Cigarette When Lonely was stunned, trembling in excitement.
The players beside looked over with jealous.
“Another lucky one.”
“Tsk, I want purple equipment, too.”
There was someone who won a purple equipment every time. Although it was rare, the players had seen it happen a few times and were used to it. They stopped paying attention after being jealous for a while.
Half A Cigarette When Lonely took out the purple high caliber Berserk Eagle, played with it in his hands, and suddenly felt an impulse.
How about… buy another one to try my luck?
Half A Cigarette When Lonely clenched his teeth, bought another box, and opened it casually.
Purple light again!
Half A Cigarette When Lonely mouth fell open, and his heart was hit with immeasurable surprise.
The surround players looked over again, very surprised.
“He got another purple piece of equipment? That’s really lucky.”
“Quick, breath in the air of luck.”
“Two draws, two wins—might as well go buy a lottery ticket.”
“So what if he’s lucky? I will be as well one day.”
“Brother, you are allowed to show off, but don’t cross the line.”
Some were jealous; some were amazed; some were sour.
So Poor I Only Have Money Left was speechless. He had bought one hundred boxes at once and could not even compare with someone else casually buying two boxes.
What kind of world is this? What happened to the rich’s privileges‽
King Of Single Draw clenched and ground his teeth. He was on the edge of losing it, screaming in his heart, The purple equipment should’ve been mine!
“How about… another one?” Half A Cigarette When Lonely touched his wallet. He had just a bit more than 3,000 left. On impulse, he decided and bought one more, like a gambler tasting the sweetness of winning, falling into the abyss of cashing in.
“Will I win this time?” Half A Cigarette When Lonely suddenly regretted it a little. To win two times in a row was already extremely lucky; three in a role had way too low a probability. Furthermore, there were, at most, only three pieces of purple equipment in every batch of [Black Phantom’s Machinery Box]. If he won again, did that not mean he had won every purple equipment of this batch?
He anxiously opened the third box, and the familiar purple light surged again!
Half A Cigarette When Lonely was completely stunned.
All the surrounding players were completely stunned.
Three single draw wins in a row! What kind of luck is this!
No, this can’t be called luck anymore, this is a damn blessing!
The people looked at Half A Cigarette When Lonely with shock.
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“Miracle three single draws in a row, my knees hurt…”
“Baby, come out and look at God.”
Han Xiao was shocked, too. He had only placed three purple items in this batch, and they had all been bought by the same person—his luck was unbelievably good. Han Xiao almost wanted to skin Half A Cigarette When Lonely and see if he was Bennett in disguise.
Manipulation behind the scenes? Non-existent.
Half A Cigarette When Lonely was completely stunned. This time, So Poor I Only Have Money Left walked over to him with admiration on his face.
“Do you have any technique or something? Please teach me. I can pay you.” So Poor I Only Have Money Left’s eyes sparkled.
“What technique? I’m just lucky.” Half A Cigarette When Lonely waved his hand hastily.
King Of Single Draw’s vision turned black.
Everything was bullsh*t in front of luck.
After he finished selling the boxes, Han Xiao left. Half A Cigarette When Lonely immediately got surrounded, the players all looking at him. Some believed that he had a special technique to opening loot boxes, whereas others had malicious motives. However, the main city was a safe zone, so they did not dare do anything.
“Friend, are you selling the purple equipment? The price can be negotiated.”
“Not for sale,” Half A Cigarette When Lonely answered subconsciously. He turned around, and the person who had spoken to him was a male player. Half A Cigarette When Lonely looked at his ID and took a deep inhale.
[Ancient Dynasty] Guild Leader—Morning Snow Twilight Frost!
The three biggest names in China’s e-sports were Temple of God, Dynasty, and Fried Eggplants with Fish. Ancient Dynasty was the official guild of the Dynasty E-sports Club. Li Ge from Temple of God was ranked second in the China Pro Player Official Leaderboard, and the player that ranked first was the best player in Dynasty. Ancient Dynasty was different from other guilds—they kept a very low profile—but their position was still superior, and no one could ignore them.
“I see…” Morning Snow Twilight Frost scratched his chin and said casually, “Then, do you want to join our guild?”
Half A Cigarette When Lonely was surprised and agreed immediately. Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent him the invitation on the spot, and after Half A Cigarette When Lonely agreed, the guild prefix appeared on his interface. Just like that, Half A Cigarette When Lonely joined the renowned guild, feeling it was all a dream.
He claimed to dislike guilds because the guilds that he had requested to join all rejected him, and these small guilds were nothing compared to the Ancient Dynasty. The guild leader himself had invited him to join, so Half A Cigarette When Lonely felt refreshed and jubilant immediately.
The guilds hold onto the resources, but this kind of lucky draw is the chances for us normal players to rise. This is the only way we can only get high-level equipment with little cost. Black Phantom’s Machinery Box is really a blessing.
Half A Cigarette When Lonely was content.
…
[Black Phantom’s Machinery Box]’s popularity continued to grow. Players published all kinds of posts in the forums. Some posts that calculated the rarity chance for the box mentioned King Of Single Draw and So Poor I Only Have Money Left as negative examples, adding salt to their injury, especially So Poor I Only Have Money Left’s incident of getting just blue equipment after buying a hundred boxes at once.
Half A Cigarette When Lonely’s miracle draws were also mentioned. When he opened a few more boxes later on, his lucked remained, and he got two more purple equipment, causing more surprise and jealousy. With so many pieces of purple equipment in hand, his strength would definitely not be weak. The people also noticed that he had joined Ancient Dynasty guild, and the other guilds regretted how they did not grab the opportunity.
Han Xiao was quite tempted to bring Half A Cigarette When Lonely into his team, but he gave the idea up after some considerations. Luck was not something one could depend on. Half A Cigarette When Lonely’s skills were not up to his recruitment standard, and compared to luck, Han Xiao trusted more in true skills.
On the forums, some people compiled lists of all the useful items people received from the boxes, including machinery, useful materials, and parts. The large amount of good loot attracted more players, and the other players across the continents were all jealous of the loot box event in Sanctuary Three.
More Southern Continent players came after they heard about this. Even the players that went on the expedition wanted to return right now. They had thought that there would be a lot of missions and opportunities during the war, but who knew the situation would change so fast? After Han Xiao stole the secrets of the Germinal Organization, they could barely even struggle, so the players ended up only watching.
The Western Continent and Northern Continent players wished they had been born in the Southern Continent, that they could just grow a pair of wings and fly to Sanctuary Three. Unfortunately, due to the war, inter-continent flights were closed temporarily. The Andrea players were the unluckiest bunch—they felt like they had not experienced anything good since creating their characters.
The loot box event was a huge success. Han Xiao started one more new event to further strengthen his position. The event this time was publishing a type of prize pool mission as another recurring mission in the main city. The feedback was quite positive as well. The players saw more benefits, at the same time increasing the variety of events in the main city.
Han Xiao gave some material to Bun-hit-dog for the next episode of his show. With a more detailed introduction of Han Xiao’s past and experience, more detailed than the post in the forums, it once again strengthened the players’ impression of him, at the same time promoting Sanctuary Three.
The players’ reaction was very important to Han Xiao, who spent most of his time to look through the forums, which looked like he was staring into the black to Hila and the rest.
“Galaxy Times published a new episode, the subtitle is Planet Aquamarine War? The Galaxy Times really used a single planet as their title, yet they are focusing on Planet Aquamarine this time. I don’t remember this episode from my previous life…”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he clicked into the video.
“Hello players,” the male host, Spring, greeted. “This is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority.”
“Spring, I have been learning an instrument recently.”
“Really? What instrument did you learn, Autumn?”
“I’ll perform for you, and you have to guess.”
The female host took out a guitar and played a familiar rhythm. After she finished, she asked, “Spring, can you guess what did I play?”
“You’re playing the guitar.”
“…”
The opening joke was as awkward as always.
After enduring that part, they finally started talking about serious matters. The hosts first started talking about the things happening in the pro scene, the problems that the players met, then changed the topic to their theme for this episode.
“… Recently, many things have happened in Planet Aquamarine. The war between Six Nations and the Germinal Organization broke out, and it affected the entire planet. Players were experiencing this event. Without a doubt, this is definitely one of the main storylines of the planet, and compared to other planets, the main storyline in Planet Aquamarine broke out the earliest. Therefore, it is of significance. In today’s episode, we will be analyzing the main storyline war on Planet Aquamarine, concluding the characteristics of main storyline events, and predicting its influence in the future.”
After hearing this, Han Xiao finally understood why this episode appeared. Under his influence, the war main storyline between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization had broken out a year in advance, and the players were still in the early stages at the moment. Most of the main storyline on the novice planets were still brewing; therefore, the global war on Planet Aquamarine attracted the most attention. It was a very good material for an episode.
The two hosts first introduced the planet background of Planet Aquamarine, then started to analyze the situation.
“The war has lasted close to two months and has now entered its final stage. The Germinal Organization is at the edge of defeat. The war also made a very obvious impact on the planet’s structure. A big organization for the players, [Germinal Organization] is now facing their end. The players belonging to the Germinal Organization are in a very bad situation, not knowing where to go after the war. There will most likely be a few possibilities, becoming the remnants of the Germinal Organization, joining the Six Nations, or maybe becoming wanderers.”
“From this event, it can be concluded that one of the characteristics of the main storyline is that it will have a huge impact, pose a drastic change, have a large scale, and so on.”
“However, although the Planet Aquamarine players participated in the war main storyline, they did not make much of an impact. They were just normal soldiers and had limited effects on the big picture. Of course, we also saw many possibilities from this. The players now have a rather low average level, and it should be different once their level is higher. Therefore, players from other planets, look forward to your own main storyline events.”
“As the participation level of the players was not high, we can conclude that the Planet Aquamarine main storyline might very well be rushed. It’s more like a cutscene plotline in the players’ perspective. With this thought in mind, our teams arranged the data from the players in the forums and noticed something very interesting. Please look below. These are the two possible scenarios of the Planet Aquamarine main storyline that our channel deduced.”
This time, two tables appeared on the screen with different content, describing a revolutionary event before the start of the expedition war.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. One of the tables included the things that he had done, such as escaping from the Germinal Organization, exposing intelligence that caused the destruction of Germinal Organization bases, and so on. That was all the current storyline—he exposed his identity, and this data was given to the players through different sources as well. His deeds in the table were all marked red.
Another table took away the things he had done, and the derived result was completely different. It was assumed that the conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization would start from the bases in various continents, which all the players would be able to take part in. The players would then grow through these opportunities, the war would only happen when the level of the players was much higher, and it would last many times longer than now.
This caught Han Xiao’s attention, and he continued to watch. Interesting, this is very similar to the storyline of my previous life. Their logic and observations must be really detailed to be able to notice this. There are hidden talents in the players after all.
“… As everyone can see,” the male host continued, “the derived result of these two tables are completely different. One of them is the current storyline, and another is a derived storyline. However, the derived storyline seems to have more characteristics of how the main storyline should be, so what led to the difference in the results?”
“That’s right, these events marked in red are indeed the key turning points behind the war breaking out in advance, and the key to this is someone that the Planet Aquamarine players are all very familiar with—Black Phantom, Zero, Han Xiao!”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The two hosts carefully analyzed the main storyline for the audience and followed it with the episode’s main topic—Han Xiao. As the main character on Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao’s character was frequently talked about on the forums, and other planets’ players were also able to get to know him from the show.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrow at this. It was not the first time that his name had appeared on Galaxy Times. It was a given, considering how much he had worked to raise his popularity among the players.
With Han Xiao revealing his own identity and many more plot points behind the scene, Galaxy Times was able to come up with their version of Planet Aquamarine’s main storyline. The players mainly agreed with what they said as well, as their explanation was pretty logical.
From the players’ perspective, Han Xiao had an essential role in the [Six Nations and Germinal] storyline. Now that the story had already been set in stone, his recent achievements emphasized his importance in the main storyline, allowing more players to become interested in him.
“I am very famous on Planet Aquamarine, but my popularity is limited with the players from other planets. Getting reported on by Galaxy Times due to my recent actions could be counted as a kind of advertisement,” Han Xiao muttered.
The female host continued the segment. “According to the above, Black Phantom played a main role in the [Six Nations and Germinal] storyline. Based on the information gathered by the players, we can make bold assumptions that every single main storyline will have a key character like Han Xiao, otherwise known as the planet’s main character. We could even say that each planet’s main storyline was started by someone like Han Xiao…”
Han Xiao shook his head a few times when he heard that.
In truth, the main character of the [Six Nations and Germinal] storyline was the Germinal leader… But, ahem, that was not important.
The male host picked up when the female host stopped. “Logically, all NPCs are capable of starting events on their own, and the stronger and more experienced NPCs will be able to add diverse storylines into a planet’s story.
“So, this also means that main storyline characters are limited by the map they’re based in. In Black Phantom’s case, he is currently a hot topic in Planet Aquamarine’s main story, but does this mean that he will remain an important NPC in the future? Most likely not. His area of activity is limited to the beginner planet that he’s on, and once space travel is unlocked in future versions, once important NPCs such as him will just become fodder.
“On the other hand, those NPCs that have ties with galactic organizations or entities will have the highest potential to affect future plot development. Another beginner planet, Ice Winter Planet, was under the control of the Hell Demons, a powerful galactic entity, and is more likely to have NPCs who will develop into the later stages of Galaxy. Planets such as Planet Aquamarine and Planet Longtune with underdeveloped civilizations have less of a prospect…”
The show covered all sorts of topics, and some of the audience agreed while others argued against it. Once the hosts were done analyzing the situation on Planet Aquamarine, they moved onto interviewing the pro players. Han Xiao was not interested in this and stopped watching.
He had thought that the show was going to keep on praising him, but it turned out that they only turned around to backstab him in the end. However, the hosts did have a point. It was like how LV 1 players would get bullied by the bosses in the novice villages, but once the players leveled up, those bosses would become nothing but small fries. Han Xiao was also well aware the fact that Planet Aquamarine was not an impressive beginner planet.
But that did not mean that he was going to just do nothing.
Once he thought about his plan, he smirked and said, “We’ll see about that…”
…
Bang!
The alchemy room’s door was first twisted before being blown off its hinges and smashing into all the tools and equipment on the table. Emerald Grass, who had her back to the door, was shocked and turned around to see what had happened. All she saw was a figure by the door with blazing red hair who was walking toward her with enmity.
“What do you want?” Emerald Grass was alarmed and pointed at the intruder. Vines started to grow out of the surrounding crates and danced in the air like venomous snakes.
Hila was surrounded by a dark red energy, and with eyes also blazing with a crimson light, she said in a cold voice, “Give it.”
Emerald grass frowned and walked to the side as she revealed a row of test tubes on a table, each filled with some sort of bright red liquid. She shook her head and asked, “Do you mean these potions? These are all developed from your sister’s DNA. Do you want to try? They have pretty amazing effects.”
Hila, without even hesitating, raised her hand and shot out her red energy toward the test tubes. Emerald Grass cursed silently and hurriedly moved her plants to block Hila’s attack to protect the potions.
Bang!
The dark red energy waves cut through the vines like hot knife through butter, and the clean cuts sprayed green juice all over the place. Emerald Grass barely dodged the attacks, and the walls around her were all blasted right through.
“Lunatic!” Emerald Grass gritted her teeth and tried her best to block Hila’s attacks. The red energy waves clashed with the plants again and again, causing explosions to reverberate throughout the room and debris to fly all over the place.
The guards outside were frightened, and they did not know who to help.
“Quick, inform Lord Black Phantom about this!” The guard captain immediately made a decision and turned around. But before he could get very far, a black shadow had appeared at the end of the road and sped over. It was Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was always monitoring the alchemy room, and the moment he saw the fight begin, he rushed over. “Stop!”
Emerald Grass’s forehead was covered in sweat. Her powers were not as strong as Hila’s when it came to direct confrontations, and she was afraid that she would sustain injuries the moment she stopped using her powers. “I will stop if she stops.”
Hila’s expression remained unchanged as she had already steeled herself to kill Emerald Grass.
Han Xiao frowned, and faint blue light started to gather under his feet. He lightly stepped, causing this energy to spread through the floor, causing a mini earthquake that split open the ground.
Buzz!
Eight metal gun barrels popped out of the ground, and one could hear sounds of gears locking into place. They quickly turned into mini turrets and were pointed straight at the two combatants.
Trap-type Mini Mobile Turret. A new creation. They were placed in all the important areas in the shelter and could only be activated by Han Xiao.
“I think you may be forgetting who owns this place,” Han Xiao said in a low voice.
Hila gritted her teeth but backed off in the end, albeit with a murderous expression still on her face. Emerald Grass finally relaxed and let out a breath as she massaged her temple. She had just been attacked in the mind by Hila’s shockwaves and was suffering from some painful headaches.
“You didn’t keep up your promise of protecting my sister.” Hila turned her head and stared right into Han Xiao’s eyes.
Han Xiao sighed helplessly. “You’re overreacting.”
Emerald Grass held up one of the test tubes. “Humph. I made these using the DNA I got from Aurora’s hair strands. I was just recycling. I didn’t even hurt your sisters. What’re you so mad about‽”
“You can’t!” Hila said in a cold voice. To her, Emerald Grass’s actions were too similar to Germinal’s, and it made her remember some painful memories from the past.
Neither wanted to back off, and Han Xiao’s head was starting to hurt. Conflict with allies was not easy to resolve.
At this moment, Aurora strolled over in her wheelchair, with the bear cub swinging back and forth on her legs.
Aurora looked much better than she had done a month ago. Her once shriveled hair had become soft and smooth; her once bony body had started to take on some weight, and she was emitting a positive and shiny aura. Her power that had been suppressed for so long was finally released, and it allowed her to look like a normal person again within a month.
“Sis, why are you fighting with the doctor?” Aurora asked in a worried tone.
Emerald Grass stared at Hila and then gave a thorough explanation of what had happened.
Aurora was shocked. She blinked a few times, then said, “It’s just some hair. I don’t really mind if it can help Uncle Han.”
Before, there was only her sister who treated her well. But now, with Han Xiao caring for her too, she was happy to contribute in any way she could. This way, she would feel better as she was somewhat paying back Han Xiao’s favor.
Han Xiao did not really have an opinion about this. He knew that Emerald Grass was conducting experiments, but since she only used some hair, he had just turned a blind eye to it. Hila had definitely overreacted a bit this time.
Aurora gave of a bright smile and said, “Sis, you don’t have to worry. I’m not that fragile.”
Hila remained silent for a while before she turned around and started to walk away. “Okay.”
After this whole fiasco, Han Xiao let the guards take care of the cleanup. Emerald Grass walked up to him and had an odd smile on her face. “I didn’t know there were this many turrets near the alchemy room. You’re keeping a watch over me, aren’t you?”
Han Xiao gave her a glance.
“Hehe. Don’t worry. I’m not a fool. After all, I’m a tool that you obtained. Tools aren’t supposed to have a say in anything.” Emerald Grass twirled around with her hair as she said that with a faint smile.
“Oh.” Han Xiao turned and left after only saying a word.
Emerald Grass’s expression froze. That’s it?
What kind of reaction was that? He was not angry, nor was he trying to give himself an excuse. He did not even try to threaten her or anything.
Am I that unimportant?
…
The curtains of the night were drawing to a close.
After a whole day of manufacturing tools, Han Xiao moved the materials into his secret base. On the way back, he saw a figure standing on the balcony of the building next door. The gentle moonlight shone on the right-side of Hila’s body, and he could see her staring blankly into the night sky. It seemed like she had been standing there for a while.
After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao lightly leapt onto the balcony.
Hila heard the movement and asked emotionlessly without turning her head, “What’re you doing up here?”
“Just looking around. Why are still up this late in the night?”
“Humph!” Hila did not reply.
Han Xiao then took a seat to the side and shook his head. “You were a bit too extreme today. I don’t think you were that hotheaded in the past.”
Hila frowned. “What’s that got to do with you?”
“What’s it got to do with me?” Han Xiao touched his chin and muttered, “I don’t think you said that back when I saved you and your sister, did you?”
Hila’s face froze. After remaining silent for a while longer, she finally let out a sigh and said slowly, “I’m just a bit lost.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Feeling lost?” Han Xiao put a cigarette in his mouth and took out his lighter. “Well that’s easy to solve. Just take your sister back to the Germinal Organization, and I guarantee that you’ll never feel bored again.”
Hila glared at him and stayed quiet for a second. She then said to herself, “I wasn’t able to protect my sister, and I made her endure so much suffering. It’s all my fault. To protect her, I kept on training myself. Even though the battle carved a bloody past in my history, I will never regret what I did. The more lives I killed with my own hand, the safer I felt. It is the only way I could prove to myself that I was protecting my sister and wash away the remorse I have.
“Back in the Germinal Organization, we rarely saw each other. I knew that she wanted to go to the outside world, which is why I always prepared stories for her and shared my experience from the world outside. Now that she has a new life, is making many new friends, and has even started to take care of a pet, she won’t need my stories anymore.”
Han Xiao could not light the cigarette in his mouth, so he brought out his gun and shot a few bullets up into the sky and used the hot gun barrel to light the cigarette. He inhaled before replying, “That bear was supposed to be my pet…”
“Saving her from the misery had always been my wish. Now that I have fulfilled it…” Hila ignored Han Xiao’s comment and continued. “She doesn’t need me to protect her anymore.”
Hila opened up her palm, and a dark red aura flowed through her fingers. Hila stared at her hands and said, “Back in the days, all I wanted to do was spend every minute training my power to crush the Germinal Organization by myself. Now, my sister and I are safe, so strength and power don’t matter to me anymore. I can spend all the time in the world with my sister, and this is my ultimate mate wish.”
Hila then closed her hands and formed a fist, crushing the red light in her hand. She closed her eyes. “But the life I always craved only brings emptiness in my heart. I’m so lost and don’t know what to do. I hate this feeling.”
“After living a dangerous life for years, letting your guard down may be uncomfortable; this is the classic symptom that soldiers face as they leave the battlefield,” Han Xiao answered. “Of course I believe that there’s another reason. I think that violence is in your blood, and every single cell in your body craves the taste of blood. Living a peaceful life may be a drug that slowly chips away your motivation for living.”
Hila had a weird expression and said, “Are you trying to get me to do bad things?”
“What else? Do you want me to comfort you?” Han Xiao shook his head. “I don’t need to tell you those cheesy and fluffy lines, and you are not a kind of person that needs consolation. Your sister is your sister, and you are you. You don’t need to give up your true personality for your sister, and she also does not want you to change yourself. Stop finding excuses. I can see that battles and violence are what you truly desire, and the hunger for power is what drives you to move forward. The world is much larger than you think. Even though I can beat ten of you, in the eyes of the universe, there are people that are still stronger than me.”
“What makes you say that you can beat ten of me?” Hila disagreed.
Han Xiao suddenly released a murderous intent in his eyes. Hila stepped back and unknowingly used her power. She was cautious as the dark red light drifted around her body.
“Maybe one day, I will take away your sister, just like what the Germinal Organization did. At that point, if you are still not strong enough to fight me… Haha. That’s why you need to get stronger, or else you will regret it.”
Han Xiao withdrew his murderous intent with a straight face, but Hila still could not calm down.
For a moment, her instincts told her that Han Xiao was not kidding. He was dead serious!
As if she saw the wolf’s teeth behind the sheep mask, a chill travelled through her spine.
“I can create some robots to help you train if you want, or you can learn from Emerald Glass and practice with some other Espers. Well, if there’s nothing else, I’m going back to sleep. I’m leaving my cigarette here.”
Han Xiao jumped down from the rooftop and headed back to his place.
After Han Xiao’s shadow faded away, Hila finally relaxed and let out a long sigh. Staring at the slowly burning cigarette, she picked it up and inhaled.
She closed her eyes and released the smoke from her mouth, enjoying the taste from the tobacco.
A long time passed before she opened her eyes. Her worries and anxiety suddenly disappeared, and all that was left was a cold, lonely feeling.
“He really is a monster…” Hila said to herself and laughed. “But so am I.”
…
Han Xiao spend all his time creating machines and training Frenzied Sword and the other three. He harvested the players’ experience, and the experience on the interface rose steadily. Every day was exciting and fulfilling, and time quickly passed by.
On 7th December 688 in the Galaxy calendar, the frontline finally sent back important news on the war.
The Germinal Organization had lost all control except the area around the headquarters. The other bases had all been destroyed.
Han Xiao received the notice, and Bennett invited him to meet up in Sanctuary One.
“The war against the Germinal Organization is finally coming to an end. The cards are reshuffled, and the Dark Net also needs to start looking at the new era,” Bennett said over a phone call.
After waiting for quite some time, the end of the war was finally in sight. The Six Nations were steady, and without any difficulty, they pushed the Germinal Organization to the brink of destruction. Han Xiao arranged all the work in Sanctuary Three and headed to Sanctuary One.
After a while, a helicopter landed on the roof of Sanctuary One. Bennett, who was waiting on the roof, laughed. “This is the first time you’ve arrived before anyone else. This isn’t like you.”
Han Xiao turned back to the chopper and said, “Take off now. Waste all the fuel in this thing before we come back.”
Bennett was dumbfounded and quickly grabbed Han Xiao off the plane. He then said, “The board meeting will take place after the war has officially ended. It will probably happen in the next few days.”
“How many days?”
“I’m still uncertain. The situation now is a bit complicated.” Bennett lowered his voice. “It’s hard for the situation to move forward.”
Han Xiao’s eyes flickered.
After they headed to the meeting room, Han Xiao asked, “So, what’s wrong?”
Bennett took out the intel and explained, “In summary, we already cut off all the routes from the headquarters to the outside world. The Six Nations have completely trapped the Germinal Organization. However, the troops of the Six Nations are still far away from the area around the headquarters, and they have no intention of attacking.”
“Well since they already destroyed all the other bases, isn’t it simple to just bombard the headquarters and end the war?” Han Xiao replied.
“Well, it is possible. After losing all the side bases, the Germinal Organization should not have enough anti-missile supplies and equipment to hold off the Six Nations. Even if their headquarters are hidden underground, it would still collapse under the explosion. But the reason the Six Nations didn’t do so was because of another complicated issue.”
Bennett took out another document.
“Because of your intel, most of the nuclear warheads have been disabled, and the rest of the nuclear warheads have been carried back to the headquarters. Because of the limited supplies, they could not wipe out the entire army of the Six Nations. However, there are quite a number of nuclear warheads, and there would be devastating consequences to the climate of this planet if they went off. From research conducted by various meteorologists, if the nuclear warheads exploded at the same time, in the next five to fifteen years, the radiation will drastically worsen the climate of the world, and Andrea will be the highest radioactive place on the entire planet. It will turn into a wasteland where no living beings can survive. Under moral considerations, the Six Nations must migrate the entire population of Andrea to another land…”
“Second, during Germinal organization’s retreat, they caught a lot of wanderers as hostage to prevent the Six Nations from bombarding the headquarters…” Bennett sighed. “That’s why there’s division among the Six Nations.
“Raylen and Theseus suggested ignoring the consequences and the lives of the hostages and directly attacking the headquarters. Then they can finally get rid of their mortal enemy once and for all. Stardragon has yet to respond. Maple wanted to force the Germinal Organization to surrender, and Hesla suggested attacking the headquarters with ground troops and trying to save the hostages. As for Ordina… they used various excuses to oppose all kinds of attacks toward the Germinal Organization.”
Han Xiao was surprised. “I understand all the concerns of the other nations, but what is Ordina trying to do? They want to back off after all the fighting?”
Bennett knocked on the table and replied, “It is the last year of the term for Ordina’s leader. Their political sphere has a lot of parties, so there are a lot of competitors for his position. If they can drag the war until the next year’s election, they can use the reason of national security and war to automatically get elected for the next term.”
Han Xiao did not know what to say. “That’s a ballsy move… So, which side is the Six Nations leaning toward?”
“They want to try to make the enemy surrender. The Six Nations have their anti-missile defense system all the time, and that if the headquarters fires even one missile, they will attack and bombard the base. However, this is the worst outcome they can have. So, the Six Nations have sent a last message to the base, hoping that they will surrender and release the hostages. Then they will spare the lives of the Germinal Organization.”
Bennett then shook his head. “But until now, the Germinal Organization still hasn’t responded.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The headquarters were as dense as a black mountain range covered in dead silence. The ground was full of equipment left by the soldiers, and the pungent smell of gas and smoke filled the city. In the buildings were the hiding soldiers. The atmosphere was dead and lifeless, and all of the soldiers stared out the windows with eyes that looked lost.
Even though they could not see the army of the Six Nations on the horizon, everyone knew that countless missiles were aiming right at them. The headquarters could turn into the sea of fire at any given second.
No one knew where their fate would lead them.
Everything would depend on the final judgement based on the Germinal Organization. Maybe there was a slim chance of surrendering.
In the end, not everyone embraced the idea of sacrificing for their country.
In the underground command room of the headquarters, the screen displayed the situation right now. The single blue dot represented the lonely headquarters, while the red field, which represented the Six Nations, covered the entire continent. There was nowhere for them to run.
The leader, who wore a mask, stood right in front of the screen with his hands behind his back. The senior officials quietly exchanged eye contact, but no one spoke. The room was dead silent.
“What do you plan to do?” a senior official asked after a while.
The leader shut his eyes. While everyone was worrying about the next step, the leader replied with a hoarse voice, “Launch all the nuclear missiles.”
Everyone was stunned by the words. A bald senior official who had a considerable amount of power shouted, “The Six Nations have already lock us down, and there’s no way we can bring them down by launching the rocks. This is suicide!”
“So what? Do you want to beg for mercy in front of the Six Nations?” The leader’s expression did not change. “Don’t forgot the vision of the Germinal Organization. There can be no defeat. Death is the only way.”
All the senior officials had great hatred toward the Six Nations. However, in the face of death, not everyone could stand their ground in their belief. Moreover, from the situation, being suicidal would not achieve anything. There was a chance that the Six Nations would break their promise and kill them after they surrendered, but there was still a slim of hope that they could survive.
“I disagree,” the bald senior official yelled as he stepped forward.
The leader turned around and glared at him and the officials behind. “Is there anyone who agrees with him?”
Some officials look right back at the leader, and some lowered their heads, but all of them replied with silence.
Facing the line of life and death, the leader and the officials had a disagreement, as if there was a huge cliff that separated them.
“What if I insist?” the leader said calmly.
“Launching the nuclear weapons requires two keys, the system authorization, and your fingerprint and iris,” the bald man replied. “You have the authorization, but you only have a key, while the vice leader has the other key, and he is on our side.”
The leader looked around and asked: “So, where is he?”
“Of course he is not here. We won’t give you any chance.”
The leader shook his head. “Looks like you made your decisions long ago.”
“Don’t be reckless. We still have the chance to bring the uprising again as a nation, so we should not simply sacrifice our lives…” The bald official tried to persuade the leader, but he suddenly stopped with his eyes wide open. As he was talking, the leader had taken out two keys that were needed to launch the rocket, and one of them was supposed to be with the vice leader.
“How… how did you…”
“Oh my god! Put it down now!”
“Why is the key with you‽”
“Where’s the vice leader?”
No one could believe what had just happened, and the room turned into chaos.
The leader held onto the keys without saying anything.
“Return the key right now. We won’t let you do whatever you want.” The bald man tried to suppress the fear on his face. His voice shook slightly as he made a hand sign behind his back.
The leader shook his head and looked at the crowd. “Meggal, you secretly had conversation with Maple. Dorios, you made some compromise with the Oridina. Newt, Raylen promised to provide protection…”
The leader mentioned most of the people in the room, and seeing everyone’s shocked expression, he slowly said, “The consequences of surrendering for you, of course, will be different from the normal soldiers. So, don’t act like you are full of righteousness. Do whatever you want.”
The officials’ expressions changed, and they felt the fear of the leader rise in their bones.
Even though the leader had always been intimidating, at least, the officials could still guess what the leader was thinking. However, ever since they started losing the war, it had become harder to grasp what the leader was thinking. To be exact, it was right after Zero escaped the encirclement that the leader changed.
As if he was a lake without any bottom, suffering loses after loses, the leader had remained calm like a still pond. Nothing could make him rage anymore.
The door opened, and a dozen executive officers surrounded the senior officials.
These executive officers were all part of their army. After the war started, there were countless injuries and casualties for the executive officers, but the officials had all had the brains to protect their own interest and power. The main ideal of the Germinal Organization that gathered the people was hatred, not loyalty toward a certain person.
The officials did not say anything. The bald official gave the signal, and the executive officers moved forward and prepared their attacks toward the leader
Covered in colorful beams, the leader sighed.
“Guess I’ll send you all to see the vice leader.”
…
In a land far away from the headquarters was the base of the Six Nations. Thousands of armored troops awaited their command, and jets were hovering above the ground. The sound of engines cut through the sky, and the shockwave vibrated the tents and equipment on the ground.
The missile vehicles were on standby, and multiple satellites and radars closely observed any sign of the missiles in the headquarters and movements in the sky. As soon as they saw anything that was flying into the sky, they could instantly take it down. Then they would resort to violence and use everything they had to turn the headquarters into a wasteland.
In the battle command center, all the representing military officials were antsy.
“There’s only seven hours, thirty-two minutes, and eleven seconds before the time limit, and they still haven’t responded,” the representative of Ordina said. “I think that we should extend the time for the Germinal Organization to think carefully and not do something stupid.”
No one replied.
Raylen officer said with a cold expression, “We have already contacted four of the senior officials in the Germinal Organization. They were still trying to convince the leader.”
The other representatives nodded with agreement. They all did something similar. When they are pushed back against the wall, quite a number of the Germinal Organization’s senior officers were willing to surrender in exchange for safety.
The obvious bargain that the Six Nations wanted was to make the Germinal Organization surrender and save the hostages from danger.
“It’s already been more than an hour and twenty minutes since the last contact. They haven’t reported back to us since then.”
“Don’t worry. We still have time.”
The officials from different nations were chitchatting with each other while they waited for the response. Giving a choice for the Germinal Organization meant that they would have to wait for the result.
An officer from Hesla suddenly asked, “So in the end, who is the leader of Germinal Organization? According to the intelligence from Dark Net, the leader came from the Gollum, the country that had fallen. The former identity of the Germinal Organization was Mimok, but we searched through all the files and still couldn’t find the exact identity of the leader.”
Bennett had given the information that Hannes found to the Six Nations, thinking that they could find more details given their power. However, the search was still met with a dead end. The leader was like a ghost without a past, and the files that stacked as high as mountain did not include his name. The only information that they had was what Hannes had found.
“Didn’t Raylen conquer Gollum? Do you have any intel?” Stardragon’s official asked.
Raylen’s official shook his head. “We even searched for files on the list of civilians in Gollum back when it still existed, and none of them matched with the leader. We also sent some people to visit Gollum’s original territory, and they didn’t find anything. I wonder if the intel from the Dark Net is true…”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Huuu…”
Heavy breath filled the room like a broken bellow, and the stickiness of blood and spit crawled in his throat.
The mask covered in blood fell to the floor. Leaning on the side of a table, the leader barely opened his eyes and saw the destroyed room after the fight while the floor was full of corpses. The leader was the only one left standing in the room while all the executive officers had all fallen under his fists. The senior officials’ frightened expression remained on their face as if they had stopped breathing.
The leader spat out bloody mucus and took a deep breath. The dense smell of stinky blood irritated his nose, and he could not help but cough his lungs out for another two minutes.
The intense battle had provoked his hidden injury from the ambush, when he was heavily injured by Han Xiao. He had not had time to recover, and soon, he became unable to quickly resolve it.
Every time that he felt the subtle pain, he was reminded of Han Xiao. Until now, the leader could only feel hatred in his heart. At times when the anger faded away, he could feel nothing but emptiness.
The leader stood in front of the central control panel and selected the option to launch the nuclear bomb. He took off his gloves, scanned his fingerprints and eyes, and authorized the launch. After the two keys were in the keyhole, both of them turned just needed to be turned, then the nuclear bomb will be launched. On the last step, the hands full of scars held on the keys, but they could not turn them.
The leader leaned on the chair and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes were not focused on anything as if he was daydreaming. No one had any idea what he was thinking.
Dududu!
The window popped out on the corner of the screen, and surprisingly, it was a call from Han Xiao.
The leader pressed the ‘accept’ button without any hesitation. The screen then showed Han Xiao’s face.
Seeing the corpses on the floor, Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. He wanted to call to see the situation on the side of the Germinal Organization. He also wanted to see the leader one last time, but he already understood the situation after witnessing the scene. He shook his head and said, “Looks like you have made your decision.”
The leader’s eyes leaked his disappointment.
“I still can’t believe that I lost to you, you… insignificant bug. Mistakes after mistakes, my life’s work has been ruined by you… Now what do you want? To again gloat about what you have done? I’m here—enjoy yourself. My life, the end of Germinal Organization, will all be an important part of your history. You are the winner, so you have the power to look down on the loser you defeated.”
“I told you, the galaxy is unfathomable. This planet is just a small speck of dust, and no one will spare a thought on what’s happened here.” Han Xiao shook his head. Even though he was watching the fall of his enemy, Han Xiao was calm and collected. In the end, he was still a gentleman. He slowly said, “I just think that, after doing so much in your life, you still haven’t had a chance to express your feelings.”
“Do you want to me confess to you, my mortal enemy?” The leader’s face looked even uglier. He leaned on the chair and relaxed his body. “That seems interesting.”
Han Xiao shrugged and directly cut to what he wanted. “What’s with Destiny’s Child?”
The leader laughed out loud and stopped after a while, shaking his head. “Destiny’s Child is nothing but a pity man. He can see the future, change the fate of people, yet he cannot decide his own life and death. He was destined to be used by others. You also have the ability to predict the future, so maybe the fate of Destiny’s Child will be yours.”
Han Xiao did not correct that statement. “Talk about yourself. It seems that you are from Gollum, am I correct?”
The leader’s expression changed and replied, “Looks like you have already found out… That’s correct. I was once a citizen of Gollum. Back then, I was a young man with passion and rage. After the event of Mimok, I joined the rebel organization. I rioted, protested, demonstrated—all I wanted was to save my country from the rotten government.
“But suddenly, the war started. Raylen invaded the country, and my country shattered into pieces under internal parasites and external attacks…”
The leader’s tone suddenly got angry. “Did you hear that? People called us parasites! What did I do wrong? Was protesting a mistake? No! All we wanted was to take back the rights that we once had and make our country a better place!
“We were so close to victory, and the path of light was right in front of us. Yet, the war destroyed everything. After the fall of Gollum, all my friends were executed. All of us were viewed as a defect in the society and eliminating us was the best way. The remaining citizens of Gollum were enslaved and tortured. Only a few were able to escape, and I was one of them.
“I was no legend. I’m just a normal kid who was lost until I saw the border of Gollum, which was locked by Rayland. Seeing the burning flag of Gollum and the rise of Raylen’s flag, I was awoken, and I realized my mission I have to carry out.
“Gollum was not perfect. There was darkness and weakness, but… it was still my country. The only thing I could do was…
“Take revenge for my nation!”
The leader exhaled, and his eyes drift off the screen. His memories slowly showed up in his mind.
“But in the wave of time, a normal young man was nobody, and his life was as fragile as a bug. To travel through the battlefield, I dragged my exhausted body and transferred from one refugee camp to another. I was treated like a dog, and I lived a life without any respect.
“However, my blood was boiling, and I kept telling myself that no matter what danger I faced, I must live on. It was hatred that kept my heart pumping, that made my legs move forward… In the end, after I succeed in passing through the battlefield, I did not stop to look for shelter but turned to the wilderness.
“I knew that without power, I could not seek revenge. That’s why I lived in the wilderness and battled with the beasts. I turned myself into unbreakable steel.”
At this point, the leader pointed to the scars on his face and hand. “A hundred and seventy-six scars was the price I paid for my power.”
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “So, you really are just a normal human?”
“Why can’t I be a normal man?” the leader asked back.
After some thought, Han Xiao nodded and hinted that the leader could continue his story.
The leader then said, “In the wilderness, I kept on thinking, and when I headed back to the battlefield, I heard that the Mimok Organization still existed. How ironic, the tool that was created to bring terror upon the world was the only thing that represented the purest of Gollum. Then a plan formed in my mind as I assassinated the leader of Mimok and changed the name to Germinal Organization. I hid and slowly developed the organization, and it was since then I wore the mask.
“The war created a lot of opportunities. Countless people lost their home and had nowhere to stay. Then I decided on the vision of the Germinal Organization and gave them the hope that we could create a new world. Vision thrives in people who supports an ideology. It wasn’t me who used the refugees with no countries to go back to, but it was they who voluntarily gave their lives to me. This is hate, and they did not care as long as they could achieve their goal after they sacrificed their lives.
“Since my desire matched the public’s desire, I got a lot of helpful hands. And the Germinal Organization that fed on the aftermath of battle quickly grew from a seed into a towering tree.”
The voice of the leader was filled with hate. After the dream that the leader had nurtured was destroyed by another man, other than angry, his feelings were confused.
“Then… you showed up.
“You… cut down the tree.”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Compared to the pollution you caused in the past… and will cause in the future, I’d feel it’s more environmentally friendly to cut down this tree of yours,” Han Xiao said mockingly.
In his previous life, no player could dig out the origin of the leader—it was truly hard to find the true identity of an ordinary missing person in this age of war. After Han Xiao heard the leader’s description, he had a clearer understanding of him.
The leader was a firm patriot, one of the few Gollum citizens that escaped Raylen’s invasion. He hid in the dark, purposely fighting at the edge of death to look for breakthroughs and the power to revenge, one of the superhumans that started ordinary and reached the peak of the planet, ambitious and extreme.
Now that he had met a dead end, he decided that he would rather die than compromise; it was clear that the hatred was already deeply buried in his bones.
The experience of a planet main character is indeed really interesting and legendary. Every main character has a history that can be dug out, Han Xiao thought with mixed feelings.
When he was still very weak, the leader had been like a mountain, and he had needed to act with caution and become stronger. Finally, he had gained the power to face him head-on and defeated the Germinal Organization.
The Germinal Organization was the main antagonist of Planet Aquamarine in Version 1.0. Han Xiao had also participated in this storyline during his previous life as a player. Now that he had a different identity, his impact was much higher, and it was a totally different experience. Although Han Xiao looked very calm, it did not mean that he did not enjoy the victory—there was still a sense of accomplishment in his heart.
The leader shook his head and said, “I never thought that an escaped test subject would become my greatest enemy. When you stole the secrets and broke through my ambush, I already knew that the Germinal Organization would undoubtedly lose. I never give up, but there was nothing I could do; it was barely even a struggle before death.”
Because he had predicted this long ago, no matter how bad the situation was for them, he was not surprised. Seeing the organization that he had built slowly slide into the abyss, he was actually still calm.
“To me, defeat means death. The Six Nations want to see me surrender so that they can take all the knowledge that the Germinal Organization has gained throughout the years. I won’t let them get anything.”
Han Xiao raised his brows. “About that, I heard you captured quite a few hostages. If you activate the explosion, all of them will definitely die, and the nuclear blast will affect the climate, worsening the environment of the entire planet, endangering the everyone’s future in this planet. Are you sure you want to do this?”
The leader kept silent. The sound of breathing was the only thing coming out from the speakers. Han Xiao was not in a hurry; he watched the screen calmly.
After a while, the leader spoke in a low voice.
“You’re going to persuade me to surrender?”
Han Xiao shrugged and said, “I’m not planning to, because you don’t seem like someone that can be persuaded, but the guys opposite me want me to…”
He was in a meeting room of Sanctuary One at the moment, holding his laptop and sitting on the sofa. Bennett sat opposite him and listened to the entire conversation. He kept using hand signs to tell Han Xiao to persuade the leader. Both sides suffering was the last thing Bennett wanted to see.
Han Xiao felt that Bennett was daydreaming. To have him, the very person that caused their defeat, do the persuasion, was that not completely adding fuel to the fire? Even if the leader had planned to surrender originally, he might change his mind instantly after seeing Han Xiao’s face. Luckily, the leader had always been very firm, or he would have been quite worried… Wait a minute, that logic felt somewhat weird.
Bennett kept giving him signs. Han Xiao had no choice but to give it a try, or Bennett would nag him like a mother again.
“I’d rather bring everyone with me,” the leader said maliciously. “This world shall know pain!”
Han Xiao’s mouth opened wide, a classic reference stuck in his throat.
Pain, is that you‽ [1. Pain is a character in a Japanese manga/anime series, one of his signature lines is “This world shall know pain.”]
The leader sneered. “I hate this world—why should I care for it? Even if the Six Nations won, don’t even dream of not paying anything! The Six Nations are killers, too, only reaching their position today after destroying countless nations. They stood on the ruins and praised their actions. The winner is always on the side of justice, and these blood debts will all be buried in history. No one will know, no one will find out, and no one will fight for justice of the old era. These governments that have luckily survived have enjoyed themselves for too long, and it’s time for them to pay a little interest!”
The leader did not care about what the world would become after he died; he would rather betray others than to be betrayed. Even a normal person might feel this way, not to mention the malicious, ambitious leader.
Han Xiao did not comment. The results of a nuclear attack would have a minimal effect on him, as he would sooner or later leave Planet Aquamarine. Furthermore. The next version was Mutation Disaster. A larger disaster was coming, and in comparison, this climate disaster would be nothing.
The Germinal Organization had survived in his previous life, and there had been a potential risk of them coming back again. Now the Germinal Organization had been annihilated at once, but it brought a last lasting negative impact. As for which one was better, Han Xiao did not really know, but the latter would definitely clear his [Fall of the Germinal] mission.
To other people of Planet Aquamarine that did not know this, the result of the latter was horrifying. The climate was deeply connected to their lives, and no one would wish for an environment deterioration.
Sitting opposite, Bennett was anxious. He wished he could just fly to the Germinal Organization headquarters and kill the leader before he could press the button.
Han Xiao looked at the clock and said slowly, “There’s still quite some time till the deadline that the Six Nations gave. Aren’t you going to wait any longer?”
“I prefer to decide my time of death myself.” The leader’s eyes became firm. He reached out his hand, held onto the nuclear launch keys, and started turning slowly.
A suffocating pressure came out of the screen, and the leader’s movement seemed to be lasting forever. Bennett hands clawed at the sofa’s armrests and tore the leather open.
Every degree he turned, one second was taken away from the countdown clock of countless lives.
The second hand gradually pointed toward the final result.
Han Xiao looked at the leader’s face calmly and suddenly asked, “I never got your name.”
“My name?” The leader lifted the corner of his lips and gave a ferocious smile. “Not important.”
“You’re right, so… goodbye then.” Han Xiao sighed and waved his hand.
The keys turned one hundred and eighty degrees.
The sound of a quake came out of the screen—that was the sound of missiles rising into the sky.
The leader retracted his hands and sat on the chair like a statue. At that moment, his tone did not have any hatred, regret, or sadness of almost facing his death; there was not any intense emotion. Like old neighbors passing each other, he nodded at Han Xiao.
“Goodbye.”
…
“Warning! Warning! Fast-moving objects are rising from the Germinal Organization headquarters!”
All of the waiting military officers in the Six Nations combat conference stood up in shock; this was the worst-case scenario. Although the people present were mentally prepared, when this moment arrived, they still found it hard to accept.
A nuclear blast killing hostages, resulting in pollution, burning the Germinal Organization headquarters to the ground, countless classified technology lost forever… It could not be considered a win for any party.
“Activate anti navigation?” the assistant said shivering.
All the officers had no choice. Without hesitation, their responses were the same. “Activate immediately!”
In the Germinal Organization headquarters, the ground and the buildings were trembling slightly. The hiding Germinal Organization soldiers looked up to the sky through the windows and saw the missiles rise one after another.
An atmosphere of silence and death spread among the people. Everyone knew the leader’s decision and what was going to happen next.
Tears, despair, madness, twitching, trembling, screaming, growling, indifference…
The countless emotions and responses right before death.
In the sky far away, a dense number of black objects approached rapidly—some clashed with the rising missiles, and some landed in the headquarters.
Hum—
The first sound was a high-pitch explosion undetectable to the human ear. Most of the people in the Six Nations camp faraway covered their ears, but blood was still flowing out.
A fire pillar, tens of kilometers in diameter, shot up the sky. The group of bases disintegrated in an instant. Black dust was spat out from the blinding firelight, gradually rising and turning into a condensed black mushroom.
In the Six Nation camp far away, the people who looked out could only see white. The light had temporarily blinded most of the people, and even the superhumans had to close their eyes. No one could stay natural in the face of this kind of power; everyone felt small and insignificant, like they had become sand that was going to be blown away by the next wind. Unable to control their own fate, they started to shiver uncontrollably.
Even in further areas, the fire could be seen to soar through the clouds above the Germinal Organization on the horizon, and the clouds formed a circle in the sky.
Right after, the firelight shone a second time, emitting a yellow spherical shockwave mixed with dust and ash. Everywhere it passed, the ground cracked, and the buildings shattered into pieces. Countless bent pieces of metal easily flew for miles like feathers, falling onto the wilderness like rain.
The shockwave finally arrived at the camp. Like the breath of the god of wind, tents were blown away, spinning like dandelion seeds; heavy vehicles rolled like balls; for the people there, a few broken bones was just a light injury. The onlooking players were shocked and excited—they recorded the moment and did not want to miss out anything.
With the expanding shockwave came the second explosion, and the frequency could be caught by human ear this time, almost breaking people’s eardrums.
Boom!
The sound was like the sky was falling apart!
Deafening!
The camps behind started to stand their ground and commanded the troops to retreat quickly.
The continuous firelight was the only thing left on the wilderness. The image was like a punishment from the gods, and the tumbling mushroom cloud kept changing its shape like the smile of a devil.
The leader, with his unfulfilled belief and the organization that he had created, turned into a bright firework that lit up the entire sky.
The Germinal Organization had ended.
The nuclear explosion that burned the headquarters to the ground marked the end of the Planet Aquamarine war.
…
The highest ranked officials of the Six Nations hosted an emergency meeting. The enemy had been defeated, but the upcoming impact was not optimistic.
“In accordance to the scale of the explosion, the climate bureau created a calculus model. The first batch of radiation dust will enter the atmospheric cycle in the next three to six hours. Within the next month, the land of Andrea will enter a nuclear winter that will last for at least half a year. During that time, the land will not be suitable for any lifeform. Flora and fauna will die in droves, and the land will become a complete death zone. The radiation will reach the sea area near Andrea, which might cause the marine food chain to collapse. Some sea creatures might also go through unknown mutations.
“High-density radiation and pollution will enter the sea cycle, then spread to the entire world through the form of rain. This process will take about 300 to 500 days to complete. By then, the entire planet’s climate will start to deteriorate. As the affected area is much larger, the deterioration is not as severe as it will be in Andrea, but it still will heavily damage the atmosphere and have a negative impact in every way. This impact might last as long as more than ten years. In this time, the entire planet’s technology is estimated to be unable to advance and might even recede.”
The high ranked officials of the Six Nation all had serious expressions. This was not just about a nation—it was about the entire world, the entire race.
An anti-war official slammed the table and said wrathfully, “Look! Look what you did! Our troops suffered huge losses. Not only do we not get any benefits after winning, it even led to this result. We never should have started the expedition and the war in the first place! We should have let the Germinal Organization hide in Andrea and stopped after we destroyed their sub bases!”
Back then, when the expedition was decided, some politicians had been anti-war, because once the war started, the resources and authority would heavily slant to the military. Of course, some high ranked officials would not be happy about it. However, majority ruled, and their voice was ignored. Now that they had justified excuses, they decided to stand up for themselves after what had already happened.
“We are already at this point; don’t say any more useless things.”
The bitter fruit of war had to be borne by the entire world; it affected a lot of innocents. In order to get rid of this enemy, they had paid such a big price. Some high ranked officials started to ask themselves if this was all worth it.
The answer was yes.
At least in the eyes of the high ranked officials, such a strong enemy posed more of a threat than what they called a planet-scale climate disaster. After they got rid of that, only then could they feel safe and have the condition to grow steadily. The high ranked officials of the nations all thought that. Everyone had to face the climate disaster threat, everyone had to deal with it, so they were still on the same starting line, and it was fair for everyone.
At least the result could still be saved.
“Should we lock down the news and not share it with the civilians?”
“Too many people already know about it. There’s no a need for that. Announce it officially.”
“The people will definitely protest and blame us for causing this.”
“Not important, the war has ended. What we need to face now is the disaster that will come after that. Let everyone know we’re on the same boat, and they should let go of the past and not dwell on what was wrong or who was right. We have to work together to get through this.”
“Then, what about…”
The high ranked officials of the nations discussed one suggestion after another.
…
With a furious expression, Bennett walked back and forth in the room, mumbling to himself. Han Xiao sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. He looked up the blue sky outside the window and shook his head.
The leader had turned to ash with the headquarters.
The Germinal Organization could be considered as the first big BOSS that he had faced, and this big main storyline on Planet Aquamarine had been destroyed by him. He started to like this feeling a little.
No matter how legendary the leader’s past was, he had been Han Xiao’s enemy. Han Xiao very rarely showed mercy to his enemies. Victory meant victory, and there was no need for the winner to fake regret and remorse.
With a deep breath, Han Xiao got excited. He opened the interface and browsed the notifications that had shown up.
_____________________
You have received Planet Legendary Points—[Germinal Organization Slayer]!
Grade A Main Storyline Mission [Fall of the Germinal] Completed!
Grade: Unbelievable
You have received mission reward for [Unbelievable] grade
Calculating reward…
Calculating reward…
Please wait patiently…
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. In the past, the highest mission grading that he had received was [Excellent], and [Unbelievable] was better than [Excellent].
For normal players, the normal mission process should be like this—Infiltrate one sub base after another to uncover the location of the other bases through the stolen information. As the Germinal Organization became more cautious, the player would face stronger enemies, and the mission would become increasingly cumbersome. Every time the player got the intelligence about the next base, they would face the choice of destroying the base themself or borrowing power from the Six Nations. The former would reward higher process.
Han Xiao had skipped the most cumbersome part of collecting intelligence and instantly given out all the Germinal Organization bases’ locations. The difference in efficiency was like the difference between using a sickle and a tractor.
[Fall of the Germinal] was a grade A main storyline mission, and even Han Xiao had spent more than one year to complete it with his prior knowledge. Han Xiao was satisfied with the result that he had almost completed the final target of the entire large main storyline by himself. He was anticipating the reward.
_____________________
[Planet Legendary Points (Planet Aquamarine): Germinal Organization Slayer]
The Germinal Organization, planet-sized large organization, the enemy of the Six Nations for many years, its power is like a majestic mountain. You are just a tiny traitor, but you gradually uprooted the Germinal Organization and buried it. The Germinal Organization became your stepping stone, and your actions will be passed on and admired by countless people. Your name will be written in the books of history on this planet.
_____________________
New legendary points. This was a reward that he had expected. His single mission EXP reward quota increased by another five percent, and his daily quota increased by a hundred percent.
Very soon, the other reward showed on the interface.
_____________________
[Fall of the Germinal]
Personal Destruction Percentage: 48.72%
Grade: [Unbelievable]
You have received:
4,870,000 EXP
+2 Potential Points
+4 Free Attribute Points
+800 Relationship Points with all Six Nations
_____________________
His personal destruction percentage was close to half, which meant that in the operation of destroying the Germinal Organization, Han Xiao almost did as much as the entire military forces of the Six Nations. After all, Six Nations’ many operations had been carried out with the support of the intelligence he provided. One could say that his intelligence had controlled the entire war.
Using the hostility of the Six Nations toward Germinal Organization, he just had to give the Six Nations a knife, and they would attack. Even if the Six Nations knew that Han Xiao intended to use them, they were willing to be used. The end result was that both Han Xiao and the Six Nations achieved their own goal.
_____________________
You have received reward for [Unbelievable] grade:
Bonus 120% EXP (5,830,000)
Random Reward * 1
Special Item * 5
_____________________
In accordance with my mission evaluation, the hidden percentage for receiving something good as the random reward should be quite high.
The random reward could be an item, ability, or something else; it only had a chance of appearing when the mission grade evaluation was very high.
Leaving the random reward aside, he first looked at what were the five special items.
_____________________
You have received [Character Summon Card: Germinal Organization Leader]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Destiny’s Child]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Aurora]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Hila]!
You have received [Medal of Honor—Germinal Organization Slayer (A)]!
_____________________
Han Xiao was stunned. This was the first time that he had received this many character summon cards at once. The use of the character summon card was to give the user the ability of the character summoned temporarily. It was a consumption item, and if used well, it could change the situation in an instant. He had only received two before.
The leader, Destiny’s Child, Aurora, and Hila—all of the abilities of these four people are quite good, and all of them can be used more than four times, very durable.
_____________________
[Character Summon Card: Germinal Organization Leader—Armor Penetrating Consecutive Attacks]
For 8 seconds, all attack will be considered armor penetrating critical hits, reducing the defense of targets hit by 24%.
Duration: 5 minutes
Usages: 0/12
[Character Summon Card: Destiny’s Child—Foresight]
Predict an ‘opportunity’ in the future. Can indicate to be a mission, an item, action of a certain person… etc.
Usages: 0/5
[Character Summon Card: Aurora—Life Return]
Restore back to full status instantly.
Usages: 0/6
[Character Summon Card: Hila—Whisper of the Dead]
Deals psychic damage three times to the enemy. The damage is based on the user’s Intelligence or Mystery (can be indicated). Decrease all statuses of the target by 15%.
Duration: 3 hours
Usages: 0/8
_____________________
Only the effect of Destiny’s Child was not very clear. The rest were all simple, straight forward, and practical.
Predict an ‘opportunity’… this is quite ambiguous. Could it be predicting opportunities of completing a mission or getting a certain item?
Han Xiao had a flash of insight, he was thinking of leaving Planet Aquamarine, but all the methods that he could think of were not very reliable. He could just nice try the effect of the Destiny’s Child card.
Without any further hesitation, Han Xiao used it, with thoughts of going into the galaxy in his mind.
His vision suddenly blurred, and like fog, it was all white. Unaware of how much time had passed, a tint of black appeared in the middle of his vision, then it became an eerie image. The background seemed to be a wasteland, and a flame fell from the sky, creating a circular crater, giving out black smoke and electrical sparkle.
Some unknown information flashed in his mind.
“The location is… The time is…”
The image suddenly stopped, as if everything was just an illusion.
Han Xiao regained his focus. The information was in his mind, and his expression changed a little. It really did predict an opportunity to head out into the galaxy. This opportunity was originally already one method I had thought of bud didn’t know when it would happen. This card broke through the fog of fate and predicted a location and time estimate.
The effect of this card was very surprising, and he now had more confidence in leaving Planet Aquamarine.
He looked at the last item, [Medal of Honor—Germinal Organization Slayer (A)]. When completing a high difficulty main storyline mission with a high evaluation grade, one would receive this type of medal. Its effect provided a three-percent boost to all attributes, and after collecting three, it could be exchanged into a special achievement medal, providing a twelve-percent boost to all attributes. He had farmed it in his previous life before. Knowing its effect was very good, he equipped it on the spot.
After he arranged the special items, he started to select random the reward.
_____________________
Randomizing…
Your reward time this time is… an Item.
Please select one from the three items below:
Race Change Card: Change into a random race
Mission Completion Card * 3: Consider one mission to be completed and receive the reward based on the lowest grade
Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid: Increase the potential of Esper ability.
_____________________
This is good! Han Xiao’s eyes glimmered. [Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid] was extremely rare. Espers were willing to use everything they had to buy this thing because there were only two ways to increase one’s Esper ability potential. One was through rare experiments and drugs in game, and the other was Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid. The other two items were not suitable for Han Xiao, so he chose the Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid and left in on the interface without collecting it.
Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid, it has a very huge potential value regardless of whether I sell it to players or others. I need to keep stock up on the good items like this; it will definitely be of great use in the future.
The reward this time was colossal. He had earned 10,000,000 EXP in one shot, and although it did not look a lot, that was because Han Xiao’s standard was too high. If a player received 10,000,000 EXP in one shot, it would be an outrageous amount in Version 1.0.
There were also Potential Points, Free Attribute Points, and rather useful items—Han Xiao was quite satisfied. The most valuable ones were those items.
However, Han Xiao kept feeling like there should be more rewards. Thus, thinking that, he opened the NPC panel. Suddenly, he noticed a new option under the quota.
_____________________
Dungeon Creation: [Six Nations and Germinal Organization]
_____________________
“What’s this?” Han Xiao was confused. This new function did not even have any notification. He tried to use this function, and the notification showed up.
_____________________
Please select a part of the main storyline to create a Dungeon Crystal.
_____________________
Create a Dungeon Crystal! Han Xiao’s expression changed into surprise.
After some testing, he became familiar with the use of this function. To put it simply, it could turn parts of his experience in the Germinal Organization main storyline into a dungeon. Then he could create the dungeon crystal and use that as a reward for the missions that he gave out. It increased the variety of rewards for his missions.
Han Xiao guessed that the reason this new function appeared should be because he had completed a high difficulty large main storyline with a very high grade, which meant that he had done something legendary. Due to that, he could turn the things that he had done into dungeons.
Some missions from some NPCs might reward Dungeon Crystals, such as Dion, whom he had met before. Now he could do so as well, and because of the interface, he could control the creation of Dungeon Crystals! He realized that the Dungeon Crystals could only be rewarded as part of a mission reward. It could not be turned into an item and sold in his shop, which fitted the method of players acquiring Dungeon Crystals.
Compared to other rewards, this function was the biggest reward, strengthening his functions as an ‘NPC’ and becoming more attractive to the players!
Han Xiao was astonished.
Dungeons can only be created from legendary experiences, such as largely changing the main storyline of a planet or even larger areas. There might be many more functions to the NPC panel—I just have to acquire them.
With the NPC panel, it meant that there were more benefits to taking part in the main storyline.
If he could possess the Dungeon Creation Right to many huge events, the players would be unbelievably interested in him.
This was the biggest pleasant surprise!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After Han Xiao finished arranging the rewards, Bennett, who was walking back of forth, sat down, too. “A war of this scale will not happen again any time soon, but when the Six Nations recover, they might start to clear out other organizations to strengthen their dominance. Now that the Germinal Organization has been defeated, Dark Net is one of the biggest organizations left, so they will come for us sooner or later.”
Han Xiao put away his excitement and put on a pondering face. “Before having authority, anyone would think themselves a good person. The Six Nations still need to deal with the upcoming disasters brought by the nuclear blast, and they won’t have time for other things for a short period. Talking about the disaster, your sanctuary plan can now be put to use.”
“I’d rather it never be…” Bennett sighed. “After the war, more wanderers will look for protection, so I plan to speed the plan up, build sanctuaries in Western Continent and Northern Continent as well. The refugees of Andrea need to be migrated, so I will send people to fetch them. The Six Nations are very willing to throw this matter to us.”
There were two large main storylines on Planet Aquamarine—one of them was the Germinal Organization, which he already destroyed, and this was the main storyline of conflict. The other was the construction of sanctuaries. Compared to the Germinal Organization war, the sanctuary main storyline would not be so intense. The whole of Planet Aquamarine would become stable period next. There would most likely not be any more large conflicts in Version 1.0. Han Xiao’s strength was at the peak of the planet, and he was responsible for the end of the Germinal Organization. Therefore, he basically did not have any enemies and could steadily grow.
The Germinal Organization main storyline was supposed to be a large event that would happen throughout the Version 1.0, but now, it had ended in the early stages. Players that preferred the chaos, of course, would not like this peace, but this was a good thing for Han Xiao since he had just received the dungeon creation right for the Germinal Organization main storyline. He could divide the war into dungeons and fulfill the players’ everlasting desire for battle. More players would be attracted to him, and his position would continue to grow.
The Germinal Organization is dead, and I have no enemies in Planet Aquamarine anymore. I can now prepare for the galaxy peacefully. The opportunity to leave Planet Aquamarine is around the pro league, in about one year. This period will be very peaceful, so I need to get more EXP while I can as there will not be many players in the galaxy for me to interact with.
The enemy was gone, and Han Xiao suddenly felt like he was finally relieved.
Version 1.0 would last for about three and a half years. He could totally wait for more than a year. The Six Nations were enjoying the victory at the moment, not knowing that a disaster would soon arrive. The nuclear blast might strengthen the power of the Mutation Disaster, and if so, Han Xiao could only mourn for them.
In the next few days, Han Xiao joined the Dark Net high-rank meetings to discuss the future.
Most of the time, he was just watching and hardly gave any suggestions, but everyone in the meeting took him very seriously. As the strongest person in the Dark Net, the mastermind behind the fall of Germinal Organization, Han Xiao’s name and position were above all others. With his achievements, Han Xiao would receive the same treatment anywhere he went.
In the player forums, the ending of this large main storyline attracted a lot of attention. It was the first time for the players to take part in something of such a large scale, so they were very excited. There were some players who saw the nuclear explosion with their own eyes and uploaded the recording. And the cause of all this, Han Xiao, had his share of the attention, too. The players made guesses on Han Xiao’s experiences and increased Han Xiao’s fame once again.
With the end of the war, Germinal Organization players lost their organization and had a chance to choose again. They left Andrea together with the refugees and could choose which continent to go to. Without any prior agreement, almost seventy percent of the ex-Germinal Organization players chose to go to the Southern Continent.
“Black Phantom, we are coming!”
The ex-Germinal Organization player almost cried tears of joy, after having a tough time for so long, they finally saw the light. Who could understand how bitter they felt when they saw the other players show off the benefits from Han Xiao?
Why not all ex-Germinal Organization players?
Of the other thirty percent, most of them had participated in the Germinal Organization headquarters mission, so their relationship points with Han Xiao were less than -10.
Piece of sh*t Germinal Organization, give me back my future!
…
The plane landed in Sanctuary Three. Just as Han Xiao alighted from the plane, Huang Yu approached him like he had something to say.
“What is it?” Han Xiao noticed Huang Yu’s hesitation.
Huang Yu cleared his throat and said, “Your excellency, your family member is here to visit you.”
My family? Han Xiao was stunned for a while, then he realized it was the Alumera family.
With some thinking, after the war ended, he was someone outside Alumera but a member of Alumera, and he was also the person with the highest position in the entire planet. Of course, Alumera would be curious of his standpoint, and they wanted to rely on him by using this relationship that they had.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, “Tell him to come and see me.”
Ten minutes later, Xiao Quan followed Huang Yu into the guest hall. He was the messenger sent by Alumera to visit Han Xiao and one of Xiao Jin’s foster children. Technically, he was Han Xiao’s body’s brother—they were so-called ‘family’.
Xiao Quan was excellent compared to the other foster kids, and he had been chosen as the messenger this time because he knew how to read the situation. When Han Xiao’s true identity was exposed, many brothers and sisters in the family could not believe it. Some had even been furious upon realizing that Han Xiao became their elder. However, Xiao Quan did not dare to have that kind of emotion—he was very aware of the current situation. They could not look at ‘Han Xiao’ the way they used to, and seeing how furious his siblings were, Xiao Quan only felt they did not know what death was.
Black Phantom alone was far superior to the entire Alumera, and he did not dare show any disrespect.
Xiao Quan used his eloquence to chat with Huang Yu, wanting to get hints from Huang Yu about Han Xiao’s standpoint but was completely unable to. As Huang Yu did not care much about him, Xiao Quan became even more nervous.
“We’re here, go in.”
The door of the guest hall opened, and Xiao Quan saw Han Xiao sitting on the sofa with crossed logs right away, staring at him faintly. Xiao Quan could not help but hold his breath.
“Xia—Han Xiao, it’s been a long time.” Xiao Quan braced himself and greeted him, wanting to ease the atmosphere.
“Call me Han Xiao,” Han Xiao said coldly.
That was not a good sign, Xiao Quan was terrified but had to follow.
“Only you?” Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “What does Alumera want me for?”
Xiao Quan found the words carefully and said, “Han Xiao, Father has always been thinking of you. He has been wanting to see you and hopes you can return. As for all the unhappiness before, he can explain.”
Han Xiao kept silent and stared at Xiao Quan unwaveringly. Xiao Quan felt the pressure from Han Xiao’s eyes and looked down, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
“He wants me to go over there?” Han Xiao stood up and walked up to Xiao Quan with wide strides as if he was going to strike. Xiao Quan was completely suppressed by the aura. Thinking of the things that Han Xiao had done, a sense of horror filled his heart. He stepped back and bumped into the chair, lost his balance, and fell to the ground. He hastily wanted to stand up, but a shadow suddenly shrouded him. Han Xiao looked down on him with his hands in his pocket. Han Xiao’s eyes were like needles that made Xiao Quan tremble. He half kneeled on the ground, looked up horrified, and did not dare to move.
“You guys can’t seem to understand the situation. If Xiao Jin wants to see me, he’d better get over here himself,” Han Xiao said coldly as he suddenly reached out his hands toward Xiao Quan.
I’m done for… he wants to kill me! Xiao Quan’s face was completely terrified, his brain went blank.
Suddenly, he felt a force on his shoulder from a hand, pulling him up.
Xiao Quan was pulled up, and Han Xiao patted his shoulder lightly like he was brushing off dust for him. “Tell them what I said the exact way I said it.”
Huang Yu, who waited by the side, opened the door, pointed with his arms, and said expressionlessly, “This way please.”
Xiao Quan regained his focus. He did not dare stay any longer and left like he was running away.
Han Xiao sat back on the sofa and pondered. Alumera visited because they want my help using the ‘family’ relationship, but I just have the right thing I need them to do. If I can get Alumera to move to Sanctuary Three, the NPC resources here will be even greater…
…
On the other side, after Xiao Quan left, he reported the situation to Xiao Jin while shivering.
“H—he wants you to come here yourself.”
Xiao Jin’s expression kept changing, and he let out a long sigh. “Prepare to pay the price…”
Back then Han Xiao wore a mask, they did not know his real identity. There had still been space to negotiate. Now that his real identity was exposed, it meant that every problem between them was placed on the table and had to be solved, and Alumera was the weaker one, so they had to keep stepping back.
Xiao Jin looked at Xiao Hai, who was beside him, and said in a low voice, “Prepare to apologize and make up yourself!”
Xiao Jin then slammed the door on the way out, leaving Xiao Hai alone in the room with a terrified face.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After getting rid of the Alumera messenger, Han Xiao went to look for Frenzied Sword and the others. He was going to test the dungeon creation function.
Han Xiao went to the building next door, and none of them were home. Han Xiao scratched his head. He took out his laptop, ran a program and searched through the images of all the hidden surveillance cameras in the sanctuary to find a match for these four faces. Not long after, the locations of these four were found. Maple Moon was learning new fusion recipes with Emerald Grass. Green smoke was billowing out of the drugs. A few honest players stood to the side, probably there to test the drug.
Hao Tian was in the arena doing a Challenge. As a pro player, he had very high expectations for himself, and he never stopped honing his skills.
Frenzied Sword was getting beaten rapidly by Hila like a sandbag. Hila had taken Han Xiao’s advance and found an Inhuman to train and develop her power. Aurora sat in her wheelchair and watched while hugging Bear Cub, and Bun-hit-dog was recording excitedly. Bun-hit-dog was closer to Frenzied Sword. He felt very happy, seeing that Frenzied Sword was getting beaten brutally… true friendship.
Han Xiao headed to Hila’s house and called the others on the way.
Just as he entered the yard, a black shadow flew away above his head. It was Frenzied Sword, and without thinking, Han Xiao pulled him down from the sky.
Hila stopped her training, her floating red hair dropping down and going back to curly hair that extended to her waist, and the red light in her eyes faded away. Han Xiao looked at Frenzied Sword, who looked miserable, then nodded in his heart. The Hila now resembled who she was in his previous life much more.
Bear Cub struggled to stand on Aurora’s lap, fell onto the ground, and then ran to Han Xiao. The cub climbed up his leg, hugging on Han Xiao’s neck and swung like a backpack. Bear Cub was very well taken care of, and its weight had almost doubled.
Han Xiao raised his hand and slapped Bear Cub away, then looked at the combat information on the interface. Bear Cub was LV 18, four levels higher than when he had brought it back.
Sharp Claw Ice Bear species, rather good growth potential.
Hila felt complicated. She was full of hatred toward Germinal Organization, but she had never thought that such a big organization would ever be destroyed completely. Her hatred and grudges disappeared with that ground shaking explosion. She remembered when she had first met Han Xiao—who knew that weak, pale-faced test subject would have such legendary achievements after just one year?
Seeing her expression was abnormal, Han Xiao took out his laptop, opened a few photos, and passed it to Hila. The photos were the ruins of the Germinal Organization headquarters after the nuclear explosion, captured by Six Nations’ drones. It was black and scorched earth.
“After an explosion like this, they’re most likely all dead. Even if there is anyone left, it will only be those of insignificance, so don’t have to worry about Germinal Organization coming back unless they are tired of being alive.” Han Xiao paused before saying. “You were once a member of the Germinal Organization, so you are on Six Nations’ wanted list too, but you are on my side now, so Six Nations won’t be against you anymore.”
Hila frowned. “I never agreed to be your subordinate.”
Aurora raised her hand and said, “I want to be.”
Hila reached out her hands bitterly and messed Aurora’s hair. Aurora’s golden hair had grown longer, reaching her ears.
They chatted for a while till Hao Tian and Maple Moon arrived. Usually, Han Xiao would only summon them if something good was going to happen, so they were looking forward to it.
Han Xiao used the dungeon creation function. After some contemplation, he selected the Dark Crow Valley operation. To create dungeon crystals, this was suitable for the standard of the players at the moment.
_____________________
LV30 Dungeon Crystal—[Dark Crow Valley Operation]
Introduction: Dark Crow Valley is one of the Germinal Organization’s bases in the Southern Continent, destroyed by Stardragon and Hesla. This will be your test.
Dungeon Type: Backward Time Travel Dungeon
Player Completion Count: 0
Highest Dungeon Completion Rate: None
Record Holders: None
_____________________
“Dungeon Crystal?” The four of them exchanged looks.
The average level of the player at the moment was 30, so they were starting to come into contact with dungeons. There had already been 11 fixed dungeons found on Planet Aquamarine, which meant that these dungeon crystals could be earned multiple times from a character by repeating the mission. They mostly came from the various organizations, and they were all small five-man dungeon.
New dungeons meant new opportunities—the four of them completed the mission and received the reward. A white rhombus crystal appeared in their hands, and they could enter the dungeon by shattering it.
“This is a five men dungeon, so we need one more person,” Frenzied Sword immediately said. “Let’s see if we can at least complete it with ‘Normal’ grade.
Because of Han Xiao, they always stuck together, so they were very familiar with each other.
Hao Tian nodded. “Okay, I’ll ask Rebels Shall Rule from Team one of Sky Territory.”
Nobody had any objections. The four of them came to the square, and after waiting for a while, Rebels Shall Rule ran there full of joy. God Hao Tian was his idol, so he was very happy that he could just be with his idol.
The five of them formed a team.
“Let’s enter the dungeon and take a look.”
Frenzied Sword shattered the crystal. Fog gushed out, covered the five of them, and disappeared from the crowded square.
…
Their vision blurred, and when it recovered, the surroundings had become a forest. It was night, and it was difficult to even see their own hands.
Backward Time Travel Dungeon let the players participate in an event that had happened before by duplicating that event.
The notification showed on their interfaces
_____________________
You are soldiers of the Dark Crow Valley Base. Hesla and Stardragon troops are going to invade. Your mission is to protect the Dark Crow Valley Base as best you can.
Dungeon Start Countdown: 10 minutes
Dungeon Goal: Survive until the end of the event. Reward: 15,000 EXP
Optional Mission I: Kill five Stardragon or Hesla agents. Reward: 30,000 EXP
Optional Mission II: Protect the real intel in the base from leaking. Reward: 45,000 EXP
Optional Mission III: Pan Kuang and Ji Jie survive. Reward: 70,000 EXP
Optional Mission IV: Defeat Stardragon and Hesla alliance. Reward: 110,000 EXP
Dungeon Failure Conditions: Annihilation.
_____________________
“Such high rewards!” Rebels Shall Rule was shocked. As a very important member of the guild, he had seen a lot and knew a lot. The LV30 dungeons that the players had seen at the moment usually only had two to three missions, and the total reward was 70,000 to 80,000 EXP. Yet, there were five missions in this dungeon with so many rewards!
Rebels Shall Rule then thought about it, and his face turned serious. “However, the higher the reward, the more difficult it will be.”
The other four exchanged looks in confusion.
Is that so?
Never felt any part of the missions from Black Phantom were difficult…
“We are different,” Bun-hit-dog said with a heavy heart. He did not have the heart to correct Rebels Shall Rule.
Frenzied Sword looked at the notification and said with surprise, “The dungeon will only start in ten minutes, but we can already move freely. What does this mean?”
This the first time that they had met a dungeon with a countdown, so they were a little lost.
Actually, the countdown would only appear in more difficult dungeons. The players would enter the event sometime before it happened so that they could do some preparation. The time for the start of the mission was the night when Hesla agents were going to steal the intelligence, so the players had the opportunity to prevent that. If they successfully did and changed the beginning of the story, the difficulty of the entire dungeon would drop from ‘Hell’ to ‘Difficult’. However, the interface did not notify them about this; the players had to explore this themselves.
In the future, when Han Xiao opened this dungeon, after the players in the sanctuary got tortured by it a few hundred times, only then would they find the correct way to start the dungeon.
Of course, at the moment, the five of them were unaware of the importance of those ten minutes; they started the dungeon as usual. However, this was their first time in this dungeon. This type of dungeon was different from those that were just about killing monsters; it was more realistic and more difficult. The five of them had fun in agony, going around and around like headless chickens. They could only follow the job given by the base and patrol.
One day passed this way. During their patrol on the second night, Bun-hit-dog suddenly received a headshot.
_____________________
Your teammate [Bun-hit-dog] has died.
_____________________
“What‽” The rest four of them were horrified. They looked in all directions immediately, but the forest was dense. The night was dark, and they had no idea where the enemy was.
Bang!
This time, it was Hao Tian who took a headshot. The rest of the three felt like the enemy was everywhere, and they were understandably anxious.
Hao Tian’s voice appeared in the team channel. He said very seriously, “The interface said I received a lethal attack. The person that killed me was Black Phantom!”
They were dazed. It turned out this was a dungeon with Han Xiao in it! And as the enemy!
They were very discouraged.
Han Xiao’s dungeon creation function was to cut out an event that would be generated into a mission. The characters in the dungeon were all mirror images, replaying events exactly as they had happened. It had nothing to do with the original person, and they had a certain amount of dungeon enhancement.
After three consecutive shots, all three of them died. Their visions blurred again, and they were back in the square. They had spent one day in the dungeon, but only ten minutes had passed in the outside world; the flow of time in the dungeon was different.
_____________________
Dungeon [Dark Crow Valley Operation] Failed.
Dungeon Cooldown: 3 hours
_____________________
The five of them all smiled bitterly.
This was way too difficult. They did not even know how they died.
…
On the other side, Han Xiao saw the return of the five of them from his surveillance image, confirmed the dungeon crystal to be effective, and started pondering.
“Dungeon crystals can only be distributed through mission rewards and can’t be sold for money. Its use to me is to gather more players and give them more benefit, so the players will be more willing to do things for me. Also, the players will know about my experience through the dungeon, which will in turn increase my position. These are all rather indirect benefits… I can’t sell the dungeon crystals, so there’s no direct benefit.”
Han Xiao suddenly paused. He slapped his head and laughed. “I’m thinking about this the wrong way. There’s no need to sell them…”
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The next day, Han Xiao officially started to distribute dungeon missions. The players in the sanctuary were pleasantly surprised.
“Never thought Black Phantom would have dungeon missions as well. Why didn’t they appear before?”
“The Germinal Organization main storyline only ended recently. Maybe it’s to let those of us who didn’t participate in it take part through the form of a dungeon, and Han Xiao is the one to give access to those dungeons.”
“That’s pretty good if that’s the case.”
The players in the sanctuary had not taken part in the war main storyline. There were definitely some regrets. Now that Han Xiao had released a dungeon that was related to the completed main storyline, it was undoubtedly a chance to make fulfill those regrets.
The players swarmed in, but Han Xiao did not give it out for free this time.
He set a mission with one dungeon crystal as the reward. It required something called ‘Contribution Points’. After accepting this mission, purchasing anything from Han Xiao would increase the contribution points.
Since dungeon crystals could not be sold or generate direct benefits, he just had to change his method. He could randomly set the mission requirement, so he made the dungeon crystal into something like a bonus reward to encourage the players to buy things from him, which would, in turn, increase his sales.
The players that were already planning to spend would be even more willing to spend after seeing they could complete the dungeon mission on the way. The players who wanted to complete the dungeon mission would come and buy from him, then realize that the things he sold were all bargains, and they would fall into the trap, forming a cycle.
This was a promotion method!
The effect was very clear. The first time Han Xiao tried it, his sales for that day increased by thirty percent! The results were very great.
The most obvious impact was that Han Xiao’s surrounding area became more crowded than subways, such that he could hardly move.
After getting the dungeon crystal, the players called their friends and created teams to enter the dungeon. Their experience of the process was basically—enter joyfully, die, then come out stunned and confused.
The winning goal was to survive till the end. At the start, everyone died before they could reach the end. Two days later, someone finally completed the dungeon, but the completion rate was pathetic. They completed zero optional missions and completed the dungeon with the lowest completion rate.
The four optional missions were the ones with the highest rewards. They spent money at Han Xiao’s to receive the dungeon crystal, but they only got the lowest dungeon reward. It was a loss, and the players were frustrated.
The difference in difficulty between the optional missions and the completion goal was huge.
“Is this dungeon even playable?”
“Black Phantom killed me for the eighth time. My heart is exhausted…”
The players could not help but complain, share the dungeon’s intelligence and recording, and hope someone could come up with something.
“After dying so many times, I can conclude… if you listen to the base’s order, you’ll die.”
“How do we even complete the optional missions? Is this really an LV30 dungeon?”
A high skill player arranged the intelligence and analyzed the dungeon storyline from the five optional missions.
“The outline of the path should be like this. First night into the dungeon, Hesla agents cause the leak of the base’s fake intelligence. The second night, Black Phantom starts to act by sniping patrols, infiltrates the base with unknown methods, then steals the real intelligence. This night is the key to completing mission two. Then the base enters alert, discovering Black Phantom’s location. The pursuit then starts, resulting in failure. Right after that, a large number of Hesla troops arrive, and the head-on battle starts. There’s a chance to complete mission one here. Then, everyone gets surrounded and defends the base, and in the end, the base explodes. Staying alive till this point will be considered completing the dungeon.”
Tables and recordings were listed there, showing the things to take note of in every step of the dungeon storyline, then it went on to the next topic.
“Obviously, in this case, there is no chance to complete the rest of the two optional missions. From my daring guess, there might be two paths to this dungeon, one of them is the one we experienced, and the other is the hidden storyline that will relate to the last two optional missions and has yet to be triggered by anyone.
“In order to defeat the enemy and make them retreat, I feel it has to be approached from the intelligence. After investigating, I noticed a new opportunity—there are ten minutes to prepare before the dungeon officially starts. This is actually the time before the Hesla agents start to act. If this can be prevented and the intelligence doesn’t leak, the dungeon storyline might be different. However, this is a very tough battle—no one had succeeded yet.
“Lastly, a reminder to all players, do not have any contact with Black Phantom! Once you meet him, it’s most likely death.”
The players were very passionate about dungeons. There were all sorts of analysis posts in the forums. Han Xiao did not know what the dungeon was actually like. Although he had chosen the event, the mission had been generated automatically, but he just had to see the shared videos on the forums to know what the players experienced.
The players are actually on Dark Crow Valley Base’s side. Is it because the dungeon will be too easy if they are on my side?
Han Xiao was speechless. Suddenly, he had a flash of insight.
That’s a good thing, too. High difficulty dungeons have richer reward, and only then will the players be passionate about it for a longer time. It’s based on me, so no one knows about the key points to this part of the storyline more than me. I could use this advantage and make some very specifically targeted machinery and sell to the players to help them complete the mission.
The more the players benefitted from the dungeon, the more he would benefit. His intention was not to have the dungeon discourage all the players. Also, he would make money once again from selling targeted machinery to help the players.
This is a business opportunity!
Han Xiao was a doer. He produced a large batch of targeted machinery the next day. There were a specially-made helmet that protected against ranged sniping and a device that increased the movement speed in the forest. As soon as these were released, the tortured players immediately liked them, and the products were sold out instantly.
When there is demand, there will be market potential.
Han Xiao was very clear about that principle. He grabbed onto all business opportunities and created a new business chain. Han Xiao was too lazy to even count the money he earned—he only knew it was a lot of money.
As Aquamarine Dollars was not a general currency in the galaxy, he kept splurging and converting his money into machinery, material, and rare resources, yet not only did he not have less money because of that, his money continuously increased.
When Han Xiao had still been a player, he had spent every cent with caution. Now, he had more money than he could spend. Even the Fabian Company’s warehouses were bought out by him and needed to be restocked.
It so troubling to have so much money… Han Xiao was troubled for real. He was not planning to bring a ton of Aquamarine Dollars into the galaxy and use it as toilet paper.
…
With new machinery, it was finally easier for the players to complete the dungeon. The new machinery that he built became standard equipment for the dungeon in the mind of the players. Compared to the rich reward in the dungeon, the cost was acceptable, so the players felt it was worth it.
At least one person had to have the equipment in a five men team—it was almost a necessity.
The money stacked up, and Han Xiao earned another bucket of gold. The difficulty level of the dungeon also decreased from NetEase to Tencent 1 . Although Tencent always received a lot of complaints, they were still quite kind compared to NetEase.
The difference between the two could be illustrated by:
Tencent: “You can’t enjoy the game if you have no money.”
NetEase: “You can’t enjoy the game.”
The long-term benefits of becoming an NPC in charge of a dungeon are great. I will not have to worry about attracting players as long as I’m present. This is a Version 1.0 main storyline, so dungeons below LV60 can last me for a very long time. I will temporarily only create Dark Crow Valley dungeon, and once the average level increases, I will make new dungeons. This way, the players’ needs can always be satisfied, and it can last for a long term.
Also, with more dungeons being distributed, the players will know more about my experience, which is very helpful in making a deeper impression in the hearts of the players. I have to let the players know that other than being handsome, I have countless more strengths.
Han Xiao took the players very seriously as it was unavoidable to interact with players if he wanted to grow quickly, and the players were a group of lawless people. Thus, he did not want to stand against them. Although he was very far ahead of the players, once the players grew stronger, they would still be able to cause some trouble when they appeared in groups. The Great Mechanic Han had to admit this; he was never too full of himself.
[Dark Crow Valley Operation] dungeon created a wave in the sanctuary. The sanctuary’s functions were already getting richer with time, and the appearance of the dungeon caused it to improve drastically. In the hearts of the players, the position of the main city was already having its fundamentals.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Hundreds of resource boxes were stacked neatly in the warehouse. Inside were the countless parts and materials that Han Xiao had hoarded.
This was his secret base below Sanctuary Three. During the construction of the sanctuary, Han Xiao had secretly expanded the base. It was now his hidden stronghold, and every route had authorization identification equipped with guarding machine guns. There were also surveillance cameras in every entrance and countless spider detectors lurking in the dark. The security was very tight.
Han Xiao had a total of three warehouses—one for materials and parts, another for machinery backlog that he built for EXP and to sell to players, and the last was the important warehouse, storing the equipment he was using, including the new mechanical suit, Amphiptere.
All the items in his warehouses were part of his preparation for his interstellar travel.
The recent dungeon function had earned him a lot of profit once again. Money was pouring in, but he had no idea how much he would have when he left the planet. However, the very positive situation did not make him too excited. He saw some problems too.
The money that he earned came from players, and where did the players get their money?
Of course, their money came from other NPCs by doing missions.
Technically, what the players were doing was gathering the fortune of the NPCs everywhere and giving it all to Han Xiao as a form of expenditure, forming a torrent of money. The money was moving and formed an assembly line. He could be considered the destination of this assembly line. Therefore, if the players wanted to earn money, they had to work for other NPCs, and to increase the average spending and purchasing power of the players, he had to increase the number of NPCs in the sanctuary.
There was also another problem. The players would not stay in the main city forever—they would definitely go to other places to do missions and experience the storyline. To have these players return in the future, other than to have the various events, the main city had to be made more accessible.
Han Xiao planned to lay out a new transportation network in the sanctuary, building railway tracks and scheduling regular flights. This required a very high budget, and the Dark Net could not fund it temporarily. Bennett was currently developing new sanctuaries, and they did not have extra money.
These two problems had the same solution.
Find a sucker who was willing to pay the money and provide manpower.
The phone rang. Huang Yu’s voice appeared after it was picked up. “The visiting group of the Alumera family has arrived at the sanctuary entrance. Shall we let them in?”
A meaningful smile appeared on Han Xiao’s face as he played with the bullet shells.
“Yes, of course, we need to let them in.”
…
A convoy parked outside the sanctuary entrance. Xiao Jin had personally brought people to visit. The people who came were mostly members of the Xiao Faction. With Xiao Jin as the leader, there were a few nephews and children. Other than the Xiao Faction, the Home Faction and Red Island Faction also sent their messengers along, mostly to express their standpoint.
They waited at the entrance for quite some time, but Xiao Jin did not show any sign of impatience. He knew very clearly that he was the weak party, and he was here to plead.
After a very long time, they were finally let in. He looked around on the way and observed the facilities in the sanctuary, nodding. Following Huang Yu to the guest hall, he raised his head and immediately saw Han Xiao sitting on the master seat, sizing them up with a mocking expression.
Without the mask, this face in the eyes of these Xiao Faction people was the missing Han Xiao, but they could not see through Han Xiao at all. It was like he was totally a different person. His eyes were as if he was looking at a group of strangers. Xiao Jin did not dare to call him son; he cleared his throat and said in a low voice, “Black Phantom.”
Han Xiao looked at them without any expression and did not reply. He simply sat with his back against the chair, played with the bullet in his hand, and stared at them.
Xiao Jin understood his intention. He looked at Xiao Hai and the rest of the youngsters behind him and gave them a sign by tilting his head. These Xiao Faction youngsters caused a commotion, but after a few seconds of hesitation and procrastination, they unwillingly greeted him.
“Stepfather.”
“Oh, you’re here,” Han Xiao said coldly. Han Xiao knew that Xiao Jin definitely expected this awkward relationship issue to happen before they came, and these youngsters were definitely mentally prepared. All this hesitation were acted just for him. Xiao Jin wanted him to go back to being ‘Xiao Jin’s son’ and strengthen their relationship. However, this was completely useless to him, since he was not the real ‘Han Xiao’.
Han Xiao was not moved. “What are you visiting me for?”
Seeing the situation, Xiao Jin coughed and said, “I can explain what happened in the past. Your elder brother wants to apologize to you personally.”
Xiao Hai took a deep breath, put on a very apologetic expression, and quickly revised the script in his heart one more time. He had already come up with his apology on the way there.
He would cry and grovel, and he would show his regret and self-hatred for what he had done. Then, there would be a high chance to get Han Xiao’s forgiveness.
As long as their relationship was restored, Alumera would be able to rely on this strong force. No matter how unwilling Xiao Hai was, he had to brace himself and put on the act.
Xiao Hai was about to take a step forward and start to speak.
Bang!
Everyone was shocked. They followed the sound and looked over. A bullet crater still giving out smoke appeared under Xiao Hai’s foot. If he had taken that step forward, the bullet would have hit the back of his foot.
Xiao Hai could not take the step and froze in place.
The empty bullet shell fell to the floor. A dark blue electromagnetic force covered his finger, and black smoke came out of the tip of his fingernail. The flick of his hand had acted as a firing pin, detonating the base and shooting out a bullet with his bare hands. Even Han Xiao himself felt it was cool and awesome.
Its power was limited, but it was enough to scare people.
“I don’t need an apology, get down to business,” Han Xiao said coldly.
Xiao Jin’s expression changed slightly. It was clear that Han Xiao did not want to talk about emotions and only wanted to talk about their deal, which disrupted his plan. Without a choice, he could only ask Xiao Hai to step back.
Xiao Hai clenched his teeth tightly. He had already planned to apologize, but he was not even given a chance to read his script; Han Xiao did not even look at him.
Xiao Jin focused his mind and said in a low voice, “The Germinal Organization is gone, and the Six Nations will be the only large organization from now on. Due to climate deterioration, many wanderers will choose to leave their colonies and join the Six Nations. Once the Six Nations finish resting and recovering, sooner or later, they will clear out us scattered warlords, even if we were once Six Nations’ partners…”
“Unless you can find someone to protect you.” Han Xiao rubbed his chins.
Xiao Jin nodded. He wanted to plan for the future, to rely on Han Xiao and the Dark Net.
Han Xiao changed the topic and said, “It’s time to pay back what you owe. Don’t you have any idea how you got to where you are today?”
Xiao Jin was speechless, he wanted to play the emotion card, but Han Xiao just wanted to talk business, just like back then when he was only known as Black Phantom.
“… What do you want to see?”
“Money, manpower, and to move your people into the sanctuary. It’s not easy to chase the debt if you’re so far away.”
The expressions of the visitors shifted slightly.
This would mean they had to give up what they had built. They looked at Xiao Jin and waited for his decision.
Xiao Jin kept silent for a while and decided to compromise. “Okay.”
His eyes were looking at the future. The war had brought chaos, but it had also brought order. There would be fewer and fewer wanderers. Once the Six Nations had the time, the idea of warlords and colonies would disappear. Compared to waiting, it was better to look for a way out and change the business model of the family.
Dark Net’s sanctuary was considered a colony as well, but different from them warlords, the Six Nations allowed the existence of sanctuaries. Xiao Jin pondered and felt this might be an opportunity, so he agreed.
After getting the others to leave, Han Xiao and Xiao Jin were the only ones left. They discussed the details of the deal, and Xiao Jin kept compromising. The end result was Alumera would be funding the building of transportation network and slowly migrate their people from all their strongholds into the sanctuary, including the refugees and wanderer under their rule, to increase the population of the sanctuary.
Alumera was the sucker that Han Xiao was looking for. Han Xiao had absolutely no intention of inheriting the thoughts of the original owner of his body, but this could be a chip to use Alumera; these people were not noble themselves anyway.
“Heard your Southern Continent division is still troubling Lu Cheng… he’s my friend.”
Xiao Jin sighed. “I know what to do.”
Other than Alumera, Han Xiao also planned to pull in Lu Cheng. He was not going to let Alumera be the only one to grow. The Dark Net would support his operations.
Thinking about that, he remembered that there were still some blueprints that he had yet to receive from Old Man Lu.
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Ever since what happened in Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng and Alumera had been in a bad relationship with each other. Lu Cheng’s Black Pine Colony received numerous attacks and suffered quite some damage. Since Alumera had joined Han Xiao, Han Xiao wanted to settle this problem for Lu Cheng, so he called.
“It’s you.” Lu Cheng was cautious on the call. He had also received the intelligence that Han Xiao came from Alumera, so this raised his alertness and made him doubt Han Xiao’s motive in contacting him before.
“Don’t worry, Alumera won’t look for your trouble anymore.” Han Xiao was straight forward and expressed his standpoint.
Lu Cheng did not understand. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not on Alumera’s side, at least I was not. Now, they have joined me, and I have settled your conflict with them.” Han Xiao laughed. “Friends should help each other.”
“… Okay.” Lu Cheng’s tone softened a little. Thinking of their relationship before, he felt Han Xiao would not lie to him, and he did not need to. He was just a small warlord, and Han Xiao was now a legend.
“After the war, the Six Nations will be the only large organization, and there will be fewer wanderers. Warlords will definitely be cleared out in the future…” Han Xiao repeated Xiao Jin’s words. Basically, what he meant was— The business you’re doing now has no future, my brother. You will definitely lose everything in the future, but my business has potential. Don’t say I didn’t remind you. Now there’s an opportunity, and I want you. Don’t let my kindness go to waste.
Lu Cheng was a little tempted. “Let me consider.”
After they finished talking about business matters, Han Xiao asked if Le Zhenyu was still in Black Pine Colony, and to that, Lu Cheng’s answer was he had already left. Han Xiao had some thoughts.
Lei Zhenyu was the mechanic that built PE-0 Nanotechnology Muscle Fiber, and Old Man Lu had entrusted him to help Lu Cheng. Once Lei Zhenyu left, it would be the chance to get the four blueprints that Old Man Lu had left behind. Old Man Lu would try to pass the message to Lu Cheng, who would then send someone back to the repair shop back in Stardragon to retrieve the blueprints.
Although their father and son relationship was very rigid, Old Man Lu’s still had a lot of love as a father. Han Xiao shook his head discreetly. This reminded him of his dad… oh, he was not talking about Xiao Jin.
Old Man Lu’s four blueprints were very rare items. They had very unique styles and could be considered a set of godly equipment in the early stages of a mechanic. The chance to get those through knowledge fusion was extremely low, so Han Xiao was tempted. He now had three fighting styles—ranged kiting style with the Ghost sniper rifle and Electromagnetic Hover-boots, all-round style with his Amphiptere mechanical suit, and Mechanical Pugilist style with Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves. These three styles made up his current combat style.
The other machinery was not counted as part of his usual tactics—such as the ‘Rush’ style with Gen 2.5 Rangers and batteries or the pure machinery style with a large number of firearms—as these were rarely used. Ever since the creation of the snake series mechanical suits, Han Xiao had rarely gambled for new blueprints. He knew the knowledge fusion combination needed for the blueprints. Other than trying his luck occasionally, he only spent EXP to fuse specific blueprints when he needed them.
Old Man Lu’s four blueprints belonged to a new standalone tactical combat style. It was equal to being free. Of course, Han Xiao would not miss it.
…
The sun slowly moved closer to the horizon, dyeing Stardragon Western Capital in a dusk glow. The people on the streets were in a hurry as if the night was a monster and they wanted to be back home before it came.
Han Xiao walked on the streets slowly. It had been close to a year since he left, and now that he had returned, the feeling that the city gave him was slightly different. For one, there were more people. The remains of the paint from the anti-war protests could still be seen on the corners of the walls, and the large screen on the building far away played the news about their victory in the war and the upcoming climate deterioration. The city was covered in a heavy-hearted air, and the residents were worried and lost about their fate in the future.
Han Xiao was wearing the Facial Simulator and had a different appearance, wearing a wool coat. It was already winter, and these clothes were very low profile and ordinary.
Back at the repair shop that he had left long ago, it still had the same structure. Even his workshop remained beside the shop. Han Xiao walked into the shop, and a buzzing sound came from the workstation. Lu Qian was focusing on assembling machinery. She was alone—Old Man Lu, who usually sat at the door, was missing.
Lu Qian turned around. Seeing that a customer was there, she hastily put down her work and approached him with a smile. “Hello, what do you need?”
Lu Qian still had the familiar look, gentle and dedicated, like a spring breeze. Han Xiao sized her up and said without changing his expression, “I would like to customize something small.”
“Customize what?” Lu Qian blinked.
Han Xiao took out a blueprint and passed it to Lu Qian—it was a mini metal statue drawing, not very technical, just needed welding and grinding. Any machinery assembly shop could complete it. Lu Qian looked at it for a while and said while nodding, “No problem, come to take tomorrow.”
Han Xiao shook his head. “I’m leaving the city tomorrow; I need it tonight.”
With a troubled expression, Lu Qian said, “It takes about two hours to build this statue, and I’ll close the shop when it gets dark.”
“Then I can only go to another shop.” Han Xiao acted upset and mumbled, “Which repair shop take 30,000 dollars jobs around here?”
Lu Qian’s eyes sparkled instantly, and she changed her response immediately. “Today’s closing time is delayed; you can wait in the shop and receive the product as soon as it’s finished.”
Han Xiao laughed discreetly. He knew Lu Qian too well—this method worked every time.
There was only a chance to find Old Man Lu’s box if he stayed in the shop. Of course, he could not ask Lu Qian directly as it would raise caution.
At this time, a new customer entered, it was a short hair man, he said, “I want to buy some household machinery. Do you have any?”
“Yes.” Lu Qian pointed toward the metal shelf on the side and said, “Everything on that is for sale. Sorry, I currently am doing something, so you can look at the products yourself.”
Han Xiao casually pulled a chair and sat down. Suddenly, he sensed something and looked to the side. He saw that the man who walked in was sizing up the items on the shelf while discreetly sizing him up and observing him. Old Man Lu’s identity was special, so he had entrusted Division 13 to take care of Lu Qian before leaving. There was always someone that monitored the place nearby, preventing anyone from harming Lu Qian. This new customer was one of the regular field agents, and he had come to observe Han Xiao.
“Division 13’s man?” Han Xiao’s senses at LV 70 were very sharp, so he noticed this man’s footsteps showed unique signs of having trained in the military. He could guess it easily with just a little bit of thinking. His expression did not change, and he watched quietly. He was not afraid of getting recognized as he had changed his face for the time being.
It got dark, and Lu Qian was focused. Han Xiao sat on the other side, and that man was still looking at the shelf and monitoring him.
Han Xiao’s brows rose. He could not move freely when under surveillance. He shook his leg, and a mini spider detector crawled out his pocket, moving stealthily following the shadows. Han Xiao took out his laptop while blocking the vision of the other man with his body. He looked down and opened the controlling panel for the spider detector, then switched it to manual control.
The visual image of the mini spider detector showed on the bottom right of the screen, moving close to the ground. The detector was equipped with a metal detection device, and the pipes hidden under the walls and the ground were all reflected. He remembered Old Man Lu’s safe was metal, so he used metal detection.
Half an hour later, the spider detector found the target in Lu Qian’s room on the second floor. A suitcase-style safe was under the bed. Han Xiao’s eyes spun. He stood up immediately and asked, “Is there a toilet here?”
Lu Qian looked up and wiped her sweat. “It’s upstairs. I can bring you.”
“No need to, you do your stuff. I can go myself.” Han Xiao rejected her and walked upstairs. After a few steps, he suddenly heard that field agent following him up with the excuse of wanting to go to the toilet as well.
Han Xiao felt a little troubled. It was not easy to act when he was being monitored by someone. Suddenly, he had an evil idea. Coming to the toilet on the second floor, he suddenly turned around and punched the field agent in his face. The field agent had no time to react at all and could only feel his vision getting blurry and his nose being in extreme pain. Then, he fainted.
Han Xiao held onto him and laid him down on the ground slowly. He walked into Lu Qian’s room, pulled out the safe from under the bed, and keyed in the password he remembered.
Ka-cha
The cover opened. Han Xiao gave it a scan, and the interface notified him that he had received four rare blueprints, so it was confirmed. He was delighted, rolled the blueprints up, and placed them into his bag. Then he took out the substitutes from his back and placed them into the box, restoring it back to its place.
The substitutes were also machinery blueprints, but they were just normal blueprints. There would be players in the future who would go through countless hardships to complete this mission. Thus, by putting something inside, the player who completed the mission would at least get something. Han Xiao felt that he had such a kind heart, almost so touching it could move the whole of ‘Galaxy’.
He carried the field agent down. Lu Qian was shocked and asked, “What happened to him?”
Han Xiao purposely put on a face of disgust and said, “This guy wanted to use the toilet together with me. It was a disgusting idea, so I knocked him out.”
Lu Qian’s expression became weird. Her eyes looked around on the field agent’s body then mumbled, “So exciting…”
Han Xiao sat down peacefully. He did not panic after knocking a person from Division 13 out. This was because of his strength. Plus, Lu Qian and he knew each other quite some time ago, so he did not want to disappear for nothing and make Lu Qian scared.
He chatted with Lu Qian to fill the silence.
…
“C156 please respond… C156 please respond!”
In a large room of a building a few hundred meters away, a team of field agents to protect Lu Qian was on standby. The captain kept repeating the same line into the walkie talkie, trying to reach the field agent in the repair shop.
After not getting a response at all, their faces started to get serious.
“Sh*t, he’s lost contact. There must be an accident in the shop. Let’s move now!”
The captain stood up immediately, changed into a bulletproof vest, brought along an ammunition belt, and burst through the door with the team in tow.
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The cool night wind blew in from the window, and the buzzing sound of the work station filled their ears. It was a little noisy, but Han Xiao was chatting casually with Lu Qian.
“Your shop has been here for quite a number of years, how’s business?”
Lu Qian’s hair was tied back, and she wore a safety mask. While looking down and welding the metal, she replied, “With such a bad location, of course, the business isn’t good.”
“You seemed busy when I came in.”
Lu Qian shook her head. “I’m the only one here. With the orders stacking up, of course, there is always something to do.”
“Aren’t you going to hire a helper?”
Lu Qian paused and sighed. “Hired one before, left.”
“Probably because the salary was too low.” Han Xiao shook his head in disapproval.
“Was that the reason?” Lu Qian doubted.
She was just an ordinary person and did not know about these large issues. Han Xiao had left without saying goodbye back then and had been uncontactable since, so Lu Qian still held a grudge.
The apprentice worker whom they had finally been able to hire had disappeared just like that.
Although they did not spend a very long time together, Han Xiao had left a very deep impression on Lu Qian. Old Man Lu and she had been the only ones in the shop before, and with one more person joining in, it had felt much livelier. She had felt happy during the time they spent together. However, even after a very long wait, Han Xiao still had not returned, greatly upsetting Lu Qian.
“Since business is not good, have you ever thought of moving elsewhere?”
Lu Qian shook her head. “This is my home.”
Rapid and dense footsteps approached. A group of field agents arrived in the dark.
At this time, the unconscious field agent slowly woke up. His expression changed, and he immediately wanted to get up with a roll. However, a fist enlarged in front of his eyes.
Bang!
Han Xiao knocked him out once again right before the eyes of the field agent team.
“Freeze, raise your hands!” The field agent team raised their guns and aimed at Han Xiao as the captain yelled, “We are Stardragon Strategic Defense Division. We need to verify your identity. You have to come with us.”
Swoosh!
With a few flashes of light, the muzzles of the field agent team’s handguns were sliced open smoothly.
The captain’s expression changed immediately. “Requesting back—”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In a blink of an eye, Han Xiao, who had been sitting on the chair just a second ago, was in the middle of the people. The field agent team who had entered ferociously were now all on the floor. With his attributes, knocking down these LV 10 normal field agents in an instant was a piece of cake.
Security is too weak. I hope this will make Division 13 strengthen their guards. Hmm, it would be best if they don’t even let the players in.
Han Xiao shook his head, took out stacks of cash, placed it on the table, and left.
Lu Qian regained focus. She stared at Han Xiao’s back and suddenly asked, “Have we met before?”
Without turning back, Han Xiao smiled faintly and said, “No, we haven’t.”
After he disappeared into the night, Lu Qian put down the things in her hands. She took off the protective mask, tucked her hair behind her ear, and suddenly smiled, a smile with unspoken meanings.
…
Han Xiao smuggled himself out of the Western Capital, boarded the helicopter back to the sanctuary, and then took out the blueprints that he had just received.
_____________________
[Blueprint: Magnetic Chain Style Hovering Shield Shuttle]
[Blueprint: Sonic Sphere—Penetrate]
[Blueprint: Sonic Sphere—Quake]
[Blueprint: Sonic Sphere—Scout]
_____________________
These four machines made up a unique combat style, with both offensive and defensive capabilities. The three different types of sonic spheres were the core equipment; they all had different functions that complimented one another. As the name suggested, sonic spheres were related to sonic attacks.
Ultrasound and infrasound were equipped in the Penetrate style, focused on damage. Noise-sonic and Strong-sonic were equipped in the Quake style, focused on disabling. The Scout style was focused on support, related to sonar detection. It could also enhance the power of the other two types of sonic spheres, as well as create an area where all sonic attacks within the area would be enhanced. Plus, it had MP3 functions.
The requirements to learn these four blueprints were LV 45, more than 250 Intelligence, [Basic Acoustics Lv.5], [Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv.5], [Basic Energy Theory Lv.5], [Basic Energy Conversion Lv.5], [Basic Spatial Sensing Lv.3], and [Basic Electromagnetism Lv.4]. Han Xiao had 68 Potential Points at the moment—he spent twelve to level up what was needed and satisfied the requirements.
One day later, Han Xiao returned to the sanctuary and immediately started building the equipment.
The core technology of the sonic spheres was acoustics; the most important part was the emitter of the sonic attacks. Pipes to produce sound frequencies needed to be made with electromagnetic plates and micro adjusted according to different sonic attack types, and to connect these pipes together into a sphere frame required high skills. He spent quite some time before he finally built the end product.
The three metal spheres lay on the workstation quietly. They were roughly two-thirds the size of an average human head. They were not entirely spherical, and there were some edges and corners. The exterior was made of cold armor to protect the interior core, and the emitters were hidden in the gaps between the armor.
The original control method involved hand signs and whistling. Han Xiao changed that into Nerves Connection control. By wearing a specially-made headset, it would convert the nerve signals and send them into the receivers within the sonic spheres to be identified into commands, and this was effective within sixty meters.
Up, Han Xiao commanded in his mind.
The armor plate of these three sonic spheres split open and exposed black holes. White flames shot out from them, and they flew up, wobbling, hovering in midair. The sonic spheres had flying capabilities and could move freely in the air—it was his mid-range combat equipment. Han Xiao familiarized himself with the controls.
He then started to test the power of the sonic spheres. After some observation, Han Xiao found that the range of Sonic Sphere—Penetrate was about twenty meters. It was used mainly to damage the target, creating armor penetration soundwaves and attacking the target through obstacles. The attack range was in a straight line or an inverted cone.
The basic damage of Sonic Sphere—Penetrate was 81–130. Although that did not look very high, that was not the case. The specialty of sonic attacks was that they are highly penetrative. The damage reduction from armor was very low, and with Han Xiao’s attribute enhancements and skill enhancements, one hit from it could deal 350 – 400 damage. If Flaming Will was used as well, it would not be weaker than the Ghost sniper rifle that had more than 250 damage, Furthermore, the damage output of Sonic Sphere—Penetrate was more stable than the Ghost sniper rifle; it could be used as the main combat method.
Sonic Sphere—Quake had area disabling effects. It could cause debuffs like stunned, shocked, paralyzed, unconscious and such. Its attack range was a sphere of ten meters diameter. Sonic Sphere—Scout could create a sonic enhancing zone in a diameter of one hundred meters, increasing the damage and effects of the other two.
Thud!
Sonic Sphere—Penetrate sped up in an instant, smashed a pit on the metal wall, and made a loud noise.
The sonic sphere was very sophisticated. He smashed it against the wall to test its interior durability. This smash made it lose 17 durability, and the total durability of the sonic sphere was 1,600.
One percent is lost with just one hit. Seems it won’t last long if it’s attacked.
The three sonic spheres—one for offense, one for control, and one for support—worked together. The defense would be taken care of by the Magnetic Chain Style Hovering Shield Shuttle, with about the same technology as the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades but for defense. Technically, it was a ‘shield generator’. The hovering shuttles would form a shape in the air, then connect with each other with electromagnetic energy. The shape it formed would become an electromagnetic shield.
Shielding technology was very common in the galaxy, but there was almost no mature shield technology on Planet Aquamarine. In the galactic standard, this kind of single surface shield was very basic. However, it was rare machinery in Version 1.0.
He could control at most four sonic spheres at one time—controlling more would mean lower accuracy. To Mechanics, receiving strong machinery did not mean that its powers could be fully utilized right away. Many complicated machines required the user to be very familiar with them in order to be able to utilize their full potential. The skills of Mechanic players were also based on how they used their best machinery, so-called micro-control.
However, micro-control was a piece of cake for the experienced Great Mechanic Han.
Including the sonic sphere style, I now have four combat methods. The core style would be Amphiptere mechanical suit, in cooperation with the other three, capable of ranged, mid-ranged, and melee styles. These will be enough for any situation at the moment. I will not need any new combat methods any time soon.
Han Xiao suddenly remembered that he had taken away what belonged to Lu Cheng, and he wondered what Lu Cheng’s reaction would be after he received the blueprints that he had replaced. Old Man Lu might find him to complain.
That was good as well. It had been quite some time since he last saw Old Man Lu, and he missed him a little.
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A period of stability arrived on Planet Aquamarine. Time passed by quick, and four months passed in a blink of an eye.
Sanctuary Three was completed with tall guarding walls, filtered air, self-sufficient greenhouse farms, and many more. The aim of the sanctuary was to protect humans in times of disaster or even protect the tinder of mankind. In the last four months, Bennett had built more sanctuaries, but none of them could match up to the size of Black Phantom Sanctuary Three.
Alumera and Lu Cheng had already migrated their people over, built the guarding city surrounding Sanctuary Three, paid the money, and provided the manpower to build the transportation network, which spread all over the sanctuary. Han Xiao’s sanctuary could be considered a large city.
The rewards of this main storyline mission were calculated and given. Han Xiao had almost finished most of the constructions, so he was given an A+ grade.
_____________________
[Sanctuary Plan – Sanctuary Three] Completed.
You have received 6,500,000 EXP. You have received 1 Potential Point.
Grade: A+
+2,500 Dark Net Relationship Points. Current Relationship: Reverence (6,000) – [Leader of Dark Net]
A+ Grade Reward: Bonus 250% EXP (16,250,000), Special Item * 1
You have received [Medal of Honor – Sanctuary Owner (A)]
_____________________
An experience reward was the main reward of this construction type main storyline, unlike the Germinal Organization main storyline with many special items or any random reward. There was also no new dungeon creation right in the NPC panel, probably because it was just a construction type main storyline and very little actually happened.
Although the war ended, there were still many more areas in Planet Aquamarine that could be explored. The more the players explored Planet Aquamarine, the more the Six Nations would fear the Inhumans that were becoming stronger as time passed by. However, in conclusion, the situation of Planet Aquamarine was stable. During this time, the main storylines and the main characters in other novice planets had surfaced and started to shine, whereas the heat on Planet Aquamarine had cooled down.
Han Xiao was making preparation in peace in the sanctuary. As a ‘main storyline main character’, the times he was mentioned gradually became fewer—most players only remembered him when they bought loot boxes.
Just like ‘Galaxy Times’ said, when a main storyline ended, the corresponding main character would also fade away.
Han Xiao was not worried about the reducing attention—the things that he did were already deeply printed into the players’ hearts, so he had already built his base. Even if he was covered by the other popular topics, once he made any more news, the players would still be immediately reminded of him.
In four months’ time, he had collected a large amount of EXP, and the EXP on his interface had a long string of zeros. Due to the interaction he had with the players, his position of ‘Mechanic Mentor’ was firm, so many new players in the game would also buy things from him. This was a long-term benefit.
His business was prospering. Han Xiao had a very comfortable life during this peaceful time, but he did not forget where he came from. He still spent time every day in the workshop, building equipment and training himself, improving and familiarizing himself with his combat methods, making sure he was always at his best and never rusty.
He had used the Destiny’s Child Character Summon card and accurately predicted the chance to head toward the galaxy. There was still quite some time left. According to his memory, Pro League Season One would start during this time. This was a player festival. Han Xiao had paid a lot of attention to the competition in his previous life, and he was tempted to ride along.
If his sanctuary could be the hosting area for the Pro League, it would bring a large number of customers in. The Pugilist and Esper class advancement knowledge that he had prepared, the enhancing drugs, the high-level equipment and many more would make him a lot of profit.
Han Xiao had cultivated Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, Bun-Hit-Dog, and Hao Tian with a lot of effort, hoping that they could get a good result in the Pro League, as it would bring him honor too. Since everyone knew that these four people were the lucky ones that had earned Black Phantom’s help.
Galaxy Calendar Year 689, 1st March. On this day, an announcement marked in red was placed at the top of the forums. Its popularity grew at an unbelievable pace, which meant the number of people viewing and commenting was quickly increasing every second!
Within half an hour, it became the most popular post in the entire forum!
“S1 Galaxy Pro League, officially established!”
It’s finally here. Han Xiao was motivated.
When the public launch just started, the rumors of the World Esports Association wanting to host Galaxy Pro League was already being passed around. And after one and half months passed in the real world, finally, the official message was announced!
“This morning, the World Esports Association announced the official opening of the first Galaxy Pro League. This will be the authorized and the highest-level competition, a player festival, and the biggest stage for the players to prove themselves. Showcase your skills and the world will cheer for you!
“There are 37 countries participating in the first season of Galaxy Pro League—China, Japan, Korea, Russia… According to the planet differences in-game, it is divided into 13 divisions. They are—Planet Aquamarine division, Planet Brighton division, Planet Longtune division, Planet Lonnie Division, Planet Aquamarine division…
“The matches will be carried out in the following modes: Singles, Challenge, Groups.
“Singles: Single player competition. 1 vs 1.
“Challenge: Team competition. 1 vs 1, winner stays on stage while the next player of the loser enters. Last one standing wins.
“Groups: Team competition. Group battle in complex environments. Annihilate the enemy or complete special missions to win.
“Competition Stage One—Division Qualifiers: All players are eligible to register. Teams registering must have nine members, including six players, two substitutes, and one coach. One match elimination, determining top 38 teams and top 62 singles in each division.
“Divisions Secondary League: 18 teams and 128 single contestants will enter, points based. Winners and runners up of each division will enter into the divisions stage, making up 40 teams and 64 players.
“Pre-Season: Warm up for contestants, no points calculated.
“Stage Two—Regular Divisions: Points-based. Teams will compete in Challenge and Groups. Top 8 teams and 16 players enter the finals. If any player belonging to a team enters top 16 of the Singles, that team will receive bonus points. Also, the first team and single player will receive the International Showcase Match invitation.
“International Showcase Match (All-Stars Match): Top teams from divisions battle with each other for a showcase, no points calculated.
“Stage Three—Division Finals: Best of Five. Winners of each division will receive the Division Trophy! The champions, runners up, and second runners up will enter the Internationals!
“Stage Four—Internationals: Points-based. Top three of each division compete. Top 8 teams and top 16 singles enter the International Finals!
“Final Stage—International Finals: Best of Five. Competing for the World Champion!
“Division Singles and Challenge venues are as follow: Planet Winterfrost, Fissure Canyon. Planet Brighton, Floating Island College… Planet Aquamarine, Black Phantom Sanctuary Three.
“Registration for Qualifiers and Secondary League will start tomorrow. We hope all contestants can receive their wanted position.
“S1 Galaxy Pro League—officially established!”
Every player’s passion was heated no matter which planet they were on!
It was a worldwide festival!
Seeing that Sanctuary Three was the venue for Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, followed by a rush excitement. He could almost see a tsunami of customers overwhelm him.
The arena was way too suitable for Singles and Challenge, and he had opened it to the players. With such a suitable location already built, the chance of it becoming the hosting venue was very high.
Such a large festival like Pro League being held in his territory was a huge business opportunity!
The competition mode for the first season is the same as how I remembered. Because it is the first season, there are only three competition modes. It will be more varied later.
Just as I expected, it is still Qualifiers, Regulars, Division Finals, followed by International Finals. The top three of both the division finals and international finals will receive huge prizes. All the various clubs are the main contestants of the first season. The normal players can only achieve something in the Singles.
It is actually easier to become a star in the Singles. The clubs will sign some good players after they showcase their skills, and they will become pro players next season, Han Xiao thought. He had experienced it himself. As a renowned Mechanic master, he had received invitations from clubs as well, but he had rejected all of them. He did not like the hardship in team training; playing the game comfortably was more suitable for him.
Han Xiao touched his chin and pondered, I remember China’s result in the first season was normal. Was it North America or a European team that won the champion? France? Maybe Canada?
He was staying in a high building in the middle of the sanctuary at this time. He looked down and saw the atmosphere of the players changed—it became filled with excitement, anticipation, and nervousness.
And so it begins…
Han Xiao was a little excited as well.
…
The commencement of the Pro League spread like a storm; every player knew about it. The teams and pro players of all the countries were motivated. After all their preparations, finally, the worldwide competition that they were waiting for had arrived!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“The registration for Group Stages is open. The club has already chosen the rest of the players and rushed us back to practice our tactics. Old Hao, this is the list of the other three members and two substitutes.”
There were three people in the chat room—Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, and Twinkle Fried Rice. They were all pro players of the Long Sky Club.
The four biggest names of China Esports—Temple of God, Long Sky, Dynasty, and Fried Eggplants with Fish. The players would always be reminded of these clubs’ achievements when they saw those names.
The big names all had their pillars, like Li Ge of Temple of God and ‘Three Chariots’ of Fried Eggplants With Fish. Hao Tian and Sleepy Winter were both senior members of Long Sky; they were known as ‘Long Sky Twin Stars’. A few young players with potential had appeared in the youth camp in recent years, in which Twinkle Fried Rice was the most favored genius player that might become the successor.
Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, and Twinkle Fried Rice were the core players of the Long Sky team. The competition requirement this time was eight players, including substitutes, where Hao Tian was the leader without a doubt. Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice were definitely members. The other five had been chosen in the internal competition. The winners formed Core Team One with the three core players. The second-tier players formed Team Two—that was how large clubs worked.
Hao Tian went through the list and said, “These players are all seniors and familiar faces; they will be able to find their competition mode with just a bit of practice. The contestants are fine, no need for changes.”
He was a god player who had contributed to the club for years, so his words sometimes had more authority than even the coach and the manager.
Sleepy Winter nodded and said, “The first season is very important. Let’s win it. I have looked at the competition details. There’re five stages, so it will last quite a long time. We have enough time to prepare and continue leveling up. Now is the time where the leading players are reaching almost LV 50. When the Division Finals arrive, the rest of the teams should almost be all at max level.
“The qualifiers are just the first stage. As it accepts registration from all players, the fight will be the most intense. There will be thousands of teams in one division fighting for only thirty-eight places—imagine how intense the competition will be. Because of the number of participants in the Qualifiers, it will be in the form of single match elimination. If we are unlucky and lose to a strong opponent, we will be out of the rest of the competition straight away. We have to be careful from the start.
“All of the enemies can be roughly divided into four types—normal noob players just joining for fun, high skilled normal players, strong players from clubs, and the teams from the biggest names. Our biggest opponent will be the other three biggest clubs. I estimate that three quarters of the top forty teams entering the regulars will be from clubs.”
“The group battle is ever changing, don’t underestimate any team,” Hao Tian said in a low voice.
“Old Hao, did you register for the Singles?” Sleepy Winter asked.
“Yeah.”
“I shall not go then.” Sleepy Winter shrugged his shoulders. He was very clear of Hao Tian’s skills. There was a very high chance he would get a place in the Singles and earn bonus points for the team in the Regulars. Most clubs sent their strongest player to the Singles.
As another member of the Long Sky Twin Stars, since Hao Tian had joined the Singles, he would focus on the team—division of labor.
…
At the same time, Frenzied Sword also registered for Singles. Different from a big name like Long Sky, the Jiang City Club that he was in was a small team. All the members in the club were just enough for the number of team members required. All of them were tier two players, and only Frenzied Sword had made a name for himself.
However, he was not the leader. The leader was ‘Lone Crane’, a signature player cultivated by Jiang City itself. Yet, he did not have any achievements.
Jiang City was a dying team. When they saw the potential in Frenzied Sword and signed him as a strong help, the team only became a little more alive after he joined.
However, Lone Crane did not like Frenzied Sword; he felt that Frenzied Sword threatened his position. The management regulations in the small clubs was not as developed as the big names, so it was common to put seniority first when determining positions. Before making any result, pro players were all arrogant, thinking everyone else was just trash. Frenzied Sword was lucky enough to meet this situation and was often excluded by the team.
His Singles registration was obstructed by Lone Crane many times. Lone Crane’s reason was “The team needs to retain its power; you are our ace. If you expose too much in the Singles, the others will develop tactics against us.”
The registration only passed after being approved by the superiors.
Frenzied Sword did not favor these fools. It was a crazy dream to want to achieve anything with such a team. He had put all his hopes into the Singles. As long as he made a name for himself in the Singles, his position would be stable.
My win ratio against God Hao Tian is now four to six. He’s a top god player; since I can win 40% of the time, there should be a high chance of entering the top 64 in the Singles.
Frenzied Sword was confident in himself. He had received tons of EXP from Han Xiao’s missions. His level was ahead of most other players, and his ability levels were high too. Plus, all his equipment was limited edition from Black Phantom’s shop. Mechanical Pugilist depended a lot in equipment. Most of his equipment was blue grade, his weapon was even a purple, and its machinery type also exceeded normal player’s knowledge. It was luxurious.
The so-called limited editions were actually tailor-made machinery that Han Xiao had built for him. Han Xiao was cultivating the four of them, so he had to look after them. In fact, Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, Hao Tian, and Bun-Hit-Dog were regarded as his apprentices.
Frenzied Sword knew very well that the reason he was so strong was all because of Black Phantom’s ‘Hidden Storyline’. Every time he thought of it, he would feel extremely glad that he had met Han Xiao during the closed beta.
I have to get a good place! Frenzied Sword encouraged himself.
…
The registration for the Qualifiers went on intensively. Various clubs made frequent movements, news articles appeared in the forums every single day, and players discussed the developments actively. It was boisterous. This was a festival; the players all looked forward to their idols’ performance in the pro scene, anticipating the battle of the highest skill level.
The players could already travel between the continents. Countless players gathered in Sanctuary Three. Sanctuary Three was the host venue for Singles. Other than the registered players, many players came to watch it live. The number of players in the city increased non-stop.
The number of participants for the Singles was the highest as most players knew that they had no chances against the professional clubs’ teams, and it was not easy to form a team. In comparison, Singles was much easier. Any one person could register. As recorded officially, every division had more than 100,000 players registered for the Singles. One could see how intense the Qualifiers would be.
The participating players were mostly older players that had joined the game in the earlier times. The new players afterward were only at level 20 or so; them joining would only be free points for the others. Some people complained that the league started too early, but their voices were buried in the sea of people very soon after.
Eight months had passed in-game since the public launch. According to the competition schedule, the Divisions would last for about half a year, and the Internationals would only start after about a year of preparation and rest. This long break was mainly to give the qualifying teams more time to improve their cooperation, which showed how important the Internationals were. Also, it was a form of hunger marketing to improve the influence of the competition.
The competition would last about two years of in-game time. The duration of the entire Version 1.0 was three and a half years. The players that could not make it for the Qualifiers could only be considered unlucky—time waits for no man.
Maple Moon did not register for the Qualifiers. She was a casual player, so she hardly paid attention to competitions and was completely ignorant of the competition mode. Thus, she decided to be a spectator peacefully. Of course, Han Xiao would not force her to join the competition. Furthermore, a Mechanic that focused on building abilities like Maple Moon had very ordinary strength in Version 1.0. Not everyone had the skills of the Great Mechanic Han.
Bun-Hit-Dog, however, contacted his streamer friends and formed a streamer team to join the competition excitedly. With Han Xiao’s experience and prediction, this streamer team would definitely just be free points. If they could join the Regulars, he would swallow ten energy crystals on the spot.
So, only three people under me will be joining the competition, Hao Tian, Frenzied Sword, and Bun-Hit-Dog… The last one can be ignored.
Han Xiao stood before the window, looked down on the crowded square and thought, Hope the two of them can get good results.
The registration stage was the brewing period of the competition; it was also the best period for him to earn a huge profit. 100,000 Singles contestants were willing to spend money and EXP for just a slight improvement.
A pleased smile appeared on Han Xiao’s face.
After heading toward to the galaxy, I won’t be able to interact with a large number of players in a short time. The EXP I earn now will all be taken into the galaxy—the more, the better.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The first season of Pro League was heated up. ‘Galaxy Times’ also released the latest episode to analyze the overall movements of the competition, which received a lot of attention, breaking the record of highest viewers.
Han Xiao opened the video. This episode was clearly different from the others. The comments were much denser than before, and the length also doubled, showing clear signs of it having a lot of content.
After making the regular opening cold joke, the hosts entered into the main topic.
“The first season of Galaxy Pro League has commenced. Registration has opened for the Qualifiers. Players, are you ready for this festival?”
The comment barrage filled with “always ready” flew past the screen.
“Starting from this episode, we will continuously bring comprehensive competition analysis for everyone,” the male host said. “The content of this episode includes interpretation of the competition mode, competition schedule analysis, and introduction of the various strong teams in the divisions. We also invited the leaders of the four biggest clubs in China as guests in the studio. Okay, let’s first enter a short commercial break. Don’t leave, the wonderful content will soon be back.”
A not at all short commercial started playing for the next five minutes. When even the comments started discussing which baby diapers were better, the hosts finally reappeared.
Han Xiao was speechless. No wonder this episode is so long…
“Welcome back. So, the Pro League is divided into 13 divisions, corresponding to the 13 novice planets, selecting the strongest teams of the various planets. And the clubs from some strong Esports countries have already selected their bases, which means that they selected their division in advance…”
The duo introduced the situation of the various divisions and what were the strong countries. Every strong team they mentioned, a barrage of slogan comments of that team would fly pass. Every strong team had fans all over the world.
When talking about the Planet Aquamarine division, the reaction was the most intense. It was the China version of ‘Galaxy Times’ after all.
“… Planet Aquamarine is the main division of the China clubs. We have invited the guests to analyze the situations of the Planet Aquamarine division. Let’s give a warm welcome to Li Ge from Temple of God, Second Prince from Dynasty, Hao Tian from Long Sky, and Sun Eggplant from Fried Eggplants with Fish!”
The comments exploded. Everyone knew that these four clubs were enemies, yet they were gathered in one place; it was an extremely rare occasion!
These four were all leaders of the biggest clubs. They had a lot of fans, and they were enemies too, so the comments were filled with arguments in no time.
“Boss Li Ge is so handsome!”
“Temple of God is all trash. Fangirls, back off!”
“Don’t stop me, I want to carry the child of Li Ge!”
“We can’t lose, brothers. Hao Tian, I want to give birth to your child too!”
“Why did Second Mace come out, where’s the boss of Dynasty? I want to see the top player in China!”
“That’s crossing the line, how can you call him Second Mace? Call him Second Son!”
“Sun Eggplant is the best!”
The four professional god players, all with unique characteristics, appeared in the image. Li Ge had the warm expression on his face as always, being the most handsome of the group. Hao Tian sat beside him, expressionless like a stone.
Second Prince was one of the renowned players of the Dynasty club—arrogant, combing his hair with his head held up high, fully expressing the definition of ‘too big for one’s boots’.
Among the four of them, this guy had the most haters. The rank one god player in China belonged to Dynasty, mysterious and barely participated in any shows. In contrast, Second Prince loved to speak badly of the god player in his own team, not hiding his ambition of wanting to take over at all. However, he regularly got thrashed by the god player in his own team, becoming a laughing stock, yet he never changed. All things aside, he was never a burden in the competition, so most of the haters were just joking.
The last one, Sun Eggplant, was the last member of ‘Three Chariots’ of Fried Eggplants with Fish. He was a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses, looking undisciplined and shaking his crossed legs continuously, one hand behind the chair, sitting like a boss. He even had a toothpick between his lips. If there was not the rule of no smoking in front of cameras, it would definitely not be a toothpick.
Li Ge smiled and said, “Thank you for your invitation. Come to think of it, this is the fourth time I’ve showed up in Galaxy Times.”
“Thanks to everyone for being a guest in Galaxy Times,” the male host said. “Please, our four god-tier players, let’s start with the analysis for the Planet Aquamarine competition situation.
They started the analysis. Li Ge and Second Prince spoke the most, Hao Tian almost didn’t talk, and Sun Eggplant occasionally piped up.
The Planet Aquamarine division was the main venue for China. There was a total of tens of clubs. Other than the four biggest names, there were other large clubs like Thunder Storm, Fanatics, and Nine Gates. There were quite a number of strong pro players. They discussed the topic at length. In their eyes, the four biggest clubs were still the ones that had the most chances to win.
Thirteen novice planets, thirty-seven participating countries. Small countries did not have the ability to choose their bases. There were some foreign club events in Planet Aquamarine, not many of them, but they were strong nonetheless. It was not to be underestimated.
Although the so-called base planet was just self-named, and any country could come to play, this was a naturally formed sense of the territory from the players. Han Xiao remembered some clubs would send strong players to other divisions, creating a team disguised as ordinary players to beat the local clubs, which would make the local players lose face.
Electrolux, whom he had once met, was this kind.
“… Qualifiers will be the most intense stage,” Li Ge said. “The participating players average at LV 40, not max level yet. With the elimination mode, luck will play a certain part, but the longer one stays, the more battles one will face. Even we can’t say that we are confident of every single match. The impact of the luck factor will be minimized. The last top 38 teams will definitely be strong teams with real skills.”
Second Prince sneered. “Hehe, that’s because your Temple of God is too noob. Our Dynasty has absolute confidence. Anyone who meets us just has to wait for their death.”
Li Ge smiled on the outside but cursed on the inside.
He did not bother about the fool and turned to look at Hao Tian. He smiled and said, “Old Hao, can you fulfill your dream and become the international champion this time?”
“Success depends on effort.” Hao Tian’s words were few but had a clear meaning.
Second Prince grunted and said arrogantly, “Save it, you guys. The champion will be Dynasty!”
Sun Eggplant looked at him sideways and said, “Moron.”
Second Prince turned his head and stared at him furiously.
“What you staring at, looking for a beating?” Sun Eggplant rolled his sleeve like he was going to fight him any time.
Second Prince stood back and murmured, “Savage.”
The four of them interacted, and the comment barrage fired. This episode of the show analyzed the competition in detail. In the end, the four of them promoted their preparations of their teams, expressing their fighting spirit and their strong determination for the champion position.
Han Xiao shook his head. Although they all look undisciplined, they were all god players.
Through the show, his old memories of Season One Pro League were refreshed.
…
The Qualifiers registration ended very quickly. The official start was three days later, so all the contestants prepared themselves as much as they could.
This time, hundreds of thousands of players gathered in the sanctuary, crowded around the arena, and filled the square completely.
Han Xiao looked down at the square.
Three more days to the start…
Han Xiao turned and walked downstairs.
It’s time!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The sanctuary was overcrowded with people. Not only were there contestants, but there were also spectators. It was more than ten times more boisterous than usual. The players’ line of shops extended from the square to almost the gate of the city.
The Divisions were big events for all players. The players not at the venue could watch the live stream on the forums.
Three days to the opening, there was one day that coincidentally was the fixed Black Phantom loot box sales day. Part of the reason a large number of players came to the sanctuary was also because of Han Xiao.
The location that he usually appeared at was already surrounded. A male player stood outside the crowd and looked around on his tiptoes.
“He should be here anytime soon,” the player mumbled softly.
His ID was ‘Jing Zhe’, an LV 20 Mechanic, one of the unnoticeable spectators, as good as transparent in the crowded sanctuary. He knew about Han Xiao’s functionalities from the forums, so he wanted to buy some low-level equipment.
This kind of new players appeared every once in a while, bringing Han Xiao long-term profits.
After waiting for a while, Han Xiao drove the truck and arrived at the scene with a 270 degrees tail drift. He jumped down from the car, and the waiting players swarmed over instantly to grab the boxes.
The number of boxes was limited. It was almost impossible to purchase them without putting up a fight to buy them as soon as possible. Jing Zhe was pushed around by the crowd.
After the boxes were sold out, only then did the crowd leave. Jing Zhe heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing that Han Xiao was still there, he quickly trotted over and conveyed his intention of wanting to learn abilities. And as he wished, he saw the shop list.
So much machinery, and it seems like I can learn abilities here as well. The functions of this NPC are so rich. I heard he was the main storyline main character before…Jing Zhe was a new player that only started after the end of the Germinal Organization main storyline. He barely knew about Han Xiao’s past at all.
The items made his heart beat a lot quicker. And after he scrolled down to the bottom, his eyes opened wide in surprise.
This is… the class advancement knowledge for Pugilist and Esper, [Energy Burst] and [Tier 2 Gene Chain—Endurance Enhancement]. Both selling for 30,000 EXP. Jing Zhe’s mouth was wide open with surprise.
Was Black Phantom not the Mechanic mentor? Why was he selling the class advancement knowledge for the other two classes?
Anyway, he could not use them.
Jing Zhe took a screenshot, posted it on the forums causally, and continued to look at the other items in the shop. What he did not expect was… this post created a storm on the forums!
Every player who knew what this meant was shocked!
Jing Zhe did not know how rare class advancement knowledge was yet, but the older players knew it very well—Class advancement knowledge could only be exchanged after they farmed their relationship points with the Six Nations to ‘Reverence’, which almost no one could at the moment. Yet, Han Xiao had just started selling them out of nowhere!
Only one word could describe how to old players felt about Han Xiao.
Horrifying!
After being silent for a few months, Han Xiao’s name dominated the forums once again!
Jing Zhe was stunned. He had never thought that his casual post would trigger such a reaction.
However, what was more shocking only came afterward. Countless players came from everywhere upon hearing the news and swarmed toward Han Xiao. After they confirmed the news to be true, the entire square’s players became frenzied!
Black Phantom is the players’ blessing as always!
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the exteriors of the crowd, and they split open a path automatically. Renowned pro players walked in one after another—Li Ge, Hao Tian, Sun Eggplant, and so on. They gathered in one place and snatched the spotlight!
With the Pro League just around the corner, the appearance of class advancement knowledge was certainly a very timely help. No one wanted to be behind the others, so they all rushed here. Dozens of famous pro players surrounded Han Xiao!
Some of the surrounding players had not had the chance to meet their idols before, so they could not hide their excitement and screams.
Jing Zhe was completely stunned. A post that he had casually published turned out to attract a group of god level pro players. He was used to being a nobody and had never had such an experience. He was shivering in excitement.
These pro players led the way to buy class advancement knowledge. The EXP on Han Xiao’s interface rocketed by millions every minute! Han Xiao was overjoyed.
It was worth hoarding the class advancement knowledge till now. It’s profiteering!Han Xiao was delighted. He had long expected the class advancement knowledge to be a hit. In Version 1.0, the prerequisites for acquiring class advancement knowledges were very difficult. The players went through a lot of hardship to get them, yet he sold them without any prior requirements. It would definitely shock all the players.
The class advancement knowledge for these two classes came from the Germinal Organization central computer. Now that the Germinal Organization had been eradicated, the class advancement knowledge in his hands became the only source of it throughout Planet Aquamarine.
Tens of thousands of players gathered in the sanctuary—excluding Mechanics, players with insufficient purchasing power, and players with insufficient potential points. Even if there were only a tenth of the players that bought it, he would still make a crazy profit!
30,000 was not high for the players at this time. Han Xiao sold it at this price because he wanted to sell more quantity and also because the contestants would spend most of their EXP before the competition to strengthen themselves as much as they could. If he set the price too high, he would miss the opportunity on those who did not have any EXP left.
He sold it for a few hours straight and only stopped as the sun started to set.
He looked at the interface. The EXP that he had received was an outrageous amount of 300,000,000.
Han Xiao had more than 500,000,000 EXP in his pocket through all sorts of events during the four months, and it had grown by more than half in just a day!
The players’ demand for class advancement knowledge is ridiculous. It will be high in the first few days and will start to gradually decrease as time passes, but even then, it will still earn a healthy profit just like the other abilities.
Han Xiao opened the forums. The Planet Aquamarine panel was filled with posts about class advancement knowledge. Many analyzed why he would suddenly sell the class advancement for the other two classes despite being a Mechanic.
This even affected the panels of other planets. The other division players were shocked and felt pressured. It was competitive between the divisions, and Planet Aquamarine players getting class advancement knowledge so easily was bad news for other planets. Players from all the planets were discussing it.
Han Xiao was very famous in Planet Aquamarine, and he also sometimes appeared in Galaxy Times. However, most of his popularity was limited to Planet Aquamarine. This was the first time that his name had spread to the other players. The players from the other players started to know his name—Planet Aquamarine Legendary NPC, Black Phantom, Han Xiao, Loot Box!
Actually, every planet had their own storyline main characters that appeared actively as they took part in the main storyline missions. Despite also being the main storyline main character, Han Xiao was very different. He did not provide main storyline missions one round after another, yet the functions that he offered were horrifyingly rich. The Planet Aquamarine players received countless benefits from him.
He was the storyline main character, the mechanic mentor, the salesman for rare items, the distributor for regular prize-pool missions, the loot box seller… His identity was so complex that the players had never seen any NPC that even came close. His position in the hearts of Planet Aquamarine’s players was unique and irreplaceable. It was like they had gone through the change of times side by side. When the players thought of him, they felt a sense of familiarity and trust!
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the edge of players, Li Ge was frowning.
Most of the players were surprised about Han Xiao selling class advancement knowledge, but not Li Ge, who was not happy at all. He already had another type of class advancement knowledge, which the Guild of Gods had poured their resources to help him get. It was Li Ge’s trump card; he was going to use it to shine in the competition.
However, Han Xiao’s actions largely decreased the effectiveness of this trump card of his, indirectly reducing the difference between him and the other players. Something that everyone owned would not be considered rare anymore.
Li Ge stared at Han Xiao with unknown meanings.
A few god-level players at the sides chatted in a group, and as usual, Second Prince was bragging. “With the god player, me, bringing Dynasty into the finals will be a piece of cake. An old man like Old Wang would beg me to carry him.”
“If it wasn’t for King Admiral 1 , you Dynasty would not be one of the biggest clubs,” Sun Eggplant said with contempt.
Second Prince was furious. They argued for some time, and Li Ge walked over with a smile and said, “It’s good to be confident. I hope everyone will be honing their skills. I need some help in the international competition to earn honor for China.”
They raised the corner of their lips. They disliked the attitude of Li Ge always considering himself as the leader. Hao Tian said directly, “I don’t like you to always representing others, speak for yourself.”
Li Ge’s smile vanished. He looked at Hao Tian and said coldly, “Then I will see you in the competition. Don’t let me win too easily.”
They stared at each other with sparks flying.
Suddenly, a laid-back voice appeared from the side. “Found you, moron, follow me back to the team for practice.”
The others turned around to look. A player with an unshaven beard walked over. He looked scruffy and slovenly, but the ID above his head was ‘King Admiral’. This was indeed the low-key, mysterious pro player at the top of the leaderboard in China, Dynasty’s core. He had an eminent nickname—Emperor!
“Don’t call me moron!” Second Prince was not happy.
“Okay, moron.” King Admiral nodded.
“Ah, *sshole!” Second Prince lost his cool easily when he saw the god player in his own team. He said furiously, “Don’t be so arrogant! One day, I will ride on your back and show you who’s better!”
Eww!
The others were loathing.
As if he had yet to wake up, King Admiral dragged Second Prince away by his collar without greeting the others. He did things his own way and did not get along with the others, but in Li Ge’s eyes, this was arrogance.
Looking at King Admiral’s back, Li Ge’s eyes sparkled, and he grunted in his mind. He yearned for King Admiral’s top seat; his career could only advance further if he became the top player.
“There’s no room for error in this Pro League.”
They exchanged looks and saw the resolve in each other’s eyes.
…
After three continuous days of sales, the EXP that Han Xiao received had reached an outrageous 1,000,000,000! Including the previous 500,000,000, he had a total of 1,500,000,000 EXP!
The amount of EXP storage determines how long I don’t have to worry for EXP in space. The next stage of my growth will be between the stars. The opportunities for growth can only be caught with enough EXP. After LV 70, the expenditure for EXP will be higher and higher. Plus, I’m a very experience-consuming Mechanic. After entering space, there will not be many chances to meet a large number of players, and there’s still the blank period between the version updates.
Han Xiao was thinking about future directions. Although the EXP that he had looked like a large amount, it would be finished one day after he entered the galaxy. Since that was definite, he had to hoard as much EXP as he could.
Bang!
A firework rose into the sky from the square outside the window.
This signified the official start of the Pro League!
The sound of cheers soared through the skies and created a sound wave, spreading out like a tsunami.
Looking down at the arena, the arena had now been reconstructed into the structure of a stadium. In the heart of it was a large ring surrounded by nine smaller rings. At the edge of the center was a large screen, and under the screen were the seats for the announcers and judges. At the exteriors were the audience seats, which were completely filled at this time without any vacancies, with yelling and cheering lighting up the atmosphere of the festival.
“So it begins.” Han Xiao lay on the sofa, changed into a comfortable position, and opened the forums to watch the live stream.
There were tens of millions of others who were watching the stream like him!
The beautiful female host, Red Phoenix, wore a professional smile on her face and gave the opening speech standing in the highest ring. Her pleasing to the ear voice echoed in the arena from the speakers. “Galaxy Pro League Season One, Planet Aquamarine Division’s Qualifiers officially commence!
“We have 2,759 teams and 104,652 players registered. The teams will compete in the wild areas. The arena is the venue for Singles; these rings will be where the contestants compete! One round elimination, the pairs will be chosen at random. The loser will be eliminated, and the winner will enter the next round till the best 38 teams and 64 players are selected.
“The Qualifiers will last for one month of in-game time. Yes, this will be a long season, but the entire process will be streamed. The audiences watching the stream can choose the player they want to watch freely, and our official stream will randomly choose the battles that are highlight-worthy.”
Red Phoenix finished talking about the competition rules and the speech to light up the atmosphere, then pointed toward the entrance to the arena.
“Next, let’s start the opening battle for Singles. Let’s give a warm welcome to the two contestants!”
From the dark tunnel, Hao Tian and the contestant with the ID ‘Star Chess’ walked out. The moment the two of them appeared, the atmosphere of the arena reached its climax!
To guarantee the atmosphere of the opening battle, the players had been chosen between the registered pro players. Hao Tian and Star Chess had thus been selected.
The two walked up to the main ring. Red Phoenix stood between them and introduced them. “I believe everyone is familiar with the contestant on my right. An old warrior battling in the Esports ring for nine years, earning top-five multiple times in the China pro player leaderboard, possessing an honorable and amazing battle history, with a steady and firm battle style yet not lacking aggressiveness. He is the core player of Long Sky Club, Hao Tian!
“On my left is a player you might not be so familiar with. He’s a senior in the Esports industry, once belonging to the Temple of God. His position was the core of his club, just like Li Ge now, but he retired five years ago. Now, he returns with his past honor and winning resolve. He re-contracted with the Temple of God Club, Star Chess!”
Cheering exploded between the audiences. Both sides had supporters, but the fan group of Star Chess was comparatively smaller. He had been retired for five years; therefore, his popularity had mostly faded. Star Chess looked up at his fans. They were all familiar faces; he did not expect there to still be a group of such supportive fans even after his five years of retirement. He was quite touched. He nodded toward his fans as a greeting.
The fans cheered even louder with all their strength as they saw this.
After Red Phoenix introduced both sides, she first approached Star Chess and said with a smile, “Welcome back to the pro scene. How are you feeling now?”
“Nostalgic,” Star Chess said with a lot of emotion. “I’m reminded of the days I used to battle in the pro scene.”
“We’ll always remember the achievements you led Temple of God to and that tint of pride.” Red Phoenix complimented him before asking, “This is the first season of competition hosted in Galaxy. Can you tell me how much have you familiarized yourself with this game?”
“I’m in a very good condition.” Star Chess smiled and said, “Confident to spar with any opponent.”
Red Phoenix asked a few more questions. Star Chess answered them with ease—he was experienced at dealing with hosts.
Red Phoenix’s eyes sparkled. She received the request from her superior to create some interesting chatter, so she asked, “I heard you invested your savings into a business after retirement. Your company filed for bankruptcy last year. Is this part of the reason you are returning to the pro scene?”
Star Chess’s expression remained unchanged and said, “Of course not. The pro scene is where I made my name. Returning is just because I never forgot where I came from. I’m looking forward to battling the younger generation. Hope that I can dig out some players with good potential and teach the young players nowadays some experiences. It will help them in their battles at the international competitions.”
As he was speaking, he smiled toward Hao Tian with a sense of superiority as a senior. Hao Tian was considered as his junior. The ‘young players’ whom Star Chess mentioned, of course, included Hao Tian.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Okay. Thank you for the response.”
Red Phoenix smiled back and turned to Hao Tian. “The legendary Hao Tian, are you confident that you will win today’s match?”
“You’ll see.” Hao Tian did not pay attention to the reporter, as if his face was saying, I am focusing now, please do not disturb me.
He had always been a quiet man and never liked being interviewed before the battle. He felt that using the time before battle to prepare his mental state was the professional thing to do.
Moreover, his opponent was Star Chess. Hao Tian had no comments about him. In the professional circle, everyone knew that Star Chess had started his business after retirement, but he had returned for the competition after his business went bad. It was obvious that he wanted to use his popularity to milk some cash.
Since they were on different paths, there was nothing worth talking about.
The audience all laughed. They knew the personality of Hao Tian, and they all loved to watch his cold, calm demeanor.
Red Phoenix’s face froze as she did not know how to respond. However, she was one of the most experienced hosts in the professional league, so she suppressed her awkwardness and backed away from Han Tian. “Okay. Looks like both of them are confident that they will win. Let’s start the thirty-second countdown, and once it reaches zero, the competition will officially begin!”
The screen showed a thirty-second timer, and the audience in the arena all quieted down, tens of thousands of pairs of eyes focusing on the two men on the ring.
The nervous atmosphere froze the ring and the stadium.
Within the countdown, the judges started the pre-game analysis.
“It seems that both of them are from the Pugilist class, and both of them are LV 46. They are at the same level, so we can expect to see a high-level pugilist battle. This is the fight between two generations, and I also feel that this battle has a sense of ceremony. There’s no doubt that Hao Tian is in his peak condition, judging from the uncountable wins. Plus, I’m worried if Star Chess has maintained his game after being away from the scene for five years.”
The other judge then replied, “There’s no need to worry about that. All professionals know how to adjust their own status before the game, and Star Chess is already a veteran, which means he has more experience than Hao Tian. I have a feeling that this will be an intense and cutthroat battle.”
Han Xiao sat up and straighten his back and looked at the dense atmosphere on the ring. After training Hao Tian for so long, it was time to see the result.
“Three… Two… One…”
Bang!
As soon as the countdown finished, Hao Tian stomped his feet into the ground and charged toward the opponent with surge of energy covering his body, as if he was a siege tank.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two pugilist exchange fists and kick with each other. The sound of punches landing on the two’s bodies was deep and loud. The audience could see that the status bars of both sides, such as the health bar, energy bar, and stamina bar, were dropping.
The veterans would not fight like a rookie player, who fought as if they were video gamers smashing all the buttons. Even in a lower-level battle between Pugilists, it was essential to understand the timing of the use of skill and how to distribute energy to continue to activate buffs. They also needed to learn dodging techniques, reset timing, damage calculation, and cooldowns of skills.
In the fight of elites, detail determined the victor!
The battle between the two men on the ring was filled with subtle techniques from both fighters. Some spectators understood, while other did not, but in the end, it did not matter if one was able to identify the techniques—the audience all certainly felt a special atmosphere in a professional battle.
And it could be described in one word: steady!
The rate of decrease in their status bars was slower than the battle between average players. It meant that both players used a lot of small techniques that dodged a large amount of attacks from the enemy. This was the clear distinction between professional players and normal players.
The words of the judges were coming out faster than bullets from a machine gun. The commentator was also a skilled man, and he quickly analyzed the situation for the audience.
“It is still a stalemate on the ring. They are testing the water and only using normal attacks with some small skills. Both of their health bars are above eighty percent, and now, we’ll have to see who can grab the chance to deal a combo attack.”
There were countless styles of players in battle, but using combos was always one of the most popular techniques among the players, especially the Pugilists. If they could break through the defense and get a brief opening, the skillful players could take away huge portion of health bar from the enemy, and it was even possible to one shot the enemy with one combo.
Just like the ‘Girl and the Floating Island’, once one got knocked into the air, it was unavoidable that one would lose a huge amount of his health. Moreover, as professional players, Han Xiao and Star Chess had mastered the art of combos, and there was rarely any chance of error. Now, they needed to see how they could start the first combo.
“Wait, Star Chess is going in!”
After they exchanged blows, Star Chess suddenly lunged and stomped his front foot on the ground. An invisible wave shook the ring as it traveled across.
Knock up skill, [Ground Stomp]!
Any target within two meters would get knock up if hit by the shockwave. This was a rare skill, and Hao Tian did not react in time. His feet left the around, and he was around thirty centimeters in midair.
“This is bad. It seems like it is a rare skill. Hao Tian got hit, but he wasn’t knocked very high, so there’s no opening for combo… Star Chess charged forward and landed the first punch of the combo!”
The lower the height of knock up, the harder it was to start a combo, but Star Chess successfully found the opening, and a torrent of skills and attacks bombarded Hao Tian. The random and colorful energy splashed on his body, landing seven combo hits in an instant. Hao Tian’s health dropped by a large portion.
The judge shook his head and commented, “Star Chess could still grab the slim opening for a combo. Indeed, the older, the wiser. Let’s see how Hao Tian will react to this situation. Everyone knew that before the competition, Black Phantom sold out a class advancement knowledge called [Energy Burst]. It will use up a large amount of energy in exchange for a status of rage buff and knock back all the enemies. This skill can stop the combo of the enemy, but it will use a lot of energy. From the attributes of this level of players, they can only use this skill once in a competition. Both of them have definitely learned the skill, so let’s see if Hao Tian will use it first.”
While floating in the midair, Hao Tian curl his body into a ball to reduce the damage taken. The dropping health bar, however, did not affect his mental state. He was still focused and waiting for his chance.
Suddenly, he found a mistake in the combo, and he opened up from his defensive stance and caught Star Chess’s fist with one hand while swinging his body open the head of the opponent, trying to get behind Star Chess.
“He used [Return of Cloud]! Oh no, even though this skill is a midair escape skill, the successful rate is very strict—you need at least ten points higher in Dexterity than your opponent to have a few more percentage increase in successful rate. But they are at the same level, so their attributes should be the same! If the skill does not go through and fails, he won’t be able to move, and the next combo from Star Chess will finish him off. Seems like Hao Tian will…”
The judge suddenly stopped his tongue as he saw that Hao Tian escape the combo with the skill and land right behind Star Chess. Then, without any delay, Hao Tian’s elbow landed on the back of Star Chess’ head, stunning him.
Making use of the opportunity, Hao Tian grabbed Star Chess by the shoulder and swept the floor with a kick and made Star Chess float in midair without any defense. Then it was time for Hao Tian to perform his mesmerizing combo.
The situation suddenly changed, and the audience was left in shock.
“How did the skill succeed?” The judge had no time to freeze and shouted with his eyes wide open. “Now it’s time for Hao Tian to counterattack… Why is Star Chess’ health bar going down so fast?”
Just now, half of Star Chess’ combo took away twenty-five percent of Hao Tian’s health, but after only a few punches, Star Chess had already lost forty percent of his health points.
Part of it was because Star Chess was stunned and could not define, but the main reason was that the damage from Hao Tian was too high.
Star Chess could not believe his eyes as the damage numbers popped up on the interface.
“Hao Tian should have the same Dexterity as me; there was no way that [Return of Cloud] could have succeeded!”
The flowing energy again highlighted the serious expression of Hao Tian.
He was indeed on the same level as Star Chess. However, his skill level was much higher than not only Star Chess but also the entire professional players in the scene. Han Xiao’s reward of experience had all been used to increase the level of skill, and that was why [Return of Cloud] worked and his damage was unexpectedly high.
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Compared to character level, skills could directly increase one’s combat prowess.
Hao Tian sent out skills one after another and chased his opponent to the edge of the arena platform.
Hong!
Suddenly, Star Chess released a burst of energy from his body, causing a shockwave of flame to break Hao Tian’s series of attacks.
“Star Chess has used Energy Burst!” exclaimed the commentator.
There were three ways to win in these fights. One could either directly defeat one’s opponent, have one’s opponent surrender, or force them off the platform. Star Chess was already forced to the edge and had no choice to but to activate his Energy Burst.
However, the next moment, Hao Tian also used his Energy Burst, and as if a raging wild bull, he rushed at Star Chess and threw a heavy punch that broke through Star Chess’ defense and landed right on his chest.
Boom!
The muffled sound of the impact rang out!
Star Chess lost his footing, fell off the platform, and crashed onto the ground, causing clouds of dust to rise up.
“The winner is Hao Tian!” announced the commentator in a booming voice.
“He won!” the spectators screamed in excitement, and Hao Tian’s fans all stood up and cheered for him.
The screams from tens of thousands of people flooded the arena like a tsunami!
Star Chess was led off the center with eyes full of regret. Although this opening fight was held more for the sake of showmanship, and neither of the pro player would be disqualified regardless of the result, it was still a great chance to gain popularity. Winning under the eyes of tens of thousands of people was the best way to prove one’s reputation. But now that he had lost, most of the spotlight was on Hao Tian, unlike he had planned.
But it was what it was. Since he had lost fair and square, although Star Chess was unhappy, he still suppressed his emotions.
Red Phoenix bent her waist and walked onto the center of the platform with a smile. “Thanks to both of the pro players for bringing to us such a high level fight. Master Star Chess, you unfortunately lost. Do you have anything you would like to say?”
Star Chess collecting himself and forced out a smile. “It was an enjoyable fight. I got to witness how strong the young man is. He has a lot of potential. People like him will be able to take on my generation’s torch and fight for glory on the international stage…”
This was obviously just a formality. By using formal language and constantly mentioning the ‘young’ and ‘older’ players, Star Chess was secretly emphasizing the fact that he was a veteran.
“Thank you for your thoughts.”
Red Phoenix turned to Hao Tian and said, “Master Hao Tian, do you have anything you would like to say?”
Hao Tian stretched his hand for the microphone. Red Phoenix was glad as she thought that Hao Tian was finally going to say something and quickly passed him her microphone.
Hao Tian stared at Star Chess for a while expressionlessly.
“Are you only here to earn some pocket change or something?”
He then dropped the mic and left without another word. He evidently did not care about keeping up small talk with Star Chess at all.
Star Chess’s expression turned ugly, and veins were almost popping out of his head. He gritted his teeth.
How could he say something in front of so many spectators‽ Star Chess was furious.
The audience in the arena was instantly sent into an uproar, and Red Phoenix hurriedly tried to smooth things out.
…
“Kid’s got character. I like it,” Han Xiao said as he smirked.
He remembered Hao Tian from the past. This fellow did not bother with the bullsh*t that came with being a pro, and he hated being under the spotlight. He focused on training himself all the time and was very professional and righteous. In other words, a combination of a gaming nerd and a simpleton.
Han Xiao’s requirement when looking for players to cultivate was basically just how popular and how much potential the player had in his past life. It was not that he looked down on noobs or anything, but pros simply offered him a better return as they could utilize his resources to a better effect.
With the current resources at his disposal, Han Xiao could easily cultivate a player to a point where they were invincible among the current players. However, he did not do this as it was not beneficial in the long run. All the benefits that Han Xiao had been providing Frenzied Sword and the others with were more or less logical compared to the current players’ level.
Although the current players had weak attributes, this did not mean that they were bad at controlling their characters. With that in mind, Han Xiao could still learn a lot from the players. Despite how overpowered he currently was on Planet Aquamarine, the new techniques that he had learned from the players would prove useful in future fights.
Countering various abilities, performing countermeasures in emergencies, movement control, overall macro… and so on were all part of professional tournaments.
Players all developed in their own ways, and watching all the different powers clash against each other was one of the interesting aspects of these fights. For example, although Hao Tian did not have Star Chess’s [Ground Stomp], he was able to use other trump cards. Being able to utilize this variety of skills to their full capacity and even combine them in fights was what differentiated pros from regular players.
Moreover, being able to develop oneself properly also counted as a strength. Take boxing as an example. If Person A worked hard every day to train himself, while person B slacks off all day long, naturally, A would have a physical advantage over B in a fight. Or maybe A had better connections and could find a teacher to teach him new moves, while B could only train by himself. There was no rule that said A had to stop and wait for B to catch up.
This logic could also be applied to players. Be it farming monsters, complete missions, or looting for better equipment, no matter how prepared one was, in an actual fight, it would all come down to one’s performance. Maybe due to his lack of practice, B would get pummeled by A the whole fight. But just before B was about to lose, he might catch on to a mistake A made and turn the round with a one hit KO. Something like this was extremely common in tournaments.
Competitions would often produce with unexpected results, and this was what made it all so interesting.
The chance for Han Xiao to venture off into the stars would not come for another four or five months. As this was right in the middle of the tournament season, Han Xiao planned to take this time to look for more potential lackeys. For him, players were currently the most valuable resource on the entire planet.
After the ceremony, the arena started off the regular matches. All ten battle platforms had one referee, and all had ongoing matches at the same time. There were about ten thousand players who had registered for the tournament, and they were all currently going through the first elimination round. Each match was fairly straightforward and only took around ten minutes on average.
Only when the elimination stage entered the final rounds would the tournament slow down, giving time for the players to be introduced one by one.
As Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog’s matches were held on a different day, Han Xiao got bored and went to the forums after switching between several fights.
There were a lot of players who were excitedly discussing about the opening fight. Hao Tian’s performance invited a lot of praise, and Long Sky Club also released their official message, congratulating Hao Tian for seizing victory in the opening fight.
…
A few days later…
Players were eliminated one after another, and the audience’s excitement was higher than ever. Han Xiao was also rejoicing from this.
Aside from selling merchandise, creating more tools, and training with Hila, he spent most of his free time watching the fights. He mainly paid attention to the team battles where two teams would try to fight each other to the last man on a random map. Each team was allowed to send in six players.
Pugilist, Esper, and Mechanic. These three classes had drastically different combat styles and allowed for a large variety of team combinations and skill chaining. Moreover, taking into account of terrain differences, team battles were much more entertaining to watch than the individual battles.
The more common teams were composed of a main tank, melee attacker, ranged attacker, and someone in charge of crowd control. The specific numbers for each role would differ depending on the team’s tactics.
Pugilist was naturally the most popular class for the main tanks.
Espers, on the other hand, were more of a jack of all trades. Due to their varying abilities, Espers could take on both melee and ranged roles in a fight.
Mechanics played the role of the main attacker and dealt outburst damage under their teammate’s protection.